I am glad these two readings were shorter than some of
the previous readings that we had. I understood these two readings more because
they both related to problems that are being faced right now with obesity and masculinity.
The core concept that I viewed was present in both readings was the concept of
Audience.
The concept of audience focuses on how people might
understand the message differently than other people. In Fat Is a Feminist Issue, Susie Orbach talks about how obesity is
only present in females. Orbach says that females become obese in order to
contradict the normal stereotype about how females should be skinny, tall, and
pretty. Orbach would want a female to be fat and not as appealing in order for
her to feel confident in herself. Not only that, but she wants their fat to say
“‘screw you’ to all who want me to be the perfect mom, sweetheart, [and] maid.”
This can also relates on what I earlier said about how she wanted for females to
contradict the normal stereotype of females. If you think about it, someone
else could pick up this idea and think about it in a different way. They could
think that society wants every female to be fat because that is what the
fashion trend is nowadays. The only thing I found that I could disagree with is
that Orbach said that “fat is a feminist issue.” I would have to disagree with
Orbach, because I have seen several males that are considered to be overweight
or obese. I, myself, am a male and think I am a bit fat, and I’m pretty sure I’m
not a female.
The second reading Having
It His Way: The Construction of Masculinity in Fast-Food TV Advertising, greatly
focuses on the concept of audience. This reading gives many examples featuring
famous fast-food ads that many of us have seen on TV. Many people interpret
these ads in different ways. The overall message present in all of the ads
mentioned is the message of portraying that men love meat. The more meat, the
better the food is. This reading only views this point for the audience it is
trying to catch, which can conclude that these ads are aimed at mostly males
without females having anything to relate to in these ads.
For these particular passages I feel that the purpose of them were to simply give insight on how both men and women were viewed especially in two different generations. The passage about how Fat is a Feminist Issue can be used to show how this issue is still very much relevant now almost 40 years later. Women being slightly or heavily overweight can be seen as a major problem because somehow their weight takes away their “right” to feel or be sexy as a woman. I’m not even sure what the main problem is with women being “too” fat, I don’t know it it’s that overeating is a women’s problem and not a man or if it’s really a problem that gets in the way of woman trying to be a woman. I completely agree with the passage but it just blows my mind reading everything that was true back in 1978 is pretty much the same today in 2015. It’s pretty sad to think about, but I think that’s the purpose of this passage being in this book. I don’t think people truly realize that problems women or hell even men face are nothing new. Especially the “problem” or stereotype men face to be a manly man. I actually find it funny that a man is defined by what he eats. When I step back and really think about it, that’s stupid, incredibly stupid. The thing a man uses to fuel himself and give himself makes him a man or not, that’s really stupid. However once again it shows that 7 years later it’s still an issue somehow, someway. The purpose of both of these passages was for one to show how 30 years apart there are the same issues, and that if that’s the problem, people need to change their mindsets. 30 years from now people will continue to think ignorantly about men and women if their mindset is not changed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of your points, accept I feel that the reading “Fat is a Feminist Issue” isn’t saying that women shouldn’t try to be “appealing”, but that women should understand that they are appealing even if they are not a size 0. Though she does state that some feminist embrace obesity as a way of rebelling from social norms, which is in a way telling women that fat is the way to go seeing as this is written from a strong, bold feminist’s point of view. With that being said, her target audience is most likely her fellow feminists, thus she is representing their perspective on obesity, and telling them to embrace their curves, which also supports your claim. As for your analysis of the second reading “Have it His Way”, I do agree with you statement that women have absolutely nothing relate to within these fast food ads due to the target audience being males. Due to this, I feel both Freeman and Merskin’s target audience in this article is males, for they want males to realize how their favorite fast food industries are stereotyping them. These ladies’ audience may also be fast food industries themselves, in order to get them to see that no, not all males are boneheaded dogs who hound after women and meat, thus they should no longer represent them in such a foul manner. These two women also include other women in this article, showing the readers that women are depicted by fast food industries as weak, speechless, and consumable by men . By including the unjust representation of both men and women in this reading, these authors begin to appeal to a wider range of readers, which makes this reading relatable to all. By the way, I enjoyed reading your concept and key question responses!
