Fifteen for Section 15 #4 What makes a great athlete? For me, it is someone who is accomplished but who has also shaped or changed the cultural conversation in some way. In his book Celebrity: Fame in Contemporary Culture, David Marshall likens the place of the “celebrity” in contemporary culture to Roland Barthes’ conception of
Author: thejennye
Barbara Ann Scott: No Fragile Mamet
Fifteen for Section 15, #3 Written accounts of Barbara Ann Scott, the 1947 and 1948 European and World Champion women’s figure skater, and 1948 Olympic gold medalist, offered exhausting descriptions of her appearance. A 1948 Time magazine attempt extended to a paragraph: Barbara Ann, with a peaches-and-cream complexion, saucer-size blue eyes and a rosebud mouth,
The Runners (1907): Leaky Hegemony
Fifteen for Section 15, #2 The City of Toronto has many great archival images of sport, but this one of women running on Toronto Island c. 1907 is my favourite. I love it because of the juxtaposition of the runners’ clothing with their facial expressions. The runners’ determination is clear from the strain on the
Fifteen for Section 15 (& Nine for IX)
This summer ESPN released nine documentaries about women’s sport, in honour of the thirtieth anniversary of Title IX. Title IX is a section of the Education Amendments Act (USA, 1972) that requires federally funded schools to provide equal opportunities to girls and boys. Applied to sport, this provision has resulted in increased opportunities and funding
Canadian Bulletin of Medical History, Issue 30.1
An image from one of my projects is featured on the cover of the current issue of the Canadian Bulletin of Medical History (30.1). It is an illustration by Dr. Ingrid Laue who was the editor of “The Bolster, ” the newsletter of Vancouver fat acceptance organization Large as Life (LAL). LAL was active in
Why I’m not surprised by the Geoffrey Miller Twitter controversy
Earlier this week Geoffrey Miller, a Stanford-educated NYU lecturer with a permanent appointment at the University of New Mexico, tweeted the following: “Dear obese PhD applicants: if you didn’t have the willpower to stop eating carbs, you won’t have the willpower to do a dissertation #truth” Miller subsequently deleted the tweet, apologized, and has since
Ethics of “Obesity Epidemic” to be Examined at International Workshop
A group of 20 international experts on obesity will gather in Kitchener-Waterloo on the weekend of October 20-21, to share insights into the social and cultural dimensions of obesity in Canada. Attendees will reflect on the ethical and equity issues that arise in the treatment of people deemed obese. “As the obesity epidemic and critical
Betty Draper Joins Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers (WW) was created by Jean Nidetch, a self-described “fat housewife.” Nidetch felt embarrassed and ashamed about her weight, especially after a bad experience with a “skinny nazi” diet instructor at a New York “obesity” clinic. Nidetch felt it would be less intimidating to diet with her friends and so she organized a support
International Women’s Day
I am preparing a talk for International Women’s Day (IWD) on fat activism. Why does it exist and why does it matter? In casting about for a way to explain this to members of the Mount Allison community, I came across this quote from Breakfast of Champions. I think it is a good one. I
The Fat Studies Journal, vol. 1, 1.
The first issue of The Fat Studies Journal is now available in print and online. I’ve contributed a review article on exercise options for fat people, and I’m very pleased to be part of this new project. Building on The Fat Studies Reader (2010), the FSJ will examine the historical, social and cultural fascination with