Media and Research Roundup - November 2022
Meme shows three pictures with snowflakes around them. At the top reads, "Media and Research Roundup - November 2022". Below are a picture of a COVID-19 warning sign, a picture of fat people splashing in a pool (Source: Unsplash-Allgo), and a thin woman fat shaming a fat man who is ignoring her statements.
By Bill and Terri Weitze
CONTENT WARNING: Some articles featured in the Media & Research Roundup may refer to stigmatizing events or use stigmatizing language.
For the latest information and research on fatness, check out the Media & Research Roundup. This issue features: NAAFA's Chair, Tigress Osborn, responds to Kanye West's incorrect and anti-fat comments about Lizzo's weight; Was COVID's severity due to fat being a risk factor or was it poor medical treatment of fat folx?; Coverage of a fat-positive summer camp experience called Camp Roundup; and more!
October 20, 2022: After Kanye West made incorrect and fatphobic comments about Lizzo's weight; Newsweek asked for response from the fat community, including Tigress Osborn, about why we cannot simply ignore statements like these.
https://www.newsweek.com/lizzo-defended-fat-acceptance-activists-after-kanye-wests-remarks-1752930
October 21, 2002: Was being fat a risk factor for severe COVID-19 or was the true risk poor medical treatment of fat people? A panel discusses the history of fatness as well as how American society feels about it.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-f-word
October 22, 2022: Taylor Swift is being accused of using a fatphobic image in her new music video. While it is clear that using a scale with a readout of "FAT" is about her eating disorder struggles, some feel that having a thin woman on a scale that says "FAT" is unnecessary and insensitive.
https://www.dailydot.com/irl/taylor-swift-anti-hero-fatphobic/
October 22, 2022: The Hill writes about airline passenger seating in conjunction with the FAA's request for public comments on setting a minimum standard for seating (as covered in the October 2022 NAAFA Newsletter). The date for comments expired November 1, 2022.
https://thehill.com/homenews/3695959-the-faa-wants-your-opinion-on-the-size-of-airplane-seats-but-the-deadline-is-fast-approaching
https://www.regulations.gov/document/FAA-2022-1001-0001
October 23, 2022: Something magical happened over Labor Day weekend in Ohio. Two friends put together a summer camp experience for fat women, called Camp Roundup. Enjoy the story and the many photos.
https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2022/10/23/1129829865/camp-roundup-celebrates-body-positivity
October 24, 2022: Two groups of weight loss surgeons are hoping that insurance companies will approve more surgeries under the new guidelines they've developed. Not surprisingly, the new guidelines make the controversial surgery available to many more people.
https://news.yahoo.com/guidelines-expand-eligibility-weight-loss-103008265.html
November 3, 2022: Everyday Health provides nine tips for how to handle situations where you feel your body is being judged by someone else.
https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/tips-for-coping-when-someones-words-insult-your-body
November 10, 2022: New York Times Magazine follows Sharon Maxwell's recovery journey as a person with atypical anorexia. Atypical anorexia, which can take years to be diagnosed, is the same as anorexia except the person has a larger body.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/magazine/anorexia-obesity-eating-disorder.html
November 10, 2022: Without any supporting evidence that it improves an athlete's performance, many colleges and universities are tracking the body fat percentages of its female athletes and pushing for ever lower numbers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/sports/college-athletes-body-fat-women.html
Pic is of Terri and Bill Weitze, a Caucasian couple, both wearing glasses
Terri and Bill Weitze have been active within NAAFA for years, and they currently coauthor the Media and Research Roundup in the NAAFA Newsletter. They both live and work in Michigan, and met through a fat-positive bulletin board system before the days of the World Wide Web.