Tale #9: 1950's diet culture.

 Hello and welcome back,

The 1950s was a revolutionary moment for people. World War II had ended, and America's economy was in recovery. The push for Americans to constantly spend money was widely encouraged. It resulted in everything changing from simple fashion changes to an entirely new way of working out. This new concept ultimately created the boom of the slim figure. When Marylin Monroe and Liz Taylor's tiny waists hit the screens, this ideal body type became the most desirable. When woman's fashion began to change so, did the idealism of how women should look. In the 50s, the rise of fat-shaming became popular again due to dieting coming back into style. From a cracker company advertising "no one loves a fat girl." to a book titled "The Fat Boy's Book: How Elmer lost 40 pounds in 80 days." no man or woman was safe from this harsh reality. 

This new outlook took the food industry by storm, which resulted in promoting sugary foods that would aid in weight loss. Companies used to provide millions of ads to ensure that people were spending money. 

Advertisements became a popular way to lure in people who sought out this ideology. Many Americans were desperate enough to believe these fantasies to keep from being ridiculed. This era created false

perspectives of how people should perceive their relationship with foods. Advertisements were a creative way to ensure that people would consider spending their money on quick, easy weight loss tricks. "Lose 20 pounds safely" creates an appealing way to attract impressionable individuals.  The creator of this ad purposefully places the "perfect woman" to indirectly shame those who do not look like her. Thus, leaving women fixated on this product essentially, creating more revenue. 

 The short film "Cheers for Chubby" was created to promote a healthy way of losing weight. This film introduced to viewers a healthier lifestyle. This film points out that one must consult a doctor and how being overweight can cause diabetes, heart problems and tend to die younger. This film also goes on to explain how temptation will occur and how to overcome these urges. The film also shares how starving oneself is not worth it or recommends it. The film also doesn't set unrealistic expectations of how long it will take to lose weight. Although this animation educates audiences, it also scares people into not getting fat. This cartoon also shames the characters and creates this falsehood that skinny is more attractive and appealing to the eye. The narrator makes harsh statements such as "the best exercise of all is pushing oneself away from the table" and "would have been much smarter to have never gotten fat." Comments like those can make viewers feel unworthy for being overweight and essentially make them feel guilty. If the film would've taken a more positive approach instead of guilt-tripping those for being plus-size, this cartoon would have been the best way to promote weight loss. 

The 50s was an era of trying to build a broken economy. It resulted in companies desperately trying to force the average American to spend money that created a rise in fad diets. 

I hope you learned a lot about the toxic diet culture of the 50s. Until next time, Bye.