For immediate release: December 7, 1998
Contact: Teresa Thomas, (412) 268-3580, [email protected]
Flockhart's Thin Might Be "In," Says Author of Book about U.S. Fat History
PITTSBURGH--Why is Calista Flockhart, star of the television show Ally McBeal so thin? While only she knows for sure, part of the reason her waif-like thinness is "in" can be traced to a strong American hostility toward fat, says Peter N. Stearns, a social historian at Carnegie Mellon University who is the author of "Fat History."
"Fat History: Bodies and Beauty in the Modern West" provides the "skinny" on our obsession with dieting and fat. And it tells us why Americans are more concerned about weight gain than other societies.
"People around the world pick the same kind of faces and, to an extent, the same kind of bodies as beautiful, but only up to a point," Stearns says. "New research suggests that beauty standards do change, with a very slender female form currently rated among the top three most desirable types. "We've upped the ante on thinness. The weight issue is now a central one for young people in cultures like the United States. In fact, it appears that the ardent preaching of experts, pitchmen and fashion gurus has created a culture of weight control with suprising momentum and a real hostility toward fat," he adds. In his book, Stearns describes the changes in values, behaviors and U.S. culture that cause us to focus on calories. "Fat History" also traces the relatively modern trend of pursuing thinness in American society and contrasts it with the attitudes the French people have about dieting and thinness. Stearns says our concern about weight and diet has fairly modern origins in this century.
Here are some of the questions "Fat History" addresses:
...Why have Americans become obsessed with dieting and developed a real hostility toward fat?
...Why are people from the French and other cultures able to stay thinner than we do in the U.S., despite their appreciation for fine food?
.....Has weight become the modern dividing line for the "haves" and "have-nots" in American society?
....Has weight been transformed in the United States from a symbol of health and well being to a sign of moral, psychological and physical disorder?
For many years, Stearns has devoted his time to the exploration of research topics not previously open to historical analysis, such as old age, masculinity and emotions. "Fat History" is an unconventional behavioral history in the tradition of his previous 60 books. It uses anecdotes and sources such as Ebony, Gourmet, Lancome beauty product advertising and conventional sources like Journal of the American Medical Association reports to tell the story of fat's transformation in our society.
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