The Obama Girls Are Not The Olsen Twins
Just for the record, I love the Obamas. I couldn’t be more overjoyed that Barack Obama is our president, and I want him to be president forever. Everything he does and says makes me happy. At home, we play a drinking game: whenever someone says “President Obama,” take a drink. Only we don’t drink, we just smile at each other. And the smile says, I AM SO HAPPY THIS GUY IS OUR PRESIDENT AND I KNOW YOU ARE TOO. So, yeah. Team Obama, all the way.
However, if I can be a teensy bit critical here, I don’t think the Obamas should use their young daughters as poster children for the OMG CHILDHOOD OBESITY!!! crisis. I can’t cover this story any better than Rachel already did, but let me give you some of the highlights from her post.
Ever the role model, Michelle Obama invited cameras into the White House kitchen where only fresh food — nothing canned or processed — are prepared by the First Family’s chef. And in the November issue of Parents magazine, she and her husband described their decision to ditch juice boxes and processed foods. Their motivation? Malia was getting fat.
Improving the family’s diet is great — all families should be so lucky as the Obamas to be able to eat such a healthy diet, not to mention, have the luxury of a personal chef. Still I wonder how little Malia felt after her mother drastically changed and restricted the entire family’s diet all because she was getting a “little chubby.” I know from personal experience that being singled out in a family for weight is an emotionally crushing experience for a kid. My mother once announced at the dinner table that she was putting me and me alone on a diet, despite the fact that most of my family, including her, were (and still are) fat. I would find out much later that my mom was also teased about her weight in school and that she was probably just trying to shield me from the same harassment, but at the time, it had the opposite effect: I was determined to eat even more of the things she placed off-limits in a show of rebellion and bodily autonomy.
Add in a national spotlight and I can’t even begin to imagine the anvil-like pressures. How will these girls feel in having their diets broadcast in official White House press releases to a global audience, in effect, involuntarily thrusting them into the spotlight as anti-obesity role models? Has anyone even asked them what they think or feel about this? Will they be able to indulge in a cheeseburger without fear of judgment and condemnation from public food purists? Will tabloids and gossip mags turn their voyeuristic eye to them next, splashing their images on magazine covers while speculating on the perceived dips and spikes on their digital scales?
Rachel points out (and again, her entry is much more comprehensive than this) that one of the best things the Obamas could do is to take on the Farm Bill. That would serve them much better than making their kid’s weight a topic of national conversation.
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Advocacy, Celebrities, F.A.T. Chance, Fat Positive, Feminism, Health, Kids, Magazines, Politics, Tidbit, TV
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I see 8 years (at least) of vomiting in Malia’s future.
I wonder why Mrs. Obama couldn’t simply say that their family made a choice for their own health and she would like to help others do the same? To call out Malia as ‘chubby’ along with the caveat, ‘you’d never know it to look at her now’ is hurtful and crazy-making. And a pretty solid way to instill in a young girl that her value lies in her appearance, so she better not get OMG fat (or acne, or disfigured, etc.).
I was terribly disappointed to learn of this attitude.
What Michelle said was somewhat worrying but that does not mean it will doom her daughter to getting an ED. That was a truly horrible thing to say.
That being said, I have yet to see someone in the Obama family that is fat so it seems like she would be genetically predispositioned to be skinny. So maybe her gaining weight was worrying to the First Lady and maybe it WAS indicative of something. And let’s remember she DIDN’T put her on a diet, or start forcing her to exercise or anything insane or over the top.
As everyone in FA is ALWAYS saying we are NOT their doctor we do not know the state of their health from looking at them (or from random lines in magazine articles). That goes for the fat and the skinny.
I definitely agree with your point about Michelle using the girls as an example-definitely not appropriate.
But I did want to point out that the Obamas really have no say over the Farm Bill, which is controlled by the House & Senate Agriculture Committees. It’s re-authorized every five years and was just recently renewed in 2008. I’d love to see some major changes in agricultural policy, but a lot of structural change can’t really happen til 2012 (when hopefully Obama will entering his second term!).
How much do you want to bet that Malia got “a little chubby” just before a giant growth spurt, and the chubbiness went away when the rest of her body caught up?
I deleted all the troll-y stuff. Look how shiny and pretty the comment thread is now! Sorry for deleting your responses, guys, but I don’t want to leave dumb trolling comments up to derail the conversation. Carry on!
Wow, this made me sad. I can’t believe she used her 10 year old child like this. And her father, the President, called her “a little chubby”, “but you’d never know it now.” Good thing we took care of that little fat problem, don’t worry no one can tell you used to be that way. More likely she grew a few inches anyway. And also word to the wise, to be that overtly restrictive – we got rid of juice so you won’t be fat – with a child is really a bad idea.
