give some damned deconstruction!

[cassidyrose]

There was an article posted on "fat_feminist" about Kirstie Alley and her dread show "Fat Actress". My response:

I should note that while I found this article interesting, I was sorely disappointed at the lack of true deconstruction of the show by the author. I read the article when it came out in print, and re-reading it here has not changed my mind.

"Fat Actress" conflates being fat with being a compulsive over-eater, as well as with being unhappy and pathetic. As a fat dancer who performs professionally and semi-professionally (modern, hip-hop, lyrical, jazz, and burlesque), I can attest to the fact that it *is* possible to parody society's obsession with weight, and even address it head-on, in performance of all kinds without becoming a parody of oneself. Alley has fallen into the all too common trap of "funny fat person"--that is, being the fat person society tolerates because her fat remains something of comedy (or at least pity). Alley seems, and has seemed for years, to be afraid of taking that big step and demanding respect for herself without making a joke out of herself and her size and she is not alone in our society by any means.

But I digress...

Back to my original point of critique, I wanted so much more from the article, but I have been increasing dismayed at the quality of MS.' articles and their general lack of deep and radical analysis of fat-phobia and fat-discrimination.

I had read the article back in June and was so cranky about it I swore I would (probably) never buy Ms. again. It is not the first time Ms. has disappointed me, but this was too much. I don't want watered-down articles made to seem radical because they use academic language. I want articles that really cut-through the crap and don't present half-assed attempts at deconstruction. While by no means perfect, give me Bitch magazine over Ms. any day .

Comments

I'm sad to say

[loracs.livejournal.com]

that MS has not felt like "my" magazine in a long time. I grew up with it as the feminist benchmark I measured every other media against. It validated and explained so much of the confusion I felt as a young woman coming of age in the 1970's. It's wasn't all in my imagination - girls and boys were treated different and even more important it wasn't RIGHT. But it just doesn't get the politics of fat in this culture.

Re: I'm sad to say

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

But it just doesn't get the politics of fat in this culture.

Agreed 100%