The Metamorphoses Of Fat: A History Of Obesity Métamorphoses Du Gras. English University Press Scholarship Online

Georges Vigarello maps the evolution of Western ideas about fat and fat people from the Middle Ages to the present, paying particular attention to the role of science, fashion, fitness crazes, and public health campaigns in shaping these views. While hefty bodies were once a sign of power, today those who struggle to lose weight are considered poor in character and weak in mind. Vigarello traces the eventual equation of fatness with infirmity and the way we have come to define ourselves and others in terms of body type. Vigarello begins with the medieval artists and intellectuals who treated heavy bodies as symbols of force and prosperity. He then follows the shift during the Renaissance and early modern period to courtly, medical, and religious codes that increasingly favored moderation and discouraged excess. Scientific advances in the eighteenth century also brought greater knowledge of food and the body's processes, recasting fatness as the "relaxed" antithesis of health. The body-as-mechanism metaphor intensified in the early nineteenth century, with the chemistry revolution and heightened attention to food-as-fuel, which turned the body into a kind of furnace or engine. During this period, social attitudes toward fat became conflicted, with the bourgeois male belly operating as a sign of prestige but also as a symbol of greed and exploitation, while the overweight female was admired only if she was working class. Vigarello concludes with the fitness and body-conscious movements of the twentieth century and the proliferation of personal confessions about obesity, which tied fat more closely to notions of personality, politics, taste, and class. Contents 6 Introduction 10 PART 1: THE MEDIEVAL GLUTTON 18 1. The Prestige of the Big Person 20 Spontaneous Vigor 20 What Insults? 23 From Big to Very Big 24 2. Liquids, Fat, and Wind 27 Matters of Fat 27 The Deviations of Wind and Water 29 Gout and Gout Sufferers 31 The "Simplicity" of Evacuations 32 3. The Horizon of Fault 34 The Clerical Model 35 The Medical Model 36 The Courtly Model 38 4. The Fifteenth Century and the Contrasts of Slimming 40 The Ascendancy of Images 41 A Social Distinction? 42 Lifestyles and Conflicts 43 The "Laborious" Place of Beauty 45 PART 2: THE "MODERN" OAF 48 5. The Shores of Laziness 50 "Modern" Activity and Passivity 50 From Private Insult to Pulic Code 53 Resistances and Fascinations 55 The Refusal of All Skinniness 58 6. The Plural of Fat 62 Dramatizing the Threat 62 Fear of Apoplexy 64 Fat Talk, an Abstract Discourse 66 Specifying Hydropsy 68 Specifying the Excess of Gout 70 7. Exploring Images, Defining Terms 72 Images and Realism of Features 72 The Choice of Rubens 74 The Power and Powerlessness of Words 76 8. Constraining the Flesh 81 The Beginning of an Evaluation 81 Only the "High" Size 84 Drying Out 88 Vinegar and Chalk 90 Belts, Blades, and Corsets 92 PART 3: FROM OAFISHNESS TO POWERLESSNESS: The Enlightenment and Sensibility 94 9. Inventing Nuance 96 "Tireless" Measuring and "Fruitless" Measuring 96 Waist or Weight? 98 Inventing the Means 99 The First Specifications of Forms 101 Masculine "Gravity" and Social "Gravity 104 10. Stigmatizing Powerlessness 107 Introducing a New Word, Obesity 108 The Bad Symptom: Insensitivity 111 The Criticism of the Affluent 112 The Big Bad Husband 114 11. Toning Up 116 The Virtue of "Tonics" 116 The Virtue of "Excitants" 118 Electric Dreams 119 The Nerve Regimen 120 Plants or Meats? 