Americans have long prided ourselves on a sense of self-reliance: with a little elbow grease and a lot of effort, we can be whatever we want. We tell ourselves that the United States is a classless society, defined not by some rigid class system but of the willingness of individuals to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. America is a meritocracy, we insist, defined by hard work and tenacity, the hallmarks of a true Protestant work ethic. Bodies become a symbol of that work ethic, the American exceptionalism that we have long believed defines Americanness itself. Fat bodies fly in the face
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