Jia Tolentino

One of the reasons that I, on a macro level, find it really sad when people who are extremely thin take this to become much thinner is that what it is to be human, we're made up of our appetites. That's one of the defining things of what we seek and what we literally physically hunger for and desire. you know, like our desire for pleasure and relief and excitement, right?

One of the reasons that I, on a macro level, find it really sad when people who are extremely thin take this to become much thinner is that what it is to be human, we're made up of our appetites. That's one of the defining things of what we seek and what we literally physically hunger for and desire. you know, like our desire for pleasure and relief and excitement, right?

These things are important and they make us human. And back to the conversation about kids, it's like so much of the rise of obesity in children seems directly related to the fact that people are so afraid of fat children in the first place, right? Like that children are taught to fear their appetites and fear the snack drawer. Like the idea of just kind of natural pleasure, right?

These things are important and they make us human. And back to the conversation about kids, it's like so much of the rise of obesity in children seems directly related to the fact that people are so afraid of fat children in the first place, right? Like that children are taught to fear their appetites and fear the snack drawer. Like the idea of just kind of natural pleasure, right?

in our appetite seems to be the thing that might possibly lead to the healthiest relationship with them in all cases, right? To not need to indulge and have guilty pleasures and sort of secret little things, right? That if these appetites, if we could sort of treat them normally in all respects, and it seems like American consumerist culture just blows all of these kind of compulsions

in our appetite seems to be the thing that might possibly lead to the healthiest relationship with them in all cases, right? To not need to indulge and have guilty pleasures and sort of secret little things, right? That if these appetites, if we could sort of treat them normally in all respects, and it seems like American consumerist culture just blows all of these kind of compulsions

sky high because of this fear we have of appetite.

sky high because of this fear we have of appetite.

balanced I guess culture then I'd be like sure enjoy the pleasure of food because then you can regulate that pleasure because you're getting pleasure everywhere but people don't get touched that's a really interesting idea they don't have community they don't have any other pleasures but that's what I mean right if we could if we could like honor our need like like what we were saying out outside time and safety yeah yeah and like the whole labor market being organized differently so that it's not like you have to squeeze all your pleasure into like two minute micro installments like

balanced I guess culture then I'd be like sure enjoy the pleasure of food because then you can regulate that pleasure because you're getting pleasure everywhere but people don't get touched that's a really interesting idea they don't have community they don't have any other pleasures but that's what I mean right if we could if we could like honor our need like like what we were saying out outside time and safety yeah yeah and like the whole labor market being organized differently so that it's not like you have to squeeze all your pleasure into like two minute micro installments like

you know, six times a day, right? Like, I think we would have a very different relationship to compulsion and appetite and pleasure and relief if, you know, if American society were set up in such a way that would, like, honor people as, like, beings that need these things, right?

you know, six times a day, right? Like, I think we would have a very different relationship to compulsion and appetite and pleasure and relief if, you know, if American society were set up in such a way that would, like, honor people as, like, beings that need these things, right?

Yeah, I feel like that's the whole story of the entire conversation around weight, right? Like it's who is making the money off of them and who's making the money off of the cure. Follow the money. Always follow the money. Yeah.

Yeah, I feel like that's the whole story of the entire conversation around weight, right? Like it's who is making the money off of them and who's making the money off of the cure. Follow the money. Always follow the money. Yeah.

Well, Yeah, I think one of the things that does seem maybe meaningfully new about this is that the beauty standards of the last decade seem to me to be this really kind of insidious arms race between digital enhancement and then technological alteration to match digital enhancement. And then you digitally enhance more and then use technology to further sort of shape, inject, discipline, whatever.

Well, Yeah, I think one of the things that does seem maybe meaningfully new about this is that the beauty standards of the last decade seem to me to be this really kind of insidious arms race between digital enhancement and then technological alteration to match digital enhancement. And then you digitally enhance more and then use technology to further sort of shape, inject, discipline, whatever.

The thing that really scares me is The idea that an unaltered body or face is aberrant or deviant and sort of unacceptable, that like that's the thing that I find really like existentially terrifying.

The thing that really scares me is The idea that an unaltered body or face is aberrant or deviant and sort of unacceptable, that like that's the thing that I find really like existentially terrifying.

And I think plenty of people who are fat and healthy and perfectly happy in their lives are now hit with this sort of unbearable wave of like, well, why don't you just get the little jab, you know?

And I think plenty of people who are fat and healthy and perfectly happy in their lives are now hit with this sort of unbearable wave of like, well, why don't you just get the little jab, you know?