In 2004 my comic novel “Degrees For Everyone” was published. Its salient theme was the decline in universities of legitimate academic subjects and the growth in their place of non-academic nonsense studies.
I centred the plot around a fictitious Rubenesque Studies Department targeting fat girls with bogus subjects telling them it was good to be obese.
At the time I thought I was overcooking it but not so as always with their eye on an easy dollar, Massey decided this was a good idea and commenced a Department of Fat Studies. It’s ludicrous.
Below an announcement from the latest Massey newsletter.
Fat Studies scholars and activists from around the world celebrated the launch of The International Handbook of Fat Studies on 19 April 2021 via a global Zoom event.
The Handbook, published by Routledge, features a diverse body of work from around the globe and across a wide range of Fat Studies topics and perspectives.
Comprised of 29 chapters, the book includes contributions from both academics and activists with the contributors working across industries in public health, social sciences, arts, law, medicine, and the physical sciences.
Editors of the book; Massey University Senior Lecturer Dr Cat Pausé and founder and Radical Executive Officer of The Body is Not An Apology Sonya Renee Taylor hosted the launch, speaking alongside fifteen of the contributing authors.
Editor Sonya Renee Taylor says this new book, the first of its kind, comes at a time of great upheaval in the world.
“Fat studies and fat activism sit at the precipice of an emerging world, one where fat bodies and their liberations cannot be disaggregated from the liberation of all oppressions.”
The book explores the epistemology, ontology and methodology of fatness, with attention to issues such as gender and sexuality, disability and embodiment, health, race, media, discrimination, and pedagogy.
Editor Cat Pausé noted, “we believe the work in this book invites the reader into a more nuanced and yet expansive landscape of fat scholarship.
“We also believe there is a necessary summons into the queries, harms, and hopes of fat lives beyond the too often foregrounded western narratives. We hope we fatten up your world.”
I’ve tried to think of a future career for these fat girl graduates. Half a century back touring side-shows included a fat lady offering. When I was eleven and was lugged up to an Upper Hutt A&P show by my mother, this she deeming a worthy experience, I escaped, paid my sixpence and gazed awestruck at a fat woman sitting before us. Today she would be viewed on Lambton Quay at lunchtime as verging on anorexic. Trust me; there were no fat people in the post-war years.
As I see it, the only career options for these graduates will be in Arabic brothels where there’s a taste for such offerings.
22 Comments
Cat Pause,
Nice Play Sir Bob
That is her name!! There is an accent over the E. She is a Yank.
Its no joke…!
I have a feeling someone has fallen for a massive prank
OMG I withdraw my previous comment. It is NO prank the author at least is real
Yes – I had to immediately Google it all to make sure Sir Bob wasn’t pulling our respective legs. Sadly & unfortunately, he’s bloody not!
Once I get my blood sugar up I should beable to workout whether my leg is being pulled.
It seems to be the hallmark of academics these days to prove how esteemed they are by spouting nonsensical gibberish designed solely to signal that they know more than everyone else. It’s almost reached the point where it’s morphing into a new language separate from. English.
The aim is to know more and more about less and less until you know everything about nothing and thereby rank as a world expert.
It is a new language: wokish. You can get translations here: https://newdiscourses.com/translations-from-the-wokish/
The website, New Discources, is largely the work of James Lindsay, Peter Boghossian and Helen Pluckrose and compliments their recent book Cynical Theories and follows on from their hilarious and successful spoof of the dripping wet wokester ideology the ‘Grievance Studies Affair’.
Rather than “a diverse body of work” should it not have been a HUGE body of work?
Did attendees at the Zoom presentation require wide screens ?
Haha unbelievable. But no it’s real. Obesity is an illness though, didn’t you know Sir Bob? Absolutely nothing to do with the amount of food that goes in. Or exercise out. As an aside I believe there should be a maximum allowable body weight for these tights the girls wear now. The sights we are now forced to endure are appalling beyond belief.
Quite right Pedro! And if they do persist in wearing them, they should not be allowed to be viewed from behind…my God! do they know what they look like? Obviously don’t care, somehow it’s ‘our’ fault no doubt
And don’t forget the fat size 18’s that are somehow proud to be bulging out of size 6 bikinis………
Agreed. If I ran the country, lycra would be licensed like firearms.
Really you just couldn’t make this bloody bullshit up ,I cant wait for the next bout of staggered amazement to come forth as it surely will
Of course its an illness and its to do with the quality rather than quantity of food.
Take a look in a few supermarket trolleys for clues.
Look in the ones pushed by those who appear to have eaten the GDP of a small Pacific nation.
Tons of sugary drinks, bread, biscuits, junk food.
We are what we eat which is absolutely correct on an atomic scale.
In saner times, these mindless pursuits would be described as “navel gazing” but the irony is that these “academics” haven’t seen their navels in years 🙂
“Bejaysus,” as a good friend of mine used to say, “the sites we can’t unsee.” . Some of the elephantine bodies crammed in to lycra are almost as fascinating as they are offensive.
One can only admire the chemists ability with fabrics.
Still-look on the bright side, there won’t be a pensions crisis.
Pension is cheaper than the health crisis. In my perfect world your BMI would determine if you actually receive health treatment unless you have a genuine health reason which a very few do.
Just noticed this being offered at a clients.
https://www.chisholm.edu.au/courses/statement-of-attainment/traffic-management-skill-set
Literally-how to operate a stop-go sign