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.