I hope this will not have any adverse effects on the girl. I also hope her mom had enough sense to atleast have a sit down with her and talk with her and let her know that’s she’s more concerned about her health then appearence…..or something to that ilk.
But still, such a heel faced turn for being ‘a little chubby’?
Atleast the whole family’s doing it.
I think you guys are over-reacting a little to this. Unless we know exactly what was said in private to the girls, it’s pointless to speculate how the Obamas handled it, or what messages their daughters picked up.
I don’t think concern over the “chubby” comment is an overreaction. Even if there was more to the discussion behind the scenes, it’s upsetting that Malia’s weight gain is given as the reason the whole family quit juice and EEEEVVIIIL processed food. Even if the public never knew of the comment, the mentality is there. Most of the time parents don’t mean to mess with their kid’s head, but it happens- this is a pretty good example of how it might start, IMO.
What really bothers me about people thinking their kids or other kids are “chubby” is that people seem to have forgotten that when children finish a growth spurt, they do tend to put on a little weight, and it’s perfectly NORMAL.
I mean, besides the whole thing about OHMYGOD NO NOT WEIGHT GAIN IS SO BAD OH NOES YOU’RE GONNA BE FAT GET THE DIABETUS and such.
I fear for these kids who are getting put on diets for a normal reaction of their body. It’s sad that the fear of fat can SO override common sense.
I can see your points, absolutely, and I am not sure that publicising such things is helpful for ANYONE, least of all Malia….however – what I am please about is the fact that the Obamas are clearly trying to set an example to your nation. After all, the stats for childhood obesity and early onset diabetes in adulthood in your country (and in my own, I might add!) are off the scale scary. Isn’t it time for tough love with the nation’s young people where food is concerned? Of COURSE parents should do this in a sensitive manner and it should certainly not be a matter for public consumption where the first family is concerned (Oh I DREAD those ‘US WEEKLY covers when that poor child is older and off out for pizza with her friends or whatever…) but the message is clear….our kids eat really poor diets – time to act. Just my opinion….I think that sometimes the knee jerk “OMG they’ll get an eating disorder if we mention weight” is a ridiculous notion and makes allowances for allowing people to eat rubbich which is just as harmful! Let’s get some balance here!
This makes me really sick to my stomach. I know how damaging it still is to me when my father says I’m chubby or need to lose weight, and I cannot imagine the stress put on her by the media attention. There is no privacy here, and this should have been a private matter.
I’m not the biggest fan of the Obamas (I actually really don’t like them), but this bothers me on a personal level because that little girl did not deserve to be put in the spotlight and I think that it’s also a HUGE overreaction on their part. “She gained weight? Let’s stop eating *everything pleasant that may possibly have fat in it*.” is not the correct solution, and was too strong a reaction – it gives the impression that she *must not* be fat, *must* be perfect, and could be damaging – not even with eating disorders, but with emotional development in general.
Still unconvinced about the over-reaction thing. The Obamas have demonstrated that with a few simple dietary changes they have prevented their daughter from becoming overweight.
I’m not totally happy that this was done so publicly, but the Obamas probably feel they need to set an example.
Let’s stop eating *everything pleasant that may possibly have fat in it*.” is not the correct solution, and was too strong a reaction Didn’t they just ban fruit boxes and processed food? That’s hardly banning everything pleasant. No kid needs to drink fruit juice all day and no-one should eat processed food anyway
Maybe if my parents had intervened when I was a little girl, I wouldn’t have gone on to have lifelong weight problems.
Susan, who is to say that Malia WAS getting “fat” in the first place? As mentioned by several people, she would have probably lost the baby weight by a good growth spurt.
And I find it hard to believe that a juice box is the devil’s path to the dreaded “fat.” The same goes with processed food. I think President Obama and Mrs. Obama could have just restricted it instead of calling out Malia as “chubby” and banning all the evil food, don’t ya think?
It’s this crazy “banning” of “bad” foods that is a path to eating disorders. Kids grow up with distorted views on food with this nonsense. Apply morality to food is absolutely foolish, and it has built up and led to hatred against fat people in society.
BFP, most of those “statistics” are highly elaborated for shock value. Kids are actually healthier and more active than past generations.
I doubt that the occasional juice box and processed snack is going to harm a child.
I agree with Susan. People always told my mother I would get a growth spurt. I never did and had to deal with my weight all my life even though I come from a very skinny family.
