Monday, February 9, 2015

Nutritional Gender Norms


“Fat Is a Feminist Issue” and “Having It His Way” are two essays that highlight  how media have embedded certain values and points of view. Though the two essays approach their issues from different points of view, one which explains how media controls our views on nutritional gender roles, and another that exemplifies how these norms effect society, they share the same content. “Fat Is a Feminist Issue” by Susie Orbach argues that the primary reason women tend to suffer from compulsive eating, which causes weight gain and countless self-image issues, is to express resilience against the societal expectations of perfection. Orbach writes “My fat says “Screw You” to all who want me to be the perfect mom, sweetheart, (and) maid” which illustrates her belief that women purposely put on pounds in the name of feminism. “Having It His Way: The Construction of Masculinity in Fast-Food TV Advertising” by Carrie Packwood Freeman and Debra Merskin, touches on the same subject of health and nutrition’s roles in gender norms, but from a different perspective. While Orbach’s main point is that healthy = ideal female, Freeman and Merskin argue that meat = ultimate masculinity in today’s American society. Freeman and Merskin support their accusations with examples that we come across everyday, but may not notice. These underlying expectations that men must eat primarily meat and drink beer, despite the resulting unhealthy lifestyle, are evident in advertisements for food products that are considered “masculine.” Freeman and Merskin dissected several TV commercials that not only exhibited, but idolized sex, power, and violence. One that stood out to me was a Burger King ad that showed “a man (who) inspires a crowd of men to march in the streets to reclaim their right to eat meat instead of “chick food.”” The commercial went as far as to play a mocked rendition of the feminist song “I Am Woman Hear me Roar,” which they changed to read “Eat like a man, man.” I believe that this commercial serves as  a strong example of how the expectation that men are supposed do manly things, like eat meat, can threaten feminism. Defining meat as a masculine trait that equates to strength and power sends the message that women, who aren’t necessarily supposed to eat meat, are weak and passive.

3 comments:

  1. I agree with your summary and comparison of the two texts, but I would like to expand on the CML’s Core Concepts in the two texts. There’s something that I found in “Having It His Way” that I really admire. Often when I read texts, the author (or I suppose multiple authors in this case) will not openly admit in the outright their bias and values. However in this texts the two author overtly admit their values that influence their analysis in the actual text: “Our analysis is influenced by our roles as feminists, vegetarians, and environmentalists.” This is the Core Concept of content within a text which displays the authors’ values and influence. In the They Say, I Say textbook, the author put a small biography of the author who’s writing any given essay or subtext. This can really help one really understand who the author is and where they are coming from in the argument. This is especially true in the case of “Fat is a Feminist Issue.” Susie Orbach is involved in an organization “that promotes body diversity” which is called “Anybody.” This helps the reader to see the “content” and “purpose” of the text. Because we know that she is involved with this organization, it will be easier to see that the values she has will be share with the organization. And here purpose will most likely be similarly related to the purpose of the organization: promote body diversity and educating the public on body diversity and the issues women face with regards to the perception of their bodies.

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  2. I agree with the claim that from the perspective of Carrie Peckerwood and Debra Merskin men and meat are a threat to feminism. To expand on this idea, I would go as far as to suggest that it is crucial to analyze their audience. They illustrate early on that their collective perspectives are that of feminists, environmentalists, and vegetarians. This blatant statement already creates for the reader a bias text whether or not they are for or against the claim. When reading the text you find that it is even more biased than initially presumed, as those expert witnesses, that they use as evidence, are only those who make up of those categories or explicitly agree with their point. On the other hand, those who do not necessarily agree with the opinion of the two authors, are left to be somewhat berated and shamed for their disagreements. The argument seems to be framed in such a way that those who have belief of the opposition, are foolish. This is evidenced by the long narrative of the analysis of the fast food commercials. They unravel the comedic nature that made the commercials so likeable to begin with, and instead paint a chauvinistic scene of macho meatheads behind the very foundations of the commercials as well as the corporations. I believe it would have made a more convincing argument had they offered some concessions to disprove. Although the authors may or may not be absolutely right regarding their claim, it comes off as a rant rather than an effective use of persuasion.

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  3. I most definitely agree with this blog. Everything she pointed out was correct and i think very many people will agree with her. However, i’d like to specifically talk about one of the CML core concepts. I’d really like to focus on on who created this message ( authorship). Like Ashlyn was saying about how media and society have embedded values and how men and women should act into their minds. In the, “ Fat is the Feminist Issue” reading there was many things that were pointed out to express how society has embedded values in womens heads. For example, Orbach was saying how many magazines have diet columns in them. But if you dig deeper beyond the text, from personal experience i've also seen covers of magazines exploit women and their flaws. Specifically focusing on if a women has cellulite or if a women is too skinny. When women see these things they start to get stressed and that tends to cause overeating and obesity. They feel as if they aren't as skinny as these women are preserved to be, then they are fat. Orbach says, “ every woman's goal is physical fitness and beauty.” In, “ Having it his way,” Advertising and fast food commercials have really created the message like Ashlyn said, that men eating meat and drinking beer makes them manly. This also brings us back to the nutritional issues that people have today. Merskins digged really deep into certain commercials to show how much they have contributed to gender norms in itself. Also when she talks about how history has also played a huge role in this by talking about how men used to hunt for meat which was a very high value for many cultures back then. The passage says, “ Because of this history of men as meat-eaters, the men of today who eschew meat often face stigmatization of being labeled as effeminate.”

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