The Dark History of BMI & Fatphobia

The Dark History of BMI & Fatphobia

Dark ideas and stigma around different body sizes really took hold in the Enlightenment.


Very unenlightened, if you ask us.


This started all sorts of awful movements, and one result was BMI - or Body Mass Index - which is still used as a measure of health by doctors today.


What even is the BMI? Why are women and people of colour particularly affected by these harmful ideas? And what's the future of fatphobia and BMI?


Joining Kate is the fantastic Amy Farrell, professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Dickinson College and author of Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture, to take us back to the dark origins of BMI and fatphobia.


This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.


Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.


You can take part in our listener survey here.


All music from Epidemic Sounds.


Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avsnitt(407)

How Sexy Was Shakespeare?

How Sexy Was Shakespeare?

There's a bit of interest around Shakespeare at the minute - can we call this the Paul Mescal effect?The Bard’s work featured many references to sex and sexuality - some more obvious than others. But ...

30 Dec 202547min

How Hot Was Lord Byron?

How Hot Was Lord Byron?

How 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' was Lord Byron really?We know the Romantic poet had a bit of a reputation, but how true was it? And how unusual would his behaviour have been?In this episode from ...

26 Dec 202542min

How Has Porn Changed Through History?

How Has Porn Changed Through History?

With Christmas around the corner and everything being oh-so wholesome, we thought we would offer an episode from the archives of something not-so wholesome: a history of porn.What did porn look like b...

23 Dec 202546min

Who Was The Virgin Mary?

Who Was The Virgin Mary?

Despite virginity being a myth, why has Mary’s virginity been considered so important?What does this tell us about the relationship between Christianity and sex? And what else do we know about this wo...

19 Dec 202541min

The Truth About Sigmund Freud

The Truth About Sigmund Freud

It's the one we've all been waiting for!The Oedipus Complex; the oral, anal and phallic stages; penis envy; psychoanalysis - we've all heard of Sigmund Freud's work. But who was he?What did Freud real...

16 Dec 202553min

Inside the Royal Harems of the Ottoman Empire

Inside the Royal Harems of the Ottoman Empire

You can't move for people talking about the Roman Empire or the British Empire, but what about the Ottoman Empire?It spanned a huge period of time and at the heart of it was the Royal harem: enslaved ...

12 Dec 202550min

The Mother of All Tudors: Child Bride to Kingmaker

The Mother of All Tudors: Child Bride to Kingmaker

Ever heard of Margaret Beaufort? Probably not. But whilst her name has been overshadowed by those of her son, grandson and great-grandchildren, her impact on history remains.Lauren Johnson joins Kate ...

9 Dec 202550min

Sex & Scandal in Ancient Egypt

Sex & Scandal in Ancient Egypt

What did the Ancient Egyptians think about sex? Is there any truth to a rumoured royal sex scandal? What did they think of same-sex relationships?In today's episode, Kate's joined by the fantastic his...

5 Dec 202546min

Populärt inom Historia

massmordarpodden
p3-historia
historiska-brott
kod-katastrof
motiv
olosta-mord
historianu-med-urban-lindstedt
historiepodden-se
rss-seriemordarpodden
rss-historien-om
rss-massmordarpodden
krigshistoriepodden
rss-brottsligt
rss-historiska-brottslingar
harrisons-dramatiska-historia
rss-arkiv-stieg
palmemordet
vetenskapsradion-historia
nu-blir-det-historia
rss-borgvattnets-hemligheter