"Ophelia Was the Rebel Girl..."

[psalm_onethirtyone]

Have been studying anthropology this semester, and have noticed two overwhelming attitudes in this field, at least as far as our teacher (who shares said attitudes) has chosen to expose to us:

First, dramatic fatphobia--the number of articles we've read in which cultures are praised because the people in them are skinny, or the devastating effects of white influence were summed up with "AND THEN PEOPLE GOT FAT OH NOES" is really squicky to me. Really? Really? Moreover, there is a definite trend of 'and all European societies are evil because they eat processed food and have bad teeth and teh fat'. I will grant that processed food is bad for you, but I think that making a value judgement about a culture based on the food they eat is really ridiculous. I don't think anyone I know is a bad person for eating at McDonald's, even though I think the food from McDonald's is disgusting. The plain fact is you are not what you eat, and the implication that Europeans brought processed food to various tribal peoples and TURNED THEM FAT OHGOD is just. What.

(please note that I'm not endorsing the idea that European culture has deeply influenced tribal culture and caused tribal cultures to change significantly, including in their eating. Again, I just don't think this tone of disdain towards European culture for their food choices is appropriate.)

Second, romanticism of band cultures. Our professor is hardcore in love with band societies, and basically spends ridiculous quantities of time talking about how much better they are than any other society, and some of our readings have definitely enforced this point of view. Once again, cultures are cultures. They have good and bad aspects, but you can't really assign value judgements to them as a whole. They just are.

Plus she (and, again, some of the texts) are just so in love with the idea that tribal peoples are more innocent and natural and attuned to the earth that some days it is like sitting in on an hour of James Cameron's Avatar at goddamn eight in the morning, and I am just not okay with that.

And if I sound touchy about this, it's because yesterday I had to listen to an hour-long lecture about how we all suck because of what we eat. YOU TERRIBLE PEOPLE AND YOUR SATURATED FATS. Goddammit I'll be in my corner with my chickens and my piggies and my screw you.

Anyway, has anyone else experienced this in anthropology? FWIW, there was a large focus on Maori people and how European New Zealanders corrupted them with cavities.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grayswandir_/]

Not to be contradictory, but I doubt what they mean is "eating at McDonald's every day makes you a bad person" but rather "eating at McDonald's every day can cause a ton of medical problems." Like, I definitely don't think my dad was a "terrible person" because he sat around eating mayonnaise-and-peanut-butter sandwiches and putting entire sticks of butter on his food, but I do think he probably wouldn't have needed quintuple bypass surgery if he'd... not done that. I mean, there are genuine health problems related to processed foods, having nothing to do with ethics or aesthetics...

Again, I just don't think this tone of disdain towards European culture for their food choices is appropriate.

I'm with this, though. Especially since, for heaven's sake, European culture generally brought a lot worse things than their food when they "discovered" someplace new. :/

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

I would like to hear that, but it's not really the vibe I've been getting. I mean, there is saying "my dad ate the wrong things and then he had health problems" and there's "my dad ate the wrong things and then he had health problems because he was a weak, indulgent fat person" and one is obviously more condescending and judgemental than the other.

Yeah, diseases and random shooting kind of rank higher for me, having just watched an anthropological film about Australian colonisation in New Guinea.

[julietveiled.livejournal.com]

a) I agree with what the commenter just above me said, so thanks to them for saying it better than me.

b) Granted, I've only taken two anthropology classes (linguistics anthro & intro to biological anthro), but in neither of those have I experienced what you talked about... In fact, there was far more emphasis on the other side - much more focus on "don't judge based on your own conventions / don't judge at ALL, really" than anything else. So I'm thinking it may be more your teacher, your particular class, than anything else... and I'm sorry you got stuck with that. :/

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

THAT WOULD BE NICE. I would definitely prefer an unbiased study. I mean, I recognise that we all bring our biases to the table, that's pretty much inevitable, but it's really, really frustrating to have to deal with a bias that is incredibly triggering to me.

[mhari.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Always nice to be triggered by your education. :|

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

PRETTY MUCH THIS.

[little-lady-d.livejournal.com]

my african philosophy teacher is from cameroon and told us this story of a time his brother tried to compliment an american friend of his by telling her 'wow, you're fat! and i mean that! from the bottom of my heart, you are so fat.' obviously, that got a bit awkward, but it still struck me as actually very sweet.

so, what i mean is, yeah.

