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Joan Wallach Scott Renowned Historian Will Speak on “Feminism's Difference Problem” at Csw's 25Th Anniversary Event

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Joan Wallach Scott Renowned Historian Will Speak on “Feminism's Difference Problem” at Csw's 25Th Anniversary Event CELEBRATING FEB10 CSW 25 YEARS! Joan Wallach Scott Renowned HistoRian will speak on “Feminism's diffeRence Problem” at CSw's 25tH anniveRsaRy event istorian Joan Gender and the Politics of History, to her more Entitled “Feminism's Difference HWallach Scott, recent book on The Politics of the Veil, Joan Problem,” Scott’s talk will address the Harold F. Linder Scott has consistently engaged the daunting tension within feminism (throughout its Professor at the School intellectual challenges of the moment, from second-wave history) between the need/ of Social Science in the theorizing feminist history responsive to post- desire for a universal ”woman” as the Institute for Advanced structuralist critique to the limits of secularism in subject of the political movement and the Study in Princeton, New Jersey, will be giving relation to the public sphere. We are delighted differences among women that trouble and the keynote at CSW's anniversary party on to have her as our keynote speaker to celebrate challenge universal thinking. She will focus February 22. According to Kathleen McHugh, CSW’s twenty-fifth anniversary, discursively but on the most recent eruption of that tension CSW Director, “From her groundbreaking book, with real cake!” between those feminists who endorse 1 FEB 10 2 Joan Wallach Scott, continued from page 1 secularism and who insist that religion is clear that many scholars at UCLA have been inevitably oppressive and patriarchal and those influenced by Scott's work but Denise Roman, who challenge the categorical oppositions— CSW Research Scholar, notes that she owes religion/secularism, tradition/modernity, an additional debt of gratitude to Scott, “I patriarchy/women's emancipation—arguing was lucky to have Professor Scott as external that feminism and religion can be compatible. reviewer for my doctoral dissertation, which This tension has emerged most visibly in I defended at York University, Canada, in discussions about Islam and gender equality. 2001. Those were tough days for the airline Scott is the author of the essential article, companies, since people were afraid to travel "Gender: A Useful Category of Historical because of 9/11. But not Prof Scott, who flew Analysis,” which was published in 1986 in the all the way to Toronto, to sit in my advisory American Historical Review. In it, she argues committee. The moment she saw me, she that the study of gender must go beyond the said, ‘You've got a book here!’ I am grateful for study of women and that gender analysis must her invaluable feedback to my dissertation and encompass gender’s role in constituting social for encouraging my publication endeavors.” relationships more broadly and in signifying All of us at CSW are very pleased that Scott other relationships of power. “Scott's framing will be speaking at this very special anniversary of gender as a category of historical analysis event. was foundational to the work of so many CSw'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT wIll bE historians, particularly those conducting held FROM 4 TO 7 PM AT THE UClA FACUlTY research on women's history,” says April CENTER ON FEbRUARY 22. de Stefano, CSW Assistant Director. “Her 1986 article is still widely read by graduate students in history today—a testament to the important legacy of her insights.” It's FEB10 3 CSupdateW by Kjerstin Elmen-Gruys Fat and Identity Politics a review of Paul CaMPos's reCent talk in the Gender and body size series ...this is the part that never ever gets acknowledged by people who Most of us have heard it know better, even though they will acknowledge it and then renounce before: “Fat is a Feminist Issue.” Ever that they have acknowledged it moments later. We can’t make people since Susie Orbach wrote her book of this thin, okay? There’s no empirical proposition in medicine that is better title (published in 1978), prominent feminist established than this. There is no known way to produce significant long-term weight loss in a statistically significant population. We scholars, including Naomi Wolf, Susan just don’t know how to do it. And that includes weight-loss surgery Bordo, and Kim Chernin, have had much or stomach amputation. That does not produce significant long- to say about what Chernin has described as term weight loss among most people who undergo it. Certainly what “the tyranny of slenderness”. This tradition absolutely fails completely in terms of significant long-term weight of feminist critique has depicted fat hatred as loss is haranguing people about their weight, and telling them that if they ate right and exercised more they would be thin. For the a problem of patriarchy. Recently, however, vast majority of people, that description is a complete failure. It’s academic discussions of body weight have hopefully relatively rare in medicine, in particular, and social policy been dominated by health policy concerns in general, to keep pursuing an intervention which is demonstrably a over the so-called obesity epidemic. failure, over and over again. Now I’m sure many of you are familiar Although these concerns insist that with the definition of insanity—it’s doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That’s just another word slenderness is necessary for health, they have for dieting. surprisingly seen very little critique from feminist scholars. Moreover, while feminist – Paul Campos FEB10 4 CSupdateW scholars have spilt much ink on the pressures belief that fat individuals can (and should) on average size women to be as thin as become thin. Yet, while “conversion therapy” emaciated fashion models, there has been for gay individuals has been thoroughly very little feminist work on the experiences debunked and openly denounced by the of very fat women. The CSW Winter 2010 modern medical community, weight loss Faculty Curator lecture series, “Gender for “overweight” and “obese” individuals is and Body Size,” curated by Professor instead largely embraced by both the medical Abigail Saguy, Department of Sociology at community and the general public, despite UCLA, is responding to this void in public strong evidence that it is quite possible to be and academic discourse, by hosting three both fat and healthy and that significant long- speakers with expertise ranging from the term weight loss is incredibly rare. epidemiology of body size to “fat activism.” Campos introduced himself by explaining The first of three talks in the CSW to the audience that, because his body mass Gender and Body Size lecture series was index (BMI) is around 26, he is medically given on January 20th by Paul Campos, “overweight.” He then verbalized what most Professor of Law at the University of of his audience was already thinking—that The CSW Winter 2010 Faculty Curator lecture series, “Gender and Colorado, and the author of The Obesity despite being in the medical category of Body Size,”—curated by Dr Abigail Myth: Why America’s Obsession with Weight ”overweight,” he is not actually “fat,” which is Saguy from the UCLA Department of is Hazardous to Your Health (Gotham, a social category. “But…,” he reminded us, Sociology—is responding to this gap 2004). Campos’ talk, titled “Fat and Identity “…if I were a woman with this BMI, I would in public and academic discourse, by Politics,” was well attended, with all seats be fat!” This illustration helped to reveal the hosting three speakers with expertise taken and a few dozen audience members gendered nature of our culture’s ideas about ranging from the epidemiology of opting to stand. Campos drew comparisons body size. Importantly, Campos admitted body size to “fat activism”: Paul between the issues of sexual orientation that his status as a “socially” (though not Campos, Katharine Flegal, and Marilyn Wann and body size, arguing that the idea that gay medically) thin man, has allowed him to individuals can (and should) become straight speak and write about body size with greater is not dissimilar from our culture’s general authority—something he feels he would be FEB10 5 CSupdateW less able to do if he were a fat woman. imagined thought of describing a woman as orientation, Campos illuminated the failed Speaking of “fat”, Campos challenged “fat.” (How impolite! How cruel!) I flinched logic behind our own (culturally reinforced) his audience to consider “getting over again when I realizied that as a feminist assumptions about dieting and weight loss. the F-word”. He asked us to contemplate scholar studying issues of body size, I need “Why,” he asked, “is choosing to leave fat whether the word “fat” could be used as a to get more comfortable with the term “fat”! people alone considered radical to the point more neutral physical descriptor, stripped Campos is not the only person who of unacceptability?” It was a thrilling and of its negative moral connotations. He has decided to embrace the word. In his moving—but also overwhelming—call argued that, to him, the term “fat” is vastly discussion of identity politics, Campos to radicalism. Reflecting, I found myself preferable to the words “overweight” explained that numerous “fat activists” noting that the choice to simply leave our or “obesity,” which, by definition, are proudly reclaim “fat,” much like gay activists own bodies alone feels similarly radical imbued with assumptions about health, reclaimed “gay” in the 1970s (when the term and brave. With passionate scholars like as well as morality. Because of this, these “homosexual” was used by the medical Campos (and upcoming speaker Marilyn words are medicalizing and stigmatizing community, defining same-sex attraction Wann, an outspoken “fat activist”!), the task to individuals with fat bodies. It was as a mental disorder). Campos’ striking of accepting and embracing “fat”—in others striking to consider using the word “fat” comparisons between body size and sexual and ourselves—is becoming much easier.
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