Analysis Of Samantha Murray's Essay 'Fat Female Body'

In her work “The ‘Fat’ Female Body”, Samantha Murray points out the issue that obese women are under much bigger scrutiny when it comes to their eating habits. They are often shamed and criticized because of their food choices and feel more comfortable eating in private than in public. The problem is gender-oriented, which Murray emphasizes by stating: “whilst men are expected to consume food heartily, women are required at all times to exercise control and restraint around food and eating.” There has been a significant amount of studies concerning gender stereotypes in food, which proved that unhealthy meals are associated with masculinity and healthy ones with femininity.
This theory has been proven, for example, in a study led by Luke
For example, a spot for “X-tra Bacon Thickburger” featuring Mystique from the franchise “X-Men” who has to “man up for the 2x bacon”, which she does by literally transforming into a muscular guy. The suggestion that not even a superhero can stay a woman to eat that burger is disturbing. Taking big bites from a greasy, packed with meats is seen as not fit for her. Thankfully, there exists healthy, low in calories, “lady” food which men will not touch. In an advertisement of Burger King’s titled “I Am Man” , a man sings “I’m way too hungry to settle for chick’s food”, refusing the tiny meal that he just received at a restaurant while on a dinner with his female companion. It enforces the conviction that women should eat healthy, small, green dishes and it is a sphere where no “true man” would like to find himself. Another problem with such imagery in advertising is the question of choice—the man wants to eat the unhealthy product and he goes for it, while a woman has to maintain her weight, her tiny feminine frame. She does not want that low-fat yoghurt, because she secretly desires some chocolate, a need that she will satisfy during some “guilty pleasure” time alone. Why alone? Well, because she is not supposed to eat that high-calorie sweet goodness and she knows it. For that reason, the women who are obese are met with less