Consciousness-raising and snappy comebacks

Supreme Fatism & Sexism

May 6th, 2009

I am not even sure I can even form sentences, as I am currently incoherent with rage. Jezebel’s headline is “Women Too Stupid To Stay Thin Are Not Smart Enough For Supreme Court,” and that’s basically it in a nutshell.

They’re covering an excellent article by Paul Campos about criticism leveled at some of the (female) possibilities for potential Supreme Court justices. Namely, that they are fat, or might someday become fat, and therefore should be disqualified.

A (female) Supreme Court justice should not “even border on overweight”:

“You want someone who will serve the longest, i.e. with the greatest remaining life expectancy—and that involves more than simple age. I tried assessing their respective health prospects, and ruled out all who even border on overweight.”

A (female) Supreme Court justice should be “a hottie”:

(Wardlaw’s “ectomorphitude” also gets rave reviews at legal gossip site Underneath Their Robes, which describes her as “Heather Locklear in a black robe. This blond Hispanic hottie boasts a fantastic smile and an incredible body, showcased quite nicely by her elegant ensembles.”)

A (female) Supreme Court justice should be fuckable:

So what’s the real motivation for all the anxiety about the bodies that house two such apparently distinguished legal minds? A glance at the comments at a site such as Abovethelaw.com, which features a number of vicious attacks on Kagan’s appearance, provides one clue. For some men, the only thing more intolerable than the sight of a powerful woman is the sight of a powerful woman they don’t want to sleep with.

Jezebel also asks:

Should we get rid of Ginsburg, too, for being sick with cancer? Or should people with long-term, treatable illnesses be disqualified for public office? Or just vaguely not-skinny women.

!@(&%((%*@(*@(*%(!!!@&&@&#.

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Advocacy, Fatism, Feminism, Politics

You might also like

  1. Suck It, Southwest Airlines
  2. Fatism Doesn't Exist
  3. Let’s Hear It From The Boys

13 Responses to Supreme Fatism & Sexism

  1. La Wade, on May 6th, 2009 at 12:22 pm Said:

    I guess I have a little more faith in our president than Mr. Campos, because I don’t think Obama’s choice of nominee is going to be based on anonymous blog comments. (Campos further elevates these blog commenters by referring to them as “commentators,” which is a little bit misleading, I think).

  2. Meems, on May 6th, 2009 at 12:46 pm Said:

    This makes me sick.

  3. Addish, on May 6th, 2009 at 1:04 pm Said:

    I’m somewhat astounded but in all honesty the human race has jaded me. So I’m not quite surprised enough to reach for the bottle of vodka….not yet.

  4. JupiterPluvius, on May 6th, 2009 at 1:16 pm Said:

    Because all the male SCJs are buff to perfection?

    Hell, the SC should be all-girl, because women as a group live longer than men as a group.

  5. Sparkle Pants, on May 6th, 2009 at 3:35 pm Said:

    Today has been good and bad for me with regard to weight. Good in that it’s international no diet day! Kate and Marianne reached #1 at Powell’s! Bad in that I had to back away from a potential online confrontation with a total stranger about fat health. AND THIS JUST TAKES THE TACO.

  6. midatlantic, on May 6th, 2009 at 3:51 pm Said:

    I have been saddened to see the level of unfair criticism levelled at potential female nominees to the US Supreme Court. ‘Fatness’ or other issues of unattractiveness is part of it, but I’ve seen criticisms that certain female judges are not as intelligent as the male equivalents or that they are too opinionated and not deferential enough.

    Can we live in a world where we look at the actual work of these judges rather than sneer at their appearance or be outraged at their refusal to treat male colleagues as the be-all and end-all.

    To give everyone some hope, please note that four of nine of the Canadian Supreme Court justices are female. My former (male) law professor was the justice Minister who brought the numbers up to near-parity. It can be done! And while Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin does look very nice in an evening gown, she also kicks legal butt, as do her sister judges, who are of various shapes and sizes.

  7. Sarah, on May 6th, 2009 at 4:01 pm Said:

    The topic of picking a new Justice was presented on C-SPAN this morning. All of the callers basically said the same thing – who cares about gender and appearance? Pick the individual who will do the best job on the Court.

  8. Slothful, Greedy, Villainous Fat Stereotype, on May 6th, 2009 at 6:26 pm Said:

    I hope someone eventually plants a size 13 boot up that “Scough” guy’s narrow ass. Really, if you have nothing relevant to add to the discussion and are just there to stir shit, just stay on 4chan because they’ve got enough antagonism bullshit there that they’re wallowing in it.

    (I should specify that I am not calling out anyone with a narrow ass who actually HAS contributed positively to the discussion.)

  9. CassandraSays, on May 6th, 2009 at 6:50 pm Said:

    Well I’m a member of the small-ass club and I have to say, this right here? Is a perfect example of why I support fat acceptance despite not actually being fat myself. First of all, this kind of shit warps our entire culture by ensuring that we consistently refuse to promote the most qualified people, which is bad for everyone. Secondly, could the sexism with which it’s applied be any more obvious?

    Personally I have no interest in fucking anyone on the Supreme Court. It’s not their job to be fuckable, their job is to be really really smart and well versed in the law.

    I agree with Slothful, Greedy, Villainous Fat Stereotype – send this crap back to 4chan where it belongs.