The good thing the Obamas did here was to change the diet for all the people in the family – a lifestyle change, not going on a diet. That’s a good thing.
Saying this in public is not a good idea though.
While I agree completely with what you are saying-I must say that I don’t get why being critical of our president necessitates an introduction about how much you love Obama. I think it is important to be just as critical of him and his policies as we are of any other president.
“BFP, most of those “statistics” are highly elaborated for shock value. Kids are actually healthier and more active than past generations.
I doubt that the occasional juice box and processed snack is going to harm a child.”
Sarah, I don’t see how you can say that! Young people are categorically not healthier or more healthy than in previous generations! And CERTAINLY not in the US! And the point is that it isn’t an ‘occasional’ juice box/processed food – it’s a constant and staple item in the diet of today’s youth. And it’s absolutely becoming the same way here in the UK. Time to act indeed!
BFP
What gets me is the overbearing scrutiny of children of politicians. They’re just kids for crying out loud! Just because they have a parent with a slightly (ok, fairly) more visible job does not mean that they should be subjected to the same amount of criticism. Really, what those two girls eat and don’t eat and why is not the business of the public at large.
And now Meghan McCain is getting crap about her weight too. This business needs to stop. Yesterday. http://thinkprogress.org/2009/03/12/ingraham-meghan-mccain/
Looks like the right recipe for an eating disorder! Maybe the back up plan is that if the obesity poster children plan doesn’t work, they can be poster children for the anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating that they develop as a response to all of this!
BFP, et al, you seem to be missing a very important point.
The concern isn’t that they are trying to take care of their daughters’ health and provide them with quality food. THE CONCERN IS THAT THEY CALLED THEIR DAUGHTER “CHUBBY” TO THE WORLD.
That is incredibly damaging to a young girl. Even if she doesn’t see/hear that comment now, what if, at 15, she is looking back at her parents’ press and sees that comment? Then she looks at herself in the mirror and goes, well, am I still a little chubby? What if I get chubby again? And she flips out, goes on a diet and spirals into an eating disorder. I know that’s an extreme and not all that likely, but there are many less extreme (also highly damaging) outcomes. Like a lifetime of low self-esteem about her appearance and yo-yo dieting or dieting unnecessarily (of course, there really isn’t a ‘necessary’ way to diet). And so on.
And, as much as I adore pretty much everything else about them (by the by, super psyched about the stem cell funding — I hope this means my friend will see the diabetes he’s had since childhood cured in his lifetime), their views on weight and “obesity” are pretty backward and convoluted and unhealthy. They, like so many others, focus on the “zomg, Americans are fatty fatty fat fats! Put calories on their menus and take away their Fruit Roll-Ups!” Instead of focusing on important things like making sure lower income people have access to nutritious foods and teaching kids how to live to focus on their health instead of their weight. And working with young people (especially girls) on healthy body image and self esteem.
Because, well, I had a pretty decently nutritious diet (“diet” as in “what you eat every day” not “go on a diet”) and regular exercise (years of swimming and dance classes) and zOMG I’m still fat. And zOMG I’m very healthy.
But I’m a little chubby, so Michelle might flip out and take away my store bought vegan cookies.
Apply morality to food is absolutely foolish, and it has built up and led to hatred against fat people in society.
But wouldn’t it be better to have a diet intervention as a child to prevent you from becoming overweight in the first place, than to become overweight and spend your adult years fretting about “hatred against fat people”?
As for the growth spurt, I was obese at age 11. Then I stopped growing upwards, but continued to grow outwards. So yeah, if I had a chubby little girl I wouldn’t be waiting for the growth spurt.
The idea that only fat people care about hatred against fat people is completely fallacious.
And your experience is not one-size-fits-all, either. I agree children should learn healthy habits. But hysteria over the weight of little girls and putting them on unrealistic diets just causes disordered eating in one direction or another.
(Note: it doesn’t seem that the Obamas were particularly hysterical, and they do seem to be emphasizing the right things: healthy eating and exercise. What I object to here is making their child’s weight a topic of public discourse.)
Just read this when there was a mention of Mrs. O “talking about her daughters’ weight” and I wanted some context. It seems like the doctor is the one who pointed out the child was becoming overweight and the parents responded by cutting out high sugar and heavily processed foods, hardly drastically changing or restricting.
the parents responded by cutting out high sugar and heavily processed foods, hardly drastically changing or restricting
I would have thought so, too. Yet according to some here, the poor child is now set up for a lifetime of bingeing, poor body image, lack of self-esteem, yo-yo dieting, etc etc…