“As with other forms of mother blame, the issue of “permissive” or “smothering” mothers was central to Bruch’s theory. Bruch’s writings on “obesity” are worded with examples of mothers who overfed their children to show affection, to reward, to placate, to assuage guilt, and encourage dependency. Bruch (1973) also linked fatness in children, particularly boys, to effeminacy and homosexuality, thus intertwining mother blame, fatness, and homosexuality in a particularly potent way.”