Laurie says:

I’m still in Kyoto. This seems to be my “typhoon season” trip to Japan – first one in Tokyo last week and now today in Okinawa. So, my trip to Okinawa is canceled and I’ll be in Kyoto or Kobe till I leave. I’m really sorry to be missing seeing Hanashiro-san and attending the arts conference. I was going to stay with her and her 5 cats and have lots of time to talk, but maybe next time.

Wednesday I did a shoot of a butch/femme couple in a beautiful park in north Osaka. It’s a beautiful narrow gorge with a small river (creek by US standards) with lots of tall trees and rocks. Its the final Women of Japan photo. I had wanted to shoot them on the last trip, but the timing didn’t work.

Then yesterday I gave a talk at the International Manga Museum in Kyoto. Mika Kobayashi and Rebecca Jennison were on the panel. Lots of thoughtful questions from the audience and comments on how it feels to see people who “look like you”. I had an interesting talk with a student of Becky’s who is doing a project on women and body image. It feels really good to be showing and talking about Women of Japan in Japan.

The Museum is in a series of beautiful old buildings that have been converted into one structure. It is also a library with many of shelves of manga on at least 2 floors and lots of people sitting and reading them.

There was a remarkable exhibition of watercolors by the Korean manga artist Sung Hwan Kim. They are images of the Korean war literally drawn as the event took place. It gives them a remarkable power and immediacy. And because they were done as the events were happening, there is an almost photographic sense of composition that really struck me. The events in the images were so powerful that it mostly overwhelmed any appreciation of the art. It took a third viewing for me to take that in.

I’ve been meeting lots of Becky’s students at Kyoto Seika University. I’m writing this in her office while she has a seminar with 3 students, all of whom are doing projects on different aspects of body image.

All my work is now finished so I’m hoping to spend the next few days resting and taking some walks here. I’m staying in North Kyoto in the mountains. It’s really beautiful with the dark green of the hills and the gardens and small rice fields in a neighborhood of old lovely homes with curved tile roofs. And I expect I’ll go and visit Kyoto city as well.

More later.

Women of Japan, photography, Japan, travel, Kyoto, International Manga Museum, typhoons, Nippon 2007, feminism, Body Impolitic

Debbie says

Something delightful, something solid, something intriguing, and something disgusting.

Let’s start with delight: the cutest singing group I’ve seen in a long time.

The group is called Qian Jin Zu He (a complex play on several meanings, one of which calculates to “over 1,000 pounds”) and their leader is Xiao Yang. The article does detail some of the shit they take from their home culture (not so different from what they would take here), and at the same time, they come off extremely well.

Through their performances, the group hopes to change stereotypes about the obese, said Zhang Wen, 24, the fourth member, who weighs 209 pounds and is from Tianjin.

“Our original purpose for joining the band is to help other girls like us feel more confident, feel better about themselves, and to prove our capability in front of others,” she said.

If you ever need a really solid basic article on Health at Any Size and the real science between fat, health, and fatphobia (I always need these references), try this interview with Linda Bacon.

My experience from having worked closely with many obesity researchers who are more conventionally-minded than me is that they are so strongly mired in their assumptions, that they don’t look at the evidence. Those that willingly engage, change their beliefs. The evidence is quite convincing.

There’s a antidote to the war on obesity, called “Health at Every Size” which supports people in engaging in healthy lifestyle habits as opposed to a primary focus in weight loss. I envision it as a peace movement.

It’s recursive to see Junk Food Science taking on the intriguing question of how people privilege myths and reject real science in favor of junk science. As a tireless crusader in this arena, Sandy Szwarc does a really fine job with the topic.

Those trying to dispel junk science that can hurt people, and prevent them from making decisions that are in their best interests, know how hard it can be. Despite often meritorious patience in explaining the facts and correcting misinformation, the myths seem to become even more firmly believed. Recent research led by Dr. Norbert Schwarz, Ph.D., of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, confirmed this phenomenon. They found that presenting factual, accurate information that contradicts erroneous beliefs, and encouraging people to think about issues, not only often doesn’t help, it can actually reinforce the very myths being corrected!

When debunking a myth, it’s common to first repeat it, but this technique can work against the quack buster. Simply repeating the myth may contribute to its later familiarity and acceptance.

Szwarc reviews the research, analyzes it clearly, and comforts me with her conclusion, which reads in part:

While the University of Michigan research might seem to imply that staying quiet and not saying anything might be better than debunking myths, that’s not true, either. Silence reinforces false information and is seen among a group as support. And, of course, if the truth was never given a voice, then everyone would believe myths.

And finally, I wish I knew why Britney Spears (as opposed to say, Lindsay Lohan, or Jennifer Aniston) keeps showing up as a Body Impolitic subject. It seems like the controversies that swirl around her frequently concern body image.

Now, suddenly, she’s fat. And some people are asking the question, “Is it fair to call her fat”? Of course, it’s not even remotely fair, or accurate. The follow-up articles make it clear that the only criterion by which she could be called fat (let alone “lardy”) is by comparing to her former super-toned self.

About the only thing left to say about this “controversy” is that the word “fat” is becoming completely meaningless. If it hadn’t already been positive teen slang (as “phat”), I’d expect it to be the new “gay” (as in, “That’s so gay!” meaning “I don’t like that!” with no direct relevance to sexual orientation.)

Stef found the Chinese singers as well as the Linda Bacon interview. Betsy pointed at the Junk Food Science post before I found it on my own, and Alan Bostick called my attention to the Britney Spears idiocy.

science, junk science, fat, obesity, size acceptance, health at every size, Britney Spears, Xiao Yang, Qian Jin Zu He, health at every size, Britney Spears, Body Impolitic