Fat liberation theology

Liberation theology is branching out. The newest addition to this burgeoning field, after black liberation theology, feminist liberation theology, and gay liberation theology, appears to be fat liberation theology.

This is in line with a broader cultural movement, particularly in the United States, campaigning for the liberation and societal recognition of fat people. Similar to the homosexuals who adopted the pejorative "queer" others had labelled them with, the movement of overweight and obese men and women wears with pride the stigma "fat".

That this "fat acceptance" or "fat liberation" movement is increasingly becoming mainstream could be seen at the recent Academy Awards. Not only was the, as they say, "morbidly obese" Gabourey Sidibe nominated as Best Actress for her role in the small independent film "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire", but her only slightly less heavy co-star Mo'Nique actually won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the same film.

In theology, this ties in with a book called "The Fat Jesus: Christianity and Body Image" by Lisa Isherwood (Seabury, 2008):

www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=3339

Publisher's description: "We are living in a food and body image obsessed culture. We are encouraged to over-consume by the marketing and media that surround us and then berated by those same forces for doing so. At the same time, we are bombarded with images of unnaturally thin celebrities who go to enormous lengths to retain an unrealistic body image, either by extremes of dieting or through plastic surgery or both. The spiritual realm is not immune from these pressures, as can be seen in the flourishing of biblically and faith based weight loss programs that encourage women to lose weight physically and gain spiritually.

"Isherwood examines this environment in light of Christian tradition, which has often had a difficult relationship with sexuality and embodiment and which has promoted ideals of restraint and asceticism. She argues that part of the reason for our current obsession and bizarre treatment of issues around weight, size and looks is that secular society has unknowingly absorbed many of its negative attitudes towards the body from its Christian heritage. Isherwood argues powerfully that there are resources within Christianity that can free us from this thinking, and lead us towards a more holistic, incarnational view of what it is to be human. The Fat Jesus provides a fascinating study of the complex ways that food, women and religion interconnect, and proposes a theology of embrace and expansion emphasizing the fullness of our incarnation."

Lisa Isherwood is Professor of Feminist Liberation Theologies at the University of Winchester and Vice President of the European Society of Women in Theological Research.

A blog by a Washington State pastoral psychotherapist explicitly promotes fat liberation theology:

http://kataphatic.wordpress.com/

Also interesting: "The Fat Studies Reader", edited by Esther Rothblum and Sondra Solovay, with a foreword by Marilyn Wann (New York University Press, 2009):

www.nyupress.org/books/The_Fat_Studies_Reader-products_id-11104.html

Reviews: "In the US, where two-thirds of the population are overweight or obese, [...] The Fat Studies Reader argues the problem is not obesity per se but the way it is presented in culture. Sociologists point to a 'societal fat phobia' which engenders prejudice against the obese – and argue that this prejudice is tolerated by those who would never dream of making racist or sexist remarks." ("The Independent")

"With a winning audacity, The Fat Studies Reader announces its intention to serve as the foundation of a new academic field. Its editors present convincing voices from law, medicine, social sciences and the humanities, making it difficult to dismiss their case that the time has come for fat studies." ("Ms. Magazine"; here and above italics originally bold)

"Fat studies is an arena where the personal, political and scientific converge, and with this book, readers can mount an informed challenge to the medical construction of obesity and size, the diet industry, insurance companies, public policy and popular culture .... It may be too soon for the movement to offer utopian alternatives, but these essays offer a rich supply of tools for the activist and scholar willing to start the revolution." ("Publishers Weekly")

Esther Rothblum is Professor of Women's Studies at San Diego State University.

Sondra Solovay is Adjunct Professor of Law at John F. Kennedy University and at San Francisco Law School.

Film: L'Chayim, Comrade Stalin!

The other Jewish homeland: "L'Chayim, Comrade Stalin!" is a 2002 US documentary film by Yale Strom portraying the Jewish Autonomous Region (Oblast) that formed part of the former Soviet Union and is still in existence in today's Russia.

Synopsis: "In April 1928, twenty years before the founding of Israel, Joseph Stalin created the world's first Jewish homeland in the Soviet Union, in a barren stretch of land on Siberia's Far Eastern border. Although conceived as a solution to the 'Jewish problem,' The Jewish Autonomous Region (or J.A.R.), became a center for Yiddish culture and tradition, and was the first place in the world where Yiddish culture thrived. The J.A.R. attracted Jewish settlers from across the Soviet Union and even as far away as the United States, Argentina, and Palestine. By 1948 the Jewish population had peaked at 45,000 (roughly one-quarter of the region's total demographics). The J.A.R. was home to Yiddish schools, theaters, publications and synagogues. Filmed on location in Birobidzhan, capital of the Jewish Autonomous Region, L'CHAYIM, COMRADE STALIN! features interviews with pioneer settlers and current residents, plus footage never before seen outside Russia (as well as the rare propaganda film Seekers of Happiness). This beautifully directed and startling work offers a fascinating glimpse into the most intriguing chapter in 20th century Jewish and Russian histories." (They may be overdoing the hype there ...)

Reviews: "It's rare that historical documentaries aspire to, much less attain, any kind of narrative vigor – the stories are generally too familiar. But 'L'Chayim, Comrade Stalin!' is a bold exception, replete with surprises, twists and thought-provoking anecdotes." ("Boxoffice Magazine")

"Energetic and informative, albeit more than a little haphazard, Yale Strom's new documentary explores [...] a Russian social experiment that sounds as fantastical as any science-fiction script. [...] Stalin got the notion of disposing of Russia's problematic Jews by encouraging them to move to Birobidzhan and become a Yiddish-speaking agrarian proletariat. The Belgium-sized area he selected [...] was closer to Korea than to Moscow. It soon became known to other Russians as 'a very small Jewish town at the end of the world.'" ("Los Angeles Times")

"Like Strom's earlier docs, L'Chayim Comrade Stalin is best appreciated as an exercise in creative ethnography." ("Village Voice")

May not be the best film imaginable on the subject, but it appears to be the only one that actually exists.