Fat Is a Social Justice Issue, Too

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Cooper Stoll
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
The United States ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
Discrimination In Employment ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Politics ◽  
Employment Education

Empirical evidence continues to show that like other historically marginalized groups, fat people experience discrimination in employment, education, the media, politics, interpersonal relationships, and especially health care. Yet, despite the fact that fatphobia in the United States has always been intimately connected to other systems of oppression like sexism, racism, and classism, those of us who identify as critical sociologists so often exclude it from our analyses. We fail to acknowledge that fat is a social justice issue, too. In this article, I argue that fatphobia is a system of oppression worthy of greater theoretical and empirical consideration in humanist sociology. I begin by providing a brief history of the ways fat has been pathologized and medicalized in the United States. I then discuss some of the ways fat is connected with gender, race, and class in particular. Finally, I offer some strategies for how critical sociologists can move forward, including suggestions for engaging in fat activism.

‘The consequences will be with us for decades’: The politicization and polarization of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-271
Author(s):  
Elizabeth R. Earle
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Political Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Supreme Court ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Media

This study examines the recent developments in the #MeToo and Time’s Up Movements in the United States and how these developments have been portrayed in the US media. Through examining examples of US media, this article shows the media’s portrayal of the movement as politicized and polarized changed and developed after the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court. The article argues that after Kavanaugh’s appointment, the media began to downplay the tensions of race and class in the #MeToo movement. Instead of focusing on tensions of race and class, the media shifted to focus on the polarization of #MeToo along political party lines.

The Social History of Alcohol as Portrayed in the Comics up to the End of the Prohibition Era

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 585-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Lambert ◽  
Stephen Israelstam
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social History ◽  
The United States ◽  
Considerable Effect ◽  
Comic Strips ◽  
Daily Newspapers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media

The mass media tend to shape the values and opinions of their audience as well as reflect the culture in which they exist. The comics have long been an integral part of the media, appealing to a wide range of age and social class. As such, they could have considerable effect on attitudes and behaviours regarding alcohol consumption. In this paper, we examine the comic strips appearing in the daily newspapers before, during and up to the end of the Prohibition era in the United States, to see how alcohol was portrayed during this period when its manufacture and sale were prohibited.

Introduction

1979 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Nasaw
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Social History ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Schooling ◽  
The Public ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Public Colleges And Universities

A history of American public schooling reduced to graphs would tell a simple story of almost continuous growth. In every category, the graphs would incline upwards, recording a steady rise in the number of students in school, the time they spent there, the teachers who taught them, the schools that housed them, and the dollars expended. The upward trend would continue unbroken from the 1820s until the 1970s. We cannot, at this time, chart the downward course that has commenced (if only temporarily) in the mid-1970s. We know only that that part of the American public that votes on school bond issues and makes its opinions known to professional pollsters is no longer willing to spend as much money or place as much trust in public schooling as it once was. It is too soon to predict the future course of public schooling in America, but a good time to reconsider the past. To understand why Americans have grown disillusioned with their public schools we must look beyond the immediate present to the larger history of the United States and its public schools. The public schools of this country—elementary, secondary, and higher—were not conceived full-blown. They have a history, and it is the social history of the United States. This essay will not attempt to present that history in its entirety but will focus instead on three specific periods decisive for the social history of this society and its public schools: the decades before the Civil War, in which the elementary or “common schools” were reformed; the decades surrounding the turn of the twentieth century, in which the secondary schools “welcomed” the “children of the plain people”; and the post-World War II decades, which found the public colleges and universities “overwhelmed” by a “tidal wave” of “non-traditional” students— those traditionally excluded from higher education by sex, race, and class. In each of these periods, the quantitative expansion of the student population was matched by a qualitative transformation of the enlarged institutions.

scholarly journals “The Girl Had a Shadow”

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia R. Mager
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Social Commentary ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

In this research paper, I examine how Jordan Peele’s film Us (2019) fits into the genre of a modern “Black Gothic.” I analyze how Peele uses imagery, character construction, and social references to construct a modern Black Gothic film that considers the intense history of oppression and silencing of groups on the basis of their race and class in the United States. I use the foundational definitions and examples provided by Maisha Wester and Sheri-Marie Harrison to argue how Us fits into and further modernizes the Black Gothic genre, as well as examining how Peele’s imagery contributes to the horror and the social commentary of the film. Ultimately, this paper provides a close reading of the whole film as a part of a larger conversation around how the historical and modern oppression of Black individuals and communities is embedded into the very foundation of the United States as a nation.