ReplyDeleteI pretty much agree with you on your points. When I first started reading “Fat is a Feminist Issue” by Orbach i was like “Uhmmmmm”. The title its self is startling. Because one I don’t think its just a feminist issue??? So right then and there I was turned off, and then when I continued to read it I knew I already didn’t like this passage. She just keeps talking and continues to go in to detail about females being fat, females being overweight. What about the males? Yes females are always more ostracized for being fat than males but that doesn’t mean that males are fat themselves. Everything a female does is frowned upon more than a man. She made the whole paragraph about females and just maybe didn’t think to mention about male facts. However both passages main points were about women and feminist and how food relates back to it. The second passage “Having it his way” by Freeman and Merskin was the better article I thought, They both gave more real life examples and providing evidence that we can actually relate to because its so relevant. The audience for both passages was really anyone I believe. She talks about females but it can definitely be related back to men. The content was more defiantly used better in Freeman and Merskins I thought, however the purpose for both of these passages was primarily the same. Feminism and food!
ReplyDeleteI agree with relatively all your points but when I read "Fat is a Feminist Issue" I too also got the vibe that she was telling women all over to be proud of who you are and to embrace every characteristic of yourself. You are who you are for a reason and no one should tell you otherwise. Not everyone was made to be a size zero and if everyone was on, well it would just be weird. I think she was speaking out to every girl who has ever felt insecure or self conscious about their weight to just be okay with it. Be proud of it. It is 2015 and things are changing. Different is acceptable and frankly should be encouraged. I personally hate to see girls victimize themselves and others. However, in “Have It His Way” I definitely agree that it was majority men in these commercials and women are basically forgotten about, as if we do not eat meat. They are associating it with men precisely because of the stereotype. Society would find it odd if a woman was promoting meat on their T.V. because it is simply unheard of because women are seen as fruit and vegetable eaters which is not the case at all. Although, women do tend to eat healthier than men which is another reason why they take this approach. I think some of these commercials are insulting to men because some men are not like these butch eating, insensitive men they show the T.V. so maybe it is doing them some injustice.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that in Fat Is a Feminist Issue, it only focuses on the obesity in females and their overall self-image. However I don’t think that Orbach wants women to be overweight just to prove a point. She says that some women are overweight to not be seen as pretty on the exterior. That you have todig a little deeper to see the real beauty instead of the outside standards that shift so often. Another thing that you mentioned, about what you disagreed with, confused me a little. Orbach says fat is a feminist issue. You said, “I am not a female,” which is correct, but you can be a male and a feminist. With the way that Orbach structured her essay, it would’ve made sense if she had titled it, “Fat is a Women’s/Women’s Feminist Issue” since she didn’t include men at all. I agreed with everything you said about Have It His Way. The audience and message they were trying was very obvious. Females not being included in these commercials ultimately leads them to having indifferent or negative opinions on these ads, as well as the essay.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the points that you stated. Audience is the core concept behind Fat is a Feminist Issue, and the message of the essay could differ depending on who is reading it. Some might interpret as her saying that obesity is appealing and should be accepted in order to contradict society’s promotion of what it considers an ideal woman. However, it could also be interpreted as telling women to be whatever they want to be regardless of what society tries telling them, even if it means being fat, and that they can be appealing without conforming to what others want them to be. In other words, the author was telling women to be proud of who they are regardless of their appearance. As for Have it Your Way, I also agree that the intended audience of the majority of modern food commercials is men instead of women. The reason why these commercials are mostly directed at men instead of women is because they rely on the stereotype that men must be physically tough and be carnivorous. Because this stereotype is not applied to women, they tend to be ignored in many food commercials. This results in many people from both genders feeling insulted because they are either being stereotyped or are not considered a relevant target audience in these commercials, creating opposition to the commercials from both genders. Because these commercials mistreat both genders for different reasons, the essay’s audience ends up comprising a large variety of people.
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