  10. KateG, on May 6th, 2009 at 9:19 pm Said:

    Yeah, what everyone else said. Plus, for those unfamiliar with Above the Law, the comments on that site are always terrible and often offensive. It’s a legal gossip web site, sometimes with interesting topics, but I think people comment to be funny or sound intentionally outrageous. No one takes them seriously.

  11. Una In A Million, on May 9th, 2009 at 9:54 am Said:

    It’s obvious whoever wrote that is either a moron or has a weird sense of humor? Either way no one worth a damn would take it seriously.

  12. Lord Matt (girth watch), on May 16th, 2009 at 5:31 pm Said:

    How bigoted can you get? Damn. That’s some hard core discrimination going on there. That happen in the UK and you’d see people being asked to resign. (shakes head)

  13. La Wade, on May 17th, 2009 at 6:45 am Said:

    Resign from what, Lord Matt? The people quoted as making fat-biased comments are all blog commenters, not anyone in any actual position to influence the next choice of nominee. I mean, I suppose that “jackiej” could be Patrick Leahy’s preferred online alias, but I doubt it.

    The author of the article is, I think, a bit deliberately misleading about this, because he mixes in the hateful blog comments with less inflammatory public statements by actual judges and journalists. But if you read carefully, you’ll see that no legal scholar, political figure or member of the media actually says anything about fatness being a consideration.

Subscribe to the comments for this post (RSS)

« Fatosphere Book! Today!
Pardon Our Dust »

RSS button Entries RSS

RSS button Comments RSS

Email us

Look around
  • What's the Big Fat Deal?
  • Introduce yourself
  • How do I love myself? And the follow up.
  • Our Facebook group
  • BFD greatest hits
  • 10 Ways to be a Body Positivity Advocate
  • Our pet fish
  • Press and media
We are...
Image of Mo Pie Image of Weetabix Image of Jenfu
Find it
Meta
+ Click to display
  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  •  
  • Google Reader or Homepage
  • del.icio.us 43 Folders
  • Add to My Yahoo!
  • Subscribe with Bloglines
  • Subscribe in NewsGator Online
  • Furl 43 Folders
  • Add to Technorati Favorites!
  • Add to netvibes
  • Health Blogs - Blog Top Sites
  • Pop Culture Blogs -  Blog Catalog Blog Directory
  • Blogging Fusion Blog Directory
  • I fight fat-hate!
  • B-List Blogger
  • Bloggapedia, Blog Directory - Find It!
  • As Seen on Delightfulblogs.com
  • Blogarama - The Blog Directory
  • Top HealthCare Sites
  • + Click to hide
Your comments
  • Babs: So sorry to hear that you are moving to Facebook. I’m one of those “dinosaurs” who refused to...
  • Trish: I’m a heavier girl, and throughout my pregnancy so far I’ve not thought too much about looking...
  • Rhonwyyn: Hi Mali, So sorry you’re feeling this way. I was never very skinny, but I learned to hate my body as...
  • Jody: I just got this cute Disney Nerds bag at Disneyland this January. It was only $20 and the strap is super long....
  • Courtney: I found one at H&M. Can’t wear a damn thing from that store except their bags, and it was under...
Recent entries
  • New BFD Page on Facebook
  • Recommend A Crossbody Bag
  • It Happened To Me: I Read xoJane.com
  • Actor Gains 50 Pounds, Becomes "Much Funnier"?
  • Nordstrom Rack Fall Outfit Extravaganza
  • Say Yes To The Dress: Big Bliss
Notes from the Fatosphere
Most Popular Categories
  • Advertising Advocacy America Ferrera American Idol Art Ask BFD Beth Ditto BFD Classic BFDudes Biggest Loser BlogHer08 Books Britney Spears Carnie Wilson Celebrities Cold Hard Cash Comics Courtney Love Dance Your Ass Off Diet Talk Diet Talk Warning Drop Dead Diva Eating Disorders Exercise Fashion Fatism Fat Positive Fat Suits Feel Good Friday Feminism Food Gabby Sidibe Glee Gossip Guest Post Gwyneth Paltrow Hairspray Health Huge Humor International Jenfu Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Love Hewitt Jessica Simpson Kate Winslet Keira Knightley Kelly Clarkson Kids Kirstie Alley Links Magazines Media Meta Mike & Molly Mo'Nique Mommyblog More To Love Movies Music Nikki Blonsky NSFW Old Navy Old Timey Oprah Personal Photoshop Politics Project Runway Queen Latifah Question Race & Ethnicity Renee Zelwegger Review Ricki Lake Ricky Gervais Science Sex & Romance Star Jones Theater The Office Tidbit TV Tyra Banks Uncategorized Video Weetabix Weight Loss WLS Work

Twitter
[aktt_tweets count="5"]
Most Comments
  • Nordstrom Rack Fall Outfit Extravaganza (232)
  • How Do Strangers Treat You? (134)
  • "The Beautiful People Are The Skinny People" (103)
  • "You Do Not See Fat People In Concentration Camps" (100)
  • Are You Insecure About Your Height? (97)
  • Big Fat Ad (91)
Archives
Powered by WordPress & WPDesigner :: Design by Pattycake Designs & modified by Make My Blog Pretty :: Logo by Evan Carothers