“They find our bodies repulsive.” On episode 96 of Overthink, Ellie and David bring on Dr. Kate Manne, philosopher and author of Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia. She explains the moral failures and biomedical perils of our fatphobic culture and its misleading imperative to diet. This look at the politics of fat, fatness, and fatphobia in the philosophical canon and beyond to reveal rich links to questions of accessibility, justice, and intimacy. Should we trust the BMI (Body Mass Index) as a measure of health? Is the future in Ozempic? Why are we encouraged to see our body’s biological need for nutrition as “food noise”? And what might it take to hear the music of our human bodily diversity?
Overthink is a philosophy podcast hosted by your favorite new professors, Ellie Anderson (Pomona College) and David Peña-Guzmán (San Francisco State University). Check out our episodes for deep dives into concepts such as existential anxiety, empathy, and gaslighting.
Works Discussed
Paul Campos, The Obesity Myth
Ancel Keys, et al., “Indices of relative weight and obesity”
Adolphe Quetelet, On Man and the Development of His Faculties
Sabrina Strings, Fearing the Black Body
Audre Lorde, A Piece of Light
Thomas Nagel, “Free Will”
Kate Manne, Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia
Overthink ep 27. From Body Positivity to Fat Feminism (feat. Amelia Hruby)
Follow Dr. Kate Manne on Substack!