Paulo Freire’s Liberatory Pedagogy

2011 ◽  
pp. 136-148
Author(s):  
James C. McShay
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Critical Multiculturalism ◽  
Technology Access ◽  
History Of ◽  
The U.S

This chapter explores why there is a need for scholars to not only systematically couple discussions about technology use along with technology access, but ground their inquiries in a theory of critical multiculturalism as they seek to fully understand ways for minimizing the digital divide. In order to help explain why using this critical framework is important, this discussion is set against the historical backdrop of the country of Brazil whose past in many ways parallels the United States with regard to its history of oppression and servitude of people based upon their racial heritage. Moreover, this work provides a brief discussion of Paulo Freire’s work with African Brazilians and how he helped them to develop critical understandings about how hegemonic structures limited the extent to which they were able to experience their own humanity. This chapter draws from the historical experiences of African Brazilians as a way to deconstruct how issues of technology and educational inequalities are examined in the U.S. The author of this chapter claims that if U.S. educators are to help prepare students to become productive and reflective decision-makers, they must first acquire tools for understanding their own social realities and learn ways for re-creating them to reflect the ideals of democracy and social justice. Furthermore, the author made calls for educational scholars develop a new language that captures the spectrum of questions at the center of the digital divide debate concerning access and use, but also foregrounds issues of liberation, agency and social change.

Unconventional Histories

2018 ◽  
pp. 166-180
Author(s):  
Stephanie C. Moore
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
National Security ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
The United States ◽  
World War ◽  
Latin Americans ◽  
Yellow Peril ◽  
History Of

This chapter highlights how many women historians, like the author, delve into the histories that have been marginalized by the dominant canon, finding palpable relevance to present-day social justice issues. The chapter then turns to the little-known history of the internment of Japanese Latin Americans in the United States during World War II, a case of extraordinary rendition. Focusing on the internment of the Japanese Peruvians, this chapter argues that global “yellow peril” and eugenic ideologies played an essential role in U.S. and Peruvian policies during WWII. Further, it challenges readers to consider how purported policies of national security have been motivated by thinly veiled racism.

The Creation of the Uniform Crime Report

1995 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-238
Author(s):  
Lawrence Rosen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Data System ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Federal Bureau Of Investigation ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Uniform Crime Reporting ◽  
Controversial Nature

The introduction of the Uniform Crime Reporting system (UCR) in 1930 remains one of the most important events in the history of criminal statistics in the United States. Based on local police reports, it is the oldest extant national crime data system in the United States, with the possible exception of prison statistics. It continues to be a vitally important data system because of its extensive use by scholars, social critics, governmental organizations and the media, and as such it has made a major contribution to our understanding of crime in the United States in the last half century. The UCR has also had its share of controversy, involving not only scientific issues of validity and reliability, but the possibility of covert agendas on the part of the police and the FBI to foster an image of effective law enforcement. Despite its importance and controversial nature there is no single objective and definitive written history documenting the beginnings of the UCR. That which exists tends to be brief and superficial, and at times even ideologically biased (Leonard 1954; Maltz 1977; Sherman et al. 1982; Thompson 1968; U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation 1940).

4. International

2014 ◽  
pp. 63-80
Author(s):  
Mike Cronin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Olympic Committee ◽  
International Competition ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Olympic Games

The first recorded international sporting fixture was a cricket match between the United States and Canada in New York in 1844. ‘International’ shows that once sporting organizations, the media, and even politicians began to realize the value of international competition it spread quickly from sport to sport. Groups of national federations came together to form international federations that governed their particular sport, and arranged and sanctioned international competitions. Such organizations included the International Rugby Board (founded 1886), International Olympic Committee (1894), and Fédération Internationale de Football Association (1904). The history of the IOC, the Olympic Games, and their political and financial aspects are described, including the boycotts of the 1970s and 1980s.

Television Station Ownership in the United States: A Comprehensive Study (1940–2005)

2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-78
Author(s):  
Herbert H. Howard
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Historical Account ◽  
Media Ownership ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
Radio Broadcasting ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Group Ownership

Multiple-station, or group, ownership is a long established characteristic of broadcasting in the United States. It exists whenever a single organization owns more than one station or one medium. Through the efficiencies of operation of multiple outlets, or economies of scale, group media companies usually enjoy financial benefits that are not available to single medium operators. Thus, a long-term trend toward consolidation has prevailed throughout the history of the radio broadcasting industry. Television owners quickly adopted the practice, which has expanded steadily, as regulations have permitted ever since. The three forms of multiple ownership — Group ownership, Duopoly ownership, and Cross-media ownership are analyzed in this study. Particularly, this study provides (1) a statistical-historical account of the development of multiple-station ownership in the TV industry from 1940 to 2005; and (2) a historical account and analysis of the government's regulatory actions on media ownership during the same period. This study explores thus, the ownership consolidation and industry regulation that continue to be significant issues for the media industries with on-going implications.

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