122 The Chemistry Revolution 123 PART 4: THE BOURGEOIS BELLY 138 12. The Weight of Figures 140 The Presence of Numbers 140 Figuring the Waist-Weight Relation 141 The Question of Self-Weighing 142 13. Typology Fever 145 "Gastrophoric" Men, Adipose Women 146 The Bourgeois and the Avowed Belly 149 The Bourgeois and the Lampooned Belly 150 Romantically Thin? 152 14. From Chemistry to Energy 154 The Aqueous and the Adipose: New Distinctions 154 Fat and Fire 156 Fat and "Morbid Imminence" 158 15. From Energy to Diets 160 The Consequences of Energy 160 The Question of Creating an "Art of Living Well" 162 The Archaic and the Modern 163 The "Misfortunate" and Me: The New Status of Obesity 164 PART 5: TOWARD THE "MARTYR" 168 16. The Dominance of Aesthetics 170 The Spread of Weighing 171 The First Conflicts Between Charts 172 The Exposure of Bodies 174 The Ascendancy of Women's Hips 175 From the Masculine Waist to the Muscular "Discovery" 177 From Aesthetics to the Conflict of Images 180 17. Clinical Obesity and Everyday Obesity 183 Forms and Numerically Measured Degrees 184 Retarding Nutrition and Excess Nutrition 185 The Degenerative Obsession 187 The Explosion of Diets 188 The Socializing and Chemistry of Spa Life 191 The Ascendancy of Advertisers 193 18. The Thin Revolution 195 The "Defect of Civilization" 196 The Dashing Slender Male 197 The Dashing Slender Female 198 The "Graduated" Anatomy 199 The Creation of the "Monstrous" 200 19. Declaring "the Martyr" 203 Revolutionizing the First Degrees 204 The Multiplication of Pathologies 205 The Multiplication of Therapies 206 The Evidence of Therapeutic Failures 208 Between Trial and Martyr 210 PART 6: CHANGES IN THE CONTEMPORARY DEBATE: An Identity Problem and Insidious Evil 214 The Affirmation of "Epidemic" 215 "Conterattacks"? 216 The Dynamics of Thinness, The Dynamics of Obesity 217 The Effects of Thinness 218 A "Multifactor" Universe 219 The Self, the Trial, and Identity 222 Conclusion 226 Notes 230 Index 278 PART 4: THE BOURGEOIS BELLY 138 Georges Vigarello Maps The Evolution Of Western Ideas About Fat And Fat People From The Middle Ages To The Present, Paying Particular Attention To The Role Of Science, Fashion, Fitness Crazes, And Public Health Campaigns In Shaping These Views. Although Hefty Bodies Were Once A Sign Of Power, Today Those Who Struggle To Lose Weight Are Considered Poor In Character And Weak In Mind. Vigarello Traces The Eventual Equation Of Fatness With Infirmity And The Way We Have Come To Define Ourselves And Others In Terms Of Body Type. Vigarello Begins With The Medieval Artists And Intellectuals Who Treated Heavy Bodies As Symbols Of Force And Prosperity. He Then Follows The Shift During The Renaissance And Early Modern Period To Courtly, Medical, And Religious Codes That Increasingly Favored Moderation And Discouraged Excess. Scientific Advances In The Eighteenth Century Also Brought Greater Knowledge Of Food And The Body's Processes, Recasting Fatness As The Relaxed Antithesis Of Health. The Body-as-mechanism Metaphor Intensified In The Early Nineteenth Century, With The Chemistry Revolution And Heightened Attention To Food-as-fuel, Which Turned The Body Into A Kind Of Furnace Or Engine. During This Period, Social Attitudes Towards Fat Became Conflicted, With The Bourgeois Male Belly Operating As A Sign Of Prestige But Also As A Symbol Of Greed And Exploitation, While The Overweight Female Was Admired Only If She Was Working Class. Vigarello Concludes With The Fitness And Body-conscious Movements Of The Twentieth Century And The Proliferation Of Personal Confessions About Obesity, Which Tied Fat More Closely To Notions Of Personality, Politics, Taste, And Class.--jacket. Part 1 The Medieval Glutton : The Prestige Of The Big Person ; Liquids, Fat, And Wind ; The Horizon Of Fault ; The Fifteenth Century And The Contrasts Of Slimming -- Part 2 The Modern Oaf : The Shores Of Laziness ; The Plural Of Fat ; Exploring Images, Defining Terms ; Constraining The Flesh -- Part 3 From Oafishness To Powerlessness: The Enlightenment And Sensibility : Inventing Nuance ; Stigmatizing Powerlessness ; Toning Up -- Part 4 The Bourgeois Belly : The Weight Of Figures ; Typology Fever ; From Chemistry To Energy ; From Energy To Diets -- Part 5 Toward The Martyr : The Dominance Of Aesthetics ; Clinical Obesity And Everyday Obesity ; The Thin Revolution ; Declaring The Martyr -- Part 6 Changes In The Contemporary Debate: An Identity Problem And An Insidious Evil. Georges Vigarello ; Translated From The French By C. Jon Delogu. Translation Of: Les Métamorphoses Du Gras. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Tracing the link between changing attitudes toward body size and modern conceptions of class, society, and self.