Fat is a Feminist Issue

By Susie Orbach

I read this book about five years ago but it still frequently comes up in my conversations. Maybe because the words fat and feminist both apply to me.

Fat is a Feminist Issue is a self-help book for over eaters. It doesn't focus on food but on how a woman feels about being fat or thin. Is fat a response to your role in your family, at work and in society? There is an exercise in the book where you visualize yourself at a party being thin. Does being thin makes you feel more at ease? More pressured to be perfect? More exposed and vulnerable? The point is that maybe an overweight woman may feel less motivated to lose weight if the extra pounds are providing protection or the feeling that men want her for reasons other than their body. For whatever benefit you are getting from being fat, find a way to get that benefit regardless of your weight. That way you can lose weight without hindrance.

I think being fat is a result of the intake of more calories than I have expended over a period of time. To lose weight I just need to intake fewer calories than I expend from now on, right? I wish it were that simple, but there definitely is an emotional component to consider. I agree with the book that being fat is about protection. (like from creepy men) Should I wear all black on days when I want to hide out? Should I lift lots of weights and be too tough to appear vulnerable? Should I find a wonderful, loving man to be my bodyguard? Weight loss is not just about shrinking fat cells, but it is about emotions, self-esteem, and social constraints as well.

Blink!

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
I really enjoyed this book because the research is interdisciplinary, as the topic applies to every point of view. In Blink!, Gladwell describes how when someone is an expert in their field, they can reach a point where they can know complex information in two seconds, or the blink of an eye. For instance, the marriage counselor who knew by seeing a couple talk, how long their marriage will last, or the food-tasters who can immediately tell the ingredients in a soup. It also talks about times where those who should be experts get the information wrong, such as cops in New York who shot a man, thinking he was pulling a gun, when he was getting out his wallet.

This book changed my way of thinking, making me more aware of my own intuition, and the kind of information I pick up in just a few seconds. I became more aware of when experts are feeling me out. Now I am a little more forgiving of those who seem to make a snap judgement about me. Maybe we all do it. To really be able to get a piece of information from a split second and be correct, takes a lot of time and expertise.

Divine Secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood

By Rebecca Wells,1996
Would I recommend this book for a book club? Definitely.

This is a novel about a mother and a daughter, friendships and reconciliation with the past. It takes place in Catholic central Louisiana. The daughter has difficulty moving forward in her relationship until she is able to forgive her mother. She discovers truths about herself by learning the truth about her mother in the scrapbook of divine secrets made by the four friends, the ya-yas.

This book reminded me of the importance of the sensual in life, like eating spicy home-cooked food, swimming in a cold lake, laughing with friends, smelling the the scents from the flower garden. I wanted to take in the sights, sounds and scents, that a good life has to offer. So I went and got a massage as a Christmas present to myself. I needed to slow down and feel. But now I'm back to normal again, trying to strike a balance between feeling good and being good. You can go too far either way. In the book piety is taken too far and so the characters favor only the sensual.

Welcome to my blog

Welcome to the creme-de-la-krem book review. After I graduated from college I made it a goal to read a book every week. As a result, I have read many books, some of which I really liked. I would like to share my findings with you.