War on fat in postwar Finland: A history of fat-shaming
Hyrkäs, Eve-Riina; Myllykangas, Mikko (2023-10-17)
Taylor & Francis
17.10.2023
Eve-Riina Hyrkäs & Mikko Myllykangas (2024) War on fat in postwar Finland: A history of fat-shaming, Fat Studies, 13:1, 36-48, DOI: 10.1080/21604851.2023.2268326
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202402211900
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202402211900
Tiivistelmä
Abstract
By the twenty-first century, obesity has become a focus of medical concern, moralizing statements, and most significantly, alarmist rhetoric. As a case in point, the Finnish people were in danger to turn into a fat nation already in the early 1950s – or that was the claim of the anti-fat activists organized as the Association to Combat Obesity [ACO] (Liikalihavuuden vastustamisyhdistys). Founded in 1950, the ACO’s aim was principally educational. However, the association did much more than spread ostensibly unbiased information – in fact, we argue that they became opinion leaders at the forefront of fat-shaming. In this article, we examine the interconnectedness of health education and fat-shaming in postwar Finland. As the ACO was started by the initiative of one man, the attack on fat seemed personal. The ACO’s anti-fat activism also left a controversial legacy. The history of the ACO hence shows how the stigmatization of fat people and personal reactions to it change over time to reflect prevailing cultural climates and social and political environments.
By the twenty-first century, obesity has become a focus of medical concern, moralizing statements, and most significantly, alarmist rhetoric. As a case in point, the Finnish people were in danger to turn into a fat nation already in the early 1950s – or that was the claim of the anti-fat activists organized as the Association to Combat Obesity [ACO] (Liikalihavuuden vastustamisyhdistys). Founded in 1950, the ACO’s aim was principally educational. However, the association did much more than spread ostensibly unbiased information – in fact, we argue that they became opinion leaders at the forefront of fat-shaming. In this article, we examine the interconnectedness of health education and fat-shaming in postwar Finland. As the ACO was started by the initiative of one man, the attack on fat seemed personal. The ACO’s anti-fat activism also left a controversial legacy. The history of the ACO hence shows how the stigmatization of fat people and personal reactions to it change over time to reflect prevailing cultural climates and social and political environments.
Kokoelmat
- Avoin saatavuus [38840]
Ellei muuten mainita, aineiston lisenssi on https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/