[gileonnen.livejournal.com]

^_____^ See, that is super-adorable and I am pretty sure I would have to go be charmed by it.

[little-lady-d.livejournal.com]

ajume (the prof) kept trying to tell her the brother didn't mean it but he kept insisting he did -- when you meet a big, beautiful woman, you've got to tell her so!

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

Ffff that is entertaining. And, obviously, shows that "fat=bad" is a cultural value that not every culture shares.

[tiamatschild.livejournal.com]

That's your indvidual professor, and that is a problem. She's doing several different things that ethical anthropologists should not do, including imposing her cultural values on other cultures. (And if it's really 'processed European foods' then she's seriously misrepsenting a complicated subset of cultural imperalism as expressed through food - which is a major, major problem, both historically and contemparily, and "access to processed food makes you fat" is about the most facile summation of it I can think of.)

You might want to write a note to the dean about it, if you feel comfortable doing that. I'd avoid focusing on the band society thing - I don't doubt you that she's doing it, but it can be really hard to cite examples of inappropriate romanticism convincingly, especially since the band structure is attractive, so the creepy might be hard to convey. But the inappropriate moralizing is something that should be readily documentable.

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

I really don't feel comfortable, but I'm relatively uncomfortable in class, too, because I'm a fat person who eats processed foods when I'm at school, and as someone with a history of EDs I can't help but hear this kind of thing and be triggered by it. But that's really an individual issue.

[tiamatschild.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Aside from the fact that you deserve protection too, and it is still bad scholarship, I would bet anything you are not the only student she teaches who has a history of EDs.

I've had teachers who pulled abusive stuff before - reported one of them once. It didn't go anywhere, but it made me feel a little better. It's also early in the semster, and you could consider withdrawing and taking the course with another professor. I don't want to say you should do things you're uncomfortable with, but it doesn't sound like she's going to cut this out, and I want you to be safe, sweetie. <3 <3 <3 <3

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

ahahahaha she is the only anthropology professor at our school, are you kidding. She teaches all the anthro classes and she is the only option.

[tiamatschild.livejournal.com]

Drat. That's a smaller anthropology dept. than I thought.

*huuuuuuugs you*

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

We are a very tiny college, most of the departments are very small.

[tiamatschild.livejournal.com]

A department of one is definitely small. Could you talk to an advisor about it? Someone who might have options for you? I ask because, as I say, I have done the Prof who keeps hitting major issues thing, and it. Yes. I am a protective Nanni!

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I'm not sure whether there's any way to avoid it, frankly, but I only have this class and another required with her.

[tiamatschild.livejournal.com]

*huuugs* Which is something, at least. I do hope you'll bring your concerns to someone, sweetie. They might have ideas.

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

It just feels so personal and stupid (which is the reason I haven't reported my bike vandalised yet either, ugh, I need to do that). I always feel like these things are my personal issue and I just need to suck it up.

[tiamatschild.livejournal.com]

I know exactly what you mean. I find it so hard to stand up for myself a lot of the time! I think that I just need to be braver, or I'm oversensitive, or I'm just being silly, or no one will believe me. I don't trust my own perceptions. But when other people behave badly, like with the bike, or this professor, the truth is that it isn't your issue. It might hit you a little harder because of your personal issues, but it is their problem, and their anti-social behavior patterns are going to be affecting more people than just you.

*huuuuuuuuuuuugsyou* Which doesn't mean you need to take care of everyone else. But when people's behavior hurts you, it's valid that you're hurt. You don't have to just take it. You deserve to be safe, too. *cuddlesupto*

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

*leans on* Externalising things is so hard. Makes me tired.

[tiamatschild.livejournal.com]

*snuggles* It totally is. I completely agree.

[watchcry.livejournal.com]

How is that

That is not anthropology! That is going to a bookstore, buying an amateur anthropology book,a nd then talking about how their awesome primitive crystals healed your cancer and being primitive is so awesome and did I mention that they're primitive and that's waaaay btter than being civilized, which we are, CIVILIZED WE ARE, but er that's baaaaad.

... Or, rather, what just about everyone else said.

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

It's insulting to the tribal cultures as well as to the western cultures, and I'm just feel extremely twitchy right now.

[watchcry.livejournal.com]

Ohohoh! I think my sarcasm came across wrong. I was trying to say that people who talk like that are actually on about how much better we are, and actaully think that westernization rawks.

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

Nonono, I knew what you meant, I was just still irritated. >_>

By the way, did you get my e-mail?