Mrs. Livingston and the Critic

Current Event Link: http://shine.yahoo.com/visit-britain-us/overweight-news-anchor-takes-fat-shaming-bully-task-193700343.html.

Jennifer Livingston is a reporter for WKBT-TV. In October of this year an audience member wrote a pretty scathing letter to Mrs. Livingston having to do with her weight. In this letter the audience member told her that she should stop doing her job because of her unhealthy body weight. He believed that she was setting a bad example for the community. Mrs. Livingston backfired during her morning show where she went into full details about how children are bullied in school due to their weight. She also describes how they should deal with these prejudices against those of a larger size.

This is exactly what we are talking about when we are discussing biological determinism. A person’s biology or genetic makeup is considered what determines someone’s destiny. That is such malarky. We need to realize as a society that we are not just about what fat is in our body. There are other factors like culture and society. There is this “beauty” ideal that our society holds. In this ideal we are expected to live up to what our society believes is attractive in the west. In this case Western tells us that busty, skinny, and blond is the way to be. People like this man who is writing this letter needs to realize that his harmful words (in a weaker person than Mrs. Livingston) could lead to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.

In Analysis there are so many systems of oppression from the system that it is not even funny. We are taught when we are growing up through magazines, newspapers, and our family that not being skinny is wrong. How many times has your mother said that she is fat and needs to lose weight? Those things get passed on to your kids when you say those things. In addition, every magazine out there has skinny girls in designer clothes. We need to teach kids that their health is more important than their body weight. In addition, all these institutions are selling diet pills. Some gyms in Hollywood are told not to let their clients know if they are underweight so that the gym can make more money. The sell is that it is no matter how unhealthy you are in your diet; as long as you are skinny you are considered healthy. This is so wrong.

My synthesis is that it is not being overweight that is a disease. It is society that has put this disease in our heads. We are good people if we are good people. It does not matter whether we are skinny or have a little fat on our bones. Nonetheless we get treated as completely different human beings. It is time that we realized that the inherit goodness in people is all that matters. We need to stop these stigmas about weight. EVERYONE is trying to lose weight no matter how thin. It is sad. All that time could be spent doing something amazing and being amazing. It is time we teach our kids this lesson.

Mrs. Livingston was absolutely right. People like the one who wrote the letter needs to know that the hurt and hate he is forcing on other people is a result of his feelings about himself. This man should be an adult and a good example for children. Instead he is focusing more on the outside than the inside. His judgments are becoming part of someone else’s life and that is unfair. Be kind and caring. Don’t be critical and hurt people. It’s as simple as that.

-Rachael Belcher