Yesterday in class, Ms. Bailey mentioned that several of the topics we discuss in class tend to touch on one common theme: medicine tends to overlap into the world of what a healthy, "normal" person should look like. Rather than focus on the serious health risks of obesity, like having high blood pressure or kidney problems, popular culture relies on negative perceptions of fatness to try and influence societal perceptions of what is a "normal" weight.
The first example I can think of regarding our culture's true priorities is the popularity of one of my favorite drinks, Diet Coke. Why do so many people drink it? I do not believe Diet Coke's revenue relies on the money of people concerned with true health. We drink it because it tastes good, has caffeine, and (most importantly) has zero calories. Do we care that some medical professionals think it might create carcinogens while in the body or that ingested aspartame creates methanol, also found in antifreeze? Of course not. We won't gain any weight! Diet Coke, while delicious, illustrates the point that although society claims to value health, it really values non-fatness. Any health risks that may come as a result of attempted thinness are only secondary.
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The example of the popularity of diet coke is a good illustration of how society has caused itself to become so image driven. Even looking at the amount of late night TV commercials promoting diet loss pills, all the focus is on the loss of weight and the image associated with being skinny and "fit." Note how "fit" is in quotations since losing weight by just popping a pill probably doesn't offer the same health benefits or toned muscles as actually exercising and losing weight. This brings up the issue of whether or not the risk factors associated with increased weight is a result of the weight or the lifestyle.
I think products like Diet Coke and quick fixes to lose weight just highlight how much of an image-driven society we are. As a result, it facilitates the creation of inaccurate stereotypes that can be subconsciously used to discriminate individuals (for example, their weight and how that relates to their decision-making skills and neatness which could in turn affect whether they are hired for a job, etc.)
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