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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2001)
4 0 J " * 1 OMI ’ October 5 .200t CULTURE ▼ Bigger isn't always better "Best of the West” Sunset Magazine Dec. 1998 Dept. 56 Villages Christopher Radko Margaret Furlong Charming Tails Ornaments Nutcrackers Santas — Angels United Designs Five Star Santa Rating Health concerns for big-boned gals (8oo) 8 2 7 -6 1 89 by Harvest Festival Weekend in Hood River! Oct. 19th, 20th, 21st R efre sh m en ts (? G ood ies SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT! IT'S CHRISTMAS! ALL YEAR 'ROUND! 4 140 Westcliff Drive • Hood River, Oregon 97031 (at Exit 62 on I-8 4 ) Next to the Columbia Gorge Hotel When you are just Out and about/ visit the contemplative Japanese Garden west of the International Rose Test Gardens in Washington Park. Enjoy peace and tranquility seven days a week ioam - 7pm /"Mondays Noon - 7 p m ) For more information call 503-223-1321 Metropolitan Community Church of ftrtland Presents U T en E rc a d w a In Celebration of National Coming Out Day - Benefiting Esther’s Pantry & MCC-Portland - THE dick S aunders B and w ith V o c a l is t J ulianne J ohnson G rethe Featuring the Music o f Broadway C ammermeyer B arry M orse Jt. QvuvU V TV* “ 7 i* “Smmtmf Im SiUnct" With Presentation of the 2001 Shepherds Award and Farewell Tribute to Rev. Ron Cole Thursday, October 11,2001 World Trade Center Theater SW Salmon, Portland Doors Open at 6 pm with Silent Auction • Show pm Tickets - includes Post Show Reception Tickets thru FASTIXX & QaiPied • www.outonbroadwau.com 1 2 1 7 $ 4 5 .WADDELL REBECCA WEBB £0 ^ L m fitm O H M ef AM Ntnkwtu m MARY ANNHIJM PHRFY KEEYER W Ml VM 1 ___ '«S eman j e iti REED Investing W ith • plan* Edmundimn m ai breedweyrofTeetreder.« Eric D.Brovvn «3J3M036 G it Gary Boyar - Sana. Loan C m u M 5 0 3 2 3 6 -5 5 9 9 P aula M artinac ne great thing about the lesbian commu nity is it is generally accepting of many different female fxxly shapes and sizes. Women large and small usually can find sex and love in dykcdom. But even though les bians’ positive approach to weight and body image is admirable, our community should he discussing health-related questions about “women of size.” Fat is a feminist issue, to use the phrase Susie Orbach coined in her groundbreaking 1978 book. It’s rare to meet a woman who hasn’t been negatively affected by body image at some point in her life. Many girls and women literally have starved themselves, developing health-endan gering eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia in order to match the Ally McBcal archetype that the media like to portray and that straight men supposedly prefer. Gay men, too, have been adversely affected by body image, often enduring cultural pressure to conform to a standardized, sculpted image of male beauty. Lesbians, however, don’t have to care about visually pleasing men. As a result, we can dress comfortably, wear our hair short even if long hair is fashionable and refuse to conform to a socially prescribed image of beauty. Indeed, many of us never would dream of pairing the words “weight” and “prob lem." T hat freedom can he empowering. Moreover, dykes have been at the fore front of the fight against size oppres sion. That doesn’t mean simply demand ing roomier seats in public accommoda tions or large-size paper gowns in doc tors’ offices. Studies suggest overweight people often face workplace discrimination in hir ing and promotions. Fat, some employers think, automatically means lazy and sloppy. In recent years, lesbians of size have been getting more organ ized against weight-based discrimination. A handful of zines and other publications are geared to larger lesbians, and this m onth the National Organization for Lesbians of Size, or NOLOSE, will sponsor its annual conference in Parsippany, N.J. It probably will he an inspiring event for its attendees, with hundreds of big-honed gals gathered in one spot, literally throwing their weight around. A t the same time, however, the lesbian community faces serious health-related ques tions that don’t appear to he a major focus of the conference even though many of these issues affect women of size. A study published last spring in the American Journal o f Public Health found a larger percentage of lesbians are obese than women in general. The researchers suggested that being so much less concerned about weight actually might work against lesbians, placing us at risk for diseases th at could have a relationship to obesity, such as heart disease. A nother such disease is adult-onset dia betes. About 85 percent of Type II diabetics are overweight when they receive their diagnoses. The disease is spreading at an alarming rate in the U nited States. Late last year, the C en ters for Disease Control and Prevention released statistics indicating diagnosed cases of diabetes increased by one-third during the 1990s. Although Type II used to strike primari ly middle-aged people, it increasingly is affect ing younger adults in their 20s and 30s. Diabetes is an insidious disease. You won’t die of it, just as you won’t die of AIDS; rather, the complications are what’ll kill you. My father, who has lived with Type II dia betes for more than 20 years, has faced a host of these complications, including heart disease, plummeting white blood cell counts, circulato ry problems and partial blindness. A dtKtor of mine— who, by the way, is rated a “fat-friendly physician” by anti-discrimination groups— advised me that the best way to avoid developing diabetes is to exercise, eat well and not gain weight. Given what we know about the con nections between obesity and disease, it worries me that asser tions of “fat is beauti ful” by some lesbians might backfire on our community. The truth is, endorsing obesity as a beautiful way of life is problematic. Lesbians need to take weight issues m uch more seriously th an we do, hut unfortunately, being critical of obesity rem ains taboo. T he silence around les bian obesity reminds me of the hesitancy in the gay male com m unity to speak up against bareback sex; in both cases, there’s fear th a t raising co n cerns will inhibit people’s freedom of person al expression. How could lesbians address the issue of weight? Research suggests diets are pretty use less, because people often gain hack whatever weight they’ve lost. Interestingly, some studies indicate it’s bet ter to he overweight and exercise regularly than to he slender and a couch potato. It would he life-affirming if the community took up the challenge of preventive health and found ways to sponsor workshops such as low- impact aerobics (the NOLOSE conference had one last year) specifically geared to the physical needs of lesbians of size. j n P aula M artinac is a Lambda Uterary Award-wi n- nmg author of seven books and the column "Lesbian Notions" She can be reached at LNcolumn@aol.com.
