I haven’t had cable since 1995 and I really only use my television for movies and video games. But I’ve started watching a couple of different shows, due to the magic of complete seasons. And most recently, I’ve been watching the first season of House.
Before I watch each episode, I’ve been reading the episode synopsis. Not enough to really give things away, just enough to provide a basis roadmap. And, because I read the synopses, I was kind of dreading watching episode 16. Heavy.
I wasn’t expecting it to be handled well. I mean, this is television. This is FOX. But I’m also stubbornly incapable of NOT watching (or reading, for that matter) a part of a series that is important (oh, heck, or even not important) to the chronology of the story line. So I watched it.
It’s incredibly painful, even though it’s just a doctor, reading lines from a script, to watch a doctor refuse to even consider a diagnosis other than, “She’s fat.” It’s incredibly painful to listen to every hate-filled sentence that echoes what real people say around us every day. It’s incredibly painful to see a fat little girl ’s world where her classmates don’t want to be her friend and her mother is her only ally.
But, for the most part, this is a pretty amazing episode and I have to give credit where it is due. They handled this well.
The girl’s mother is played by the same actress that played Rita Sue on Carnivale. She is gorgeous and strong and a pleasure to watch. The other doctors, House included, diagnose and treat the girl the way they would any other patient (though this does not always – or usually – include any degree of sensitivity *laugh*). They display little patience with Chase’s attitude toward fat people. Chase dismisses current research in favor of anecdotal observations. But no one else buys into it.
Chase is used to illustrate how fat people are often treated by doctors – as if every medical problem is caused by the person’s fat. He is dismissive of the girl’s mother’s claims that they lead a healthy lifestyle. Obviously, in Chase’s eyes, if she weren’t shoveling food down her throat, this girl would not be fat. It’s all so simple, right?
Except it isn’t and the other doctors do an admirable job of illustrating that. Instead of being the mainstream view, Chase’s attitude is seen as an impediment to diagnosis. He is seen, though it is not addressed in so many words, as prejudiced.
And that is a really powerful thing to watch, even if it IS just on a television show. To see even a fictional group of doctors look beyond the girl’s weight to find what is actually making her sick is to see what medical treatment of fat people OUGHT to entail.
It’s to see the sort of medical treatment we ought to be demanding.
Because, when it comes right down to it, we are going to have to demand quality medical treatment before it is automatically given to us. Our doctors work FOR US. We do not work for them. I read, at least once a week, on Fatshionista stories about being mistreated by doctors. But, no, they say. They can’t change doctors!
Why?
Because this is the doctor they’ve been seeing for years? Because this is the “family” doctor? Because they are scared of searching and finding someone who will only insult them in new and exciting different ways?
My bet is that it is the third.
I should know – I’m terrified of finding a new doctor. I’ve actually put it off for well over a year. My last doctor, he told me to go on a starvation diet. This was after I discussed, as part of my medical history, my problems with not eating. This despite my (at-the-time) personal trainer (two sessions a week) and nutritionist-friend who devised a healthy diet for me.
I left that office feeling like I must, somehow, be lying. Because it didn’t seem like I was eating all the time but, you know, maybe somehow I was. Maybe I was deluding myself. Maybe I was eating way too much and that was making me fat and it was all my fault and I needed to stop eating immediately and fix myself. It took a week to get past that mindset, a week of forcing myself to eat on a regular basis and crying before bed because I didn’t know what I was doing wrong that my doctor wouldn’t believe me.
In the world of television, the girl’s fat is a symptom of a different problem. It has stunted her growth and raised her blood pressure. When that problem is fixed, she loses weight (and grows a couple of inches). In real life, things aren’t that simple. I wish that the episode hadn’t ended on that note, but I also understand why it did – I don’t think the mainstream viewing public of America is quite ready to fully embrace fat acceptance, you know? So while it isn’t as good an episode as it might have been, it’s as good as it COULD have been in our current culture climate.
And in the meantime, it reminds me that I need to start sifting through doctors that take my insurance, that I need to start calling offices and making consult appointments. Because, just as I choose my hair stylist with care, I am choosing my doctor with care. My doctor works for me. And if he or she can’t see past my fat to what might actually be causing a problem, well, he or she isn’t a very good doctor.
18 Comments
I remember that episode being pretty impressive (though cringe-worthy), too. I remember that at one point, Cameron snaps at Chase “Okay, we get it, you hate all fat people, shut up already” (or something to that effect), and being kind of amazed that they actively framed it as prejudice in that way. Hmm, I’d be interested to watch it again now and see what I think.
Also, I totally did not realize that was Rita Sue, possibly because she wasn’t having sex with Jonesy in a water barrel.
Also, she was wearing clothes.
*grin*
Yeah, that is a really awesome moment – Foreman snaps at him because House and Chase and Foreman are trying to figure out anything else that might be causing the girl to die.
There was a LOT of cringing because Chase really does spout every line – including the idea that only skinny is attractive because that is what attractive MEANS, that society likes to look at you. Then he turns on Cameron and accuses her of weighing 90 pounds.
Then he turns on Cameron and accuses her of weighing 90 pounds.
That is such a perfect illustration of the whole problem isn’t it? You can’t win.
There is a lot of commentary on the Feministe entry you pointed me to that discusses how fat hatred and thin hatred are two sides of the same woman hatred coin. And I really agree with that idea.
Yes, fat hatred is, in its practical effect, more damaging because those who practice institutionalized fat hatred are privileged, but that doesn’t strike me as adequate justification for thin hatred.
It sounds like a great episode. You definitely should read the Gina Kolata book, if you haven’t yet. For me, it’s helped me to just be a bit more comfortable with the idea that I am eating pretty healthily and am not binging.
I am sick and tired of doctors blaming every illness that I have on being fat.
Sure, if my joints hurt than it could very well mean that my body is complaining that it has to carry too much weight. But there have been times that I’ve gone to the doctor because of a bronchitis and ended up having to endure a lecture regarding my weight (and yes – after that experience I never went to that particular doctor again).
And I am sick NOW. If the illness that I have could really be caused by my weight/size (which in most cases I doubt), I still need medication/treatment NOW and not yet another lecture, because I sure as hell won’t/can’t lose 50 pounds in 2 days.
On the other hand, when I have asked a doctor about tips regarding a healthier diet and an exercise plan, I got a shrug and a “maybe you should start jogging”. Gee, great. It’s always easy to point a lecturing finger and scold, but it’s a whole different story to actually give realistic and sound advice.
There’s another episode from season 3 with an adult patient, and similar comments are made – I’d be curious to hear/read your responses to that, as well. I missed most of season one, but I am going to go back and watch this one!
I, too, am having a hard time finding the motivation to search for a new doctor – I recently relocated to California, and I can’t say that I’m having the best time meeting trustworthy people; I’m incredibly nervous about starting a search for someone whose help I really actually need.
I’ve really been loving reading your site – thanks for everything you’ve been writing about.
(disclaimer: this is such a loaded issue for me that i had trouble writing this little. I’ve done multiple trims on it, and i hope it still makes sense.)
We have to take our health into our own hands, to some extent. We have to recognize that “doctor” and “asshat” are not mutually exclusive terms. Just because someone can afford to get through medical school doesn’t mean they can’t possibly be a rampaging bitch.
I have a friend who told me that in the nursing school she went to, they actually emphasized a lack of empathy as a necessity. Made it easier to deal with the stuff you saw. If you empathized with everyone you helped out, you’d be a wrung out mess at the end of the day.
In my experience, the doctors who are worst are the ones who think i want to be coddled. I don’t. I want them to help me resolve matters of my physical health. I don’t go looking to them for emotional support any more than i’d go to my mechanic for it when my car needs an oil change.
What a change! When my mother went to nursing school in the fifties, she was taught that doctors treat diseases, but nurses treat patients.
Steanne, i figured it’s a distinct possibility that this was a very localized phenomenon. Ye gods and little fishies, i certainly hope it is.
i would submit that there is a fourth option:
Because you know from past experience that changnig doctors means the HMO is basically assured to misfile the paperwork at least once or twice, that your medical history may or may not make the transition with you, and that if the limited amount of research that was available to you before you made the transition (word of mouth, basically, as there is nothing beyond name, rank, and specialty on the HMO’s directory) that you’re still stuck with it for x number of weeks/months/years before you can revisit this nightmare again.
Not universally, of course. But non-zero.
fourth scenario, that should be.
I noticed you didn’t mention, how they had the gym teacher in that episode of House punish the boy who was making fun of the fat girl jumping rope. That’s really what stuck out about the episode for me. Rarely do gym teachers punish other students for being emotionally abusive. Heck, rarely do most teachers for that matter.
I thought that it was a good thing to show, that the boy was told he was wrong, and he was humilated and made to run extra laps, rather than the fat girl. When usually the opposite happens far too ofter.
I also thought the ending where the girl became thin was rediculous too. It’s like a fairy tale for child-minded adults. And she was thin and everyone lived happily ever after. Like are there so many people who are that infantile?
I also loved that episode, minus the ending (though I agree with your thoughts on why it had to end that way). And Spinsterwitch beat me to recommending the Gina Kolata book. I’m sure you’ve got it on your reading list already, but this post made me think of it. I was expecting it to be a retread of The Obesity Myth (albeit a welcome one) and was pleasantly surprised to find a completely different angle and some new information. She really delves into the personal struggle of the chronically dieting (read: starving) fat person. It’s awesome
I haven’t seen the show, but ugh, Jackie, your comments regarding it really hit home for me. Gym class was my worst nightmare for MANY years. In our school, they used to WEIGH US in gym class (this was gradeschool), and call out our weights for everyone to hear. It didn’t matter that i had a good 6 inches of height on most every one in my class- but because my weight was so much higher (and thanks to the public broadcast, everyone knew what it was), I became the target of cruel and really hurtful jokes. God, i’m cringing now… haven’t thought about it in years.
So i’m glad to hear that the episode featured the boy being punished for his cruelty to the classmate. Teachers overall (like doctors) should be more sensitive to these types of issues. No matter what your title or education, we’re all human underneath.
I put off having an annual physical for 4 years because I was so upset at the thought of going to the doctor and being told all about how fat I was. This was on no basis at all – I had picked my GP (after a move to a new city) because he was a DO, and I had only seen him once in 4 years to remove some stitches from my lip. I finally went last fall, but only because I’d had a mystery anaphylactic reaction to an unknown substance and thought that almost dying was finally enough incentive to go.
Turned out to be just fine. The nurse knew enough to use the large blood pressure cuff without going through the whole drama of using the normal one, getting a ridiculous reading, then sighing heavily before dragging the big one out of a drawer (which the nurse at my previous doctor had done EVERY TIME). They were both out for easy use, and she got the right one right away.
Then the doctor barely even commented on my weight. He noted that I had gained 10 pounds since my first visit several years prior, then just asked if I’d been under a lot of stress, and went right into how all of my vitals were just fine, so there was really nothing to worry about health-wise. I didn’t even get a lecture on avoiding visits for so long. I couldn’t believe how relieved I was, just to be treated like a normal person. I (heart) my doctor.
Thank you for saying what I’ve been thinking for years! (And I love House.)
I never had issues with doctors until I had issues with my period. When the doctor asked about my diet and I said I was a vegatarian she insisted I work with her dietician (who was an idiot!) and said I should change jobs since mine requires too much driving and desk time. Um, yeah, that’s an option! Not! I did complain about this prejudice doctor, but with HMOs the way they are is there more we can do to get the treatment we need? I mean, Kaiser’s whole marketting campaign, “Thrive” is about being fit and healthy and preventative care…somehow I don’t fit in? I’ve gone to Kaiser my entire life. Much pondering will follow this post. Thanks again!
My aunt died because she was so ashamed of her weight she wouldn’t go to a doctor. She had a stroke at 41. She was five foot tall and at least 300 pounds. She was the head nurse of an ICUnit. She was around doctors every day, yet she refused to see one for herself. Because she didn’t want to hear the lectures. She’d tried for years to lose weight, but she couldn’t. She tried everything, every diet, every exercise plan, but she couldn’t do it.
Why? Because she had an underlying medical condition that kept her from losing weight. Her body had a problem with a specific phospolipid. It was doing damage to her organs and blood vessels and no one knew it. It was causing blood clots and no one knew. They only found out after she died, in her autopsy.
She could be alive today, if she’d not been terrified to see a doctor. She’d have had to take one pill, one stupid, inexpensive, generic pill. Once a day, for the rest of her life. But she’d be alive. And once her disease was under control, she’d have been able to lose some weight. Not as much as she wanted, but some.
This is what fat-focused medical care does. It kills people.
It could very well have killed me too. I’m 5′10 and 300ish lbs. For years I went to doctor after doctor, complaining of extraordinary pain and exhaustion, recurrent infections, fevers, headaches, muscle weakness. They all told me I was fat and depressed. Duh! So, for almost seven years I just went and went and then I stopped going, because what was the point?
Finally, the pain got so bad I went to one more doctor. I hadn’t seen anyone in three years. She actually listened to me and did some tests (The other doctors wouldn’t even do fricking tests, regardless of the fact that I was fully insured.). Which showed, hey! I wasn’t crazy! First set of tests came back with a big giant red flashing light on ‘em, the next set got me a diagnosis: Lupus. My initial tests results were so high the doctors were afraid I was having organ damage.
I wasn’t, but it was a close thing. Now I’m medicated and in remission, but if I hadn’t been diagnosed, it could have progressed to the point where yeah, I was having organ damage.
It just pissed me off to no end how doctors treat fat people.