If Oprah Winfrey can’t win when it comes to weight loss, nobody can

October 4, 2024 10:19 PM

“We know this because of Oprah, because of the Kardashians, because of all these people who are continuing to pursue Westernized beauty, that there is no top where you get to safety” “There will always be something else. If it’s not your weight, it is going to be aging. There’s always something.”

Comments and criticisms you make about other people’s bodies also influence the way you feel about your own body, Conason said.

posted by Francies (11 comments total)

"Stop talking about other people’s bodies" (header in the article), what amazing advice! I think of all the complex ways that cultures of food and aesthetics become normativized, colonialism and other power structures, how that is born into the "science" of what is "health" (science is a set of facts about the natural world, but the practice of science - what we choose to investigate and interpret it - can be very political), gender/racial/ethnic/national-violence,... and how much of that could just (start to be) be remedied with "Stop talking about other people’s bodies."
posted by rubatan at 10:48 PM on October 4 [7 favorites]

I had to nope out of this article when it showed the giant bag of animal fat that opera dragged on stage to demonstrate her weight loss, which is a shame as it sounded interesting
posted by The River Ivel at 2:09 AM on October 5

I know it was autocorrect that wrote opera for Oprah but jeez, how serendipitously cool was that?
posted by y2karl at 5:27 AM on October 5 [1 favorite]

Probably been mentioned before, but the podcast Maintenance Phase talks about weight loss culture and as you can imagine, Oprah comes up a lot. For instance, they did an entire episode about the facts and cultural impact of the "Wagon of fat" episode. Highly recommended.
posted by Laura Palmer's Cold Dead Kiss at 6:55 AM on October 5 [12 favorites]

The world is rubber and you are glue....
posted by eustatic at 7:24 AM on October 5

Oprah has in fact long been the most glaringly obvious evidence of how fucked up are our society's ideas about body size and people's control over it. Someone who has basically unlimited resources of time and money cannot get thin and make it stick: does the world draw the obvious lesson? Anyway I am pleased that TFA agrees with my preculsions.

I want to second @rubatan's shoutout ("Stop talking about other peoples' bodies").
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 10:34 AM on October 5 [10 favorites]

As someone who has lost a decent amount of weight I have thoughts on this.

1. I never judge anyone else for their body size.

2. I think basic caloric science should be shared widely, and more caloric labels are needed everywhere.

3. Capitalism makes it damn near impossible to get good nutrition for anyone. From the cost and availability of food to the pressures of commuting to work and sacrificing your lunch hour, the entire system is stacked against everyone when it comes to eating sensibly.
posted by Brodiggitty at 3:57 PM on October 5 [4 favorites]

How would someone with the obligations and demands of Oprah have "unlimited time" compared to someone not running a media empire?
posted by Dark Messiah at 11:01 AM on October 7

Compared to people with regular jobs, Oprah:
-does not cook her own meals
-does not clean her own house
-does not have to do anything for her job she doesn't want to do
-is entirely able to set her own schedule
-really has absolutely no obligations at all to anybody unless she chooses to
posted by hydropsyche at 5:21 PM on October 7 [3 favorites]

@hydropsyche thanks for pointing out the obvious.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 7:15 AM on October 8

Even if you reach the body size that society deems ideal, the goalposts move to pressure you to achieve the right body shape

[nods in uncomfortable minimizer bra]
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:46 AM on October 8