Children and dieting should not go together no matter how pretty the picture, how ornate the wrapping, or how pink the ribbon is. And yet, Paul Kramer has written and attempted to sell his self-published children’s book called “Maggie Goes on a Diet” (Aloha Publishing, 2011) on Amazon. I say “attempted” because the title has not been released yet due to the controversial responses this book is receiving.
Geared for children between the ages of 8 and up, this book is described by Amazon in the following way:
“This book is about a 14 year old girl who goes on a diet and is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image.”
First of all, 8-year-olds should not be reading the same books that teenagers are reading, and if this is the story of a 14-year-old dealing with weight struggles, then 8-year-olds should not have to bear the burden of this conversation. Dealing with weight issues is not something little children should have to grapple with, and yet, they are becoming acutely aware of these notions of self-image and preoccupations with looking thin because the media, television shows, and teenage starlets like Demi Lovato, who is presently struggling with her own weight gain in the public eye, bring it to their attention. The idea of a “normal-sized girl” does not exist. We all come in different shapes and sizes, and although obesity has become a nationwide issue in our society, everyone’s normal is subjective. The idea that a girl has to be thin to be normal is sexist and degrading. Insulting, really.
The second issue with this book is the cover. Although the 44 pages of this book illustrate a chubby girl’s attempts to lead a healthier life by eating, exercising, and joining sports like soccer, the cover paints a different story for our Maggie. Maggie is looking in the mirror and seeing a reflection not of herself, but of a thinner, prettier version of herself. And is that a slinky, pink prom dress she is holding? Yes, it is. So Maggie isn’t losing weight to feel good about herself so she won’t become a diabetic in the future; she’s not losing weight because she doesn’t want to heave heavy breaths as she climbs the stairs to get to her classes in