Arlena Bateman
T00554734
Reading log #5
History 4250
Tracy Penny Light
February 12, 2018
Jenny Ellison’s article, “Let Me Hear Your Body Talk: Aerobics for Fat Women Only, 1981-1985” focuses on women’s physical appearance and how they feel mentally. There is this preconceived notion of how the “ideal” woman is supposed to look which causes many problems for women who do not fit this mold. This article discusses how aerobics for “fat” women taught by “fat” women allowed accessibility to this demographic. An exercise class that catered to the larger woman allowed them to feel more comfortable among similar body types versus the judgement real or perceived that may have inhibited them from going to a typical class. The overall argument is that women do not have to fit a certain mold in order to be happy in their own body whether small or large. However, perceived judgements does inhibit people from engaging in certain activities as explored in this article.
Thomas Wendelboe’s article, “The Heterosexual Nature of Health and Hygiene Advertisements in the Cold War Era” begins with discussing magazines of celebrities and the impact these images had on society. This article focused on how advertising shifted society to place more emphasis to outward appearances. Idealized bodies became exploited which lead society emulate these “ideal bodies” through various methods. The article touches on women not only engaging in different exercise but also getting surgery in order to improve their outer beauty. The power of advertisements and the implications on society is explored as the ideal body became more “important”. As Wendelboe states, what is being exploited throughout society is an “unattainable ideal.”[1] This shines light on the impact media had on both genders, sports became more focused on men in order for them to represent themselves as masculine and strong. As stated, “Images of man as womanizer and man as hunter, whether distinct or overlapping, were supplemented by images of man as athlete.”[2] This article in contrast to Jenny Ellison’s article, “Let Me Hear Your Body Talk: Aerobics for Fat Women Only, 1981-1985” which focused on how to encourage mental health and to be happy in your own body instead reveals the power media has over people’s ideals. Both do address how outward appearance affects behaviour in society. These articles shine a light on how celebrities and media exploit the ideal figure and the challenges people face while trying to live up to this unrealistic expectation.
Sara Payne’s chapter “Outside the Walls of the Asylum? Psychiatric treatment in the 1980s and 1990s” discusses the contributing factors that caused the shift away from asylums towards providing care within the community. It examines the many challenges with such a shift, such as how the mentally ill had to convert from being isolated to being integrated back into society. It revealed the difficulty in deeming who was safe and who wasn’t, as well as the communities response to the release of mentally ill patients into their communities.[3] The article explores how this fear grew within communities who felt certain mentally ill patients were too dangerous to be released. It also showed how the shift from asylums to communities placed even more responsibilities on the family members of those with mental illness. These challenges caused more stress and strain on the family in trying to provide proper care and keep them safe. Of course, there is such a wide spectrum to mental illness and obviously some were able to care for themselves, although, more severe cases needed constant monitoring which proved more difficult outside the asylums.
Bibliography:
Ellison, Jenny, “‘Let Me Hear Your Body Talk’: Aerobics for Fat Women Only, 1981-1985,” in Cheryl Krasnick Warsh (Ed), Gender, Health and Popular Culture: Historical Perspectives, Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2011: 193-214.
Payne, Sarah. “Outside the Walls of the Asylum? Psychiatric treatment in the 1980s and 1990s.” In Outside the Walls of the Asylum: The History of Care in the Community 1750-2000, London: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Wendelboe, Thomas, “The Heterosexual Nature of Health and Hygiene Advertisements” in Penny Light, et.al, “Introduction,” in Bodily Subjects: Essays on Gender and Health, 1800-2000, Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015: 245-267.
Endnotes:
[1] Thomas Wendelboe, “The Heterosexual Nature of Health and Hygiene Advertisements” in Penny Light, et.al, “Introduction,” in Bodily Subjects: Essays on Gender and Health, 1800-2000, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015), 251.
[2] Ibid, 255.
[3] Sarah Payne, “Outside the Walls of the Asylum? Psychiatric treatment in the 1980s and 1990s.” In Outside the Walls of the Asylum: The History of Care in the Community 1750-2000, (London: Cambridge University Press, 1999).
