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Letters
Obesity cover art perpetuates stereotypes
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I am a 1990 graduate of the University Honors Program with degrees in English and management. UB trained me to be a critical thinker, and I’m a proud alumna.
Imagine my dismay, then, when I saw the cover of your winter 2009 issue. I am an associate professor of English at Davidson College, where my work is based in gender studies and disability studies. While I am sure the work being done to uncover the causes of childhood obesity at UB is worthy, I found the art accompanying the story—particularly on the cover—extremely problematic, both “ableist” (perpetuating disability stereotype) and sexist.
In our society, in popular representation, the obese person is often stereotyped as clownish and clumsy. They are seen as out of control in their appetites and “piggish.”
Your cover art perpetuates these stereotypes, countering the good work of the scientists profiled. How can the public be expected not to vilify the obese person, and to see obesity as a more complex medical and social issue, when art such as this perpetuates a view of the obese as clownish and overstuffed? This caricature denies complexity to body identity.
Ann Fox,
BA ’90 & BS ’90
Davidson, NC
Illustration provokes painful memories
One of my clearest memories from childhood are those involving the schoolyard bullies as they taunted and harassed the other children—especially the “fat” kids. I remember the mean-spirited laughs, the ridiculous songs and chants, and the humiliating “fat” caricatures they drew and then posted for all to see.
All of these memories came flooding back to me when I received the winter 2009 issue of UB Today. On the cover I saw a “fat” caricature so offensive, I could hardly breathe—and this coming from an academic institution?
By the way, I do power yoga, cardio workout and dance lessons at least three times a week. I love hiking. I haven’t eaten fast food in years, and I don’t even own a TV. However, I am considered overweight. The picture on your latest cover tells me that my lifestyle choices make no difference at all because “fat” makes you not human at all—just a caricature of a person—sad, plopped in front of the television, and stuffed with pizza and donuts.
Yasmin Alexander,
MLS ’07
Brooklyn, NY
UB in the News
New York Times
SUNY weighs the value of Division I sports
An article in the New York Times looks at the advantages and disadvantages SUNY schools have encountered as they upgrade their athletic programs to compete with other major public institutions at the Division I level. UB is mentioned as having led the way to Division I in 1991 and the football team played a bowl game for the first time in January, but the path has not been as smooth for other SUNY campuses. The article quotes former UB president William H. Greiner and UB athletic director Warde Manuel.
New York Times
UB photographer says a rephotograph lifts the illusion that time stops
UB's Doug Levere, photographer in University Communications, is quoted in a New York Times article about the changing urban landscape of New York City.
USA Today
Government downsizing may result in a dangerous concentration of power, expert says
An article in USA Today about efforts in Western New York to downsize local governments and the wave of national frustration over big government that was illustrated this year by raucous town-hall style meeting over health care reports a study by UB's Regional Institute concluded that if every municipality in Erie County cut two legislators, the savings would be "negligible," less than $4 per person a year in most cases. The article quotes Kathryn Foster, director of the Regional Institute.