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Fat Studies Reader Sneak Preview
Nov. 30th, 2006 12:05 pmI have a chapter, "Why Fat Girls Need Fiction," in The Fat Studies Reader, edited by Sondra Solovay and Esther Rothblum, which was referred to in the New York Times article last weekend, and so recently got a chance to see the chapter outline. It is very, very exciting.
Many changes could happen during the publishing process (and so chapters might be cut or added), but, right now, it's got a breadth and depth that suggests that it could be a key part of the foundation for a sophisticated and persuasive critique of the way fatness is currently perceived and reacted to in the dominant culture. More people might actually get it this time, or at least see grounds for debate.
A lot of credit is due to the long term commitment and the very deep, very active expertise on issues of fatness in terms of theory and also on the frontlines of being fat and alive in the world as we know it on the part of both the editors. If anyone doesn't know who Sondra Solovay and Esther Rothblum are and what some of their work around fat has been, it's worth a visit both to Google and the bookstore, and those are trips you can take now, before the new Reader is out.
The book as it currently stands has an introduction by Marilyn Wann, and contributions by Deborah Burgard, Glenn Gaesser, Laura Fraser and Charlotte Cooper, just to name a few. (Look 'em up!) It's got a chapter called "Does social class explain the connection between weight and health?" by neuroscientist Paul Ernsberger, and a section with Esther Rothblum and Elana Dykewomon talking about why fat women haven't organized to the same extent as other oppressed groups. There are sections on literature, history, public health, the international context, legal studies and civil rights, again, to name a few.
Anticipation? You bet!
Many changes could happen during the publishing process (and so chapters might be cut or added), but, right now, it's got a breadth and depth that suggests that it could be a key part of the foundation for a sophisticated and persuasive critique of the way fatness is currently perceived and reacted to in the dominant culture. More people might actually get it this time, or at least see grounds for debate.
A lot of credit is due to the long term commitment and the very deep, very active expertise on issues of fatness in terms of theory and also on the frontlines of being fat and alive in the world as we know it on the part of both the editors. If anyone doesn't know who Sondra Solovay and Esther Rothblum are and what some of their work around fat has been, it's worth a visit both to Google and the bookstore, and those are trips you can take now, before the new Reader is out.
The book as it currently stands has an introduction by Marilyn Wann, and contributions by Deborah Burgard, Glenn Gaesser, Laura Fraser and Charlotte Cooper, just to name a few. (Look 'em up!) It's got a chapter called "Does social class explain the connection between weight and health?" by neuroscientist Paul Ernsberger, and a section with Esther Rothblum and Elana Dykewomon talking about why fat women haven't organized to the same extent as other oppressed groups. There are sections on literature, history, public health, the international context, legal studies and civil rights, again, to name a few.
Anticipation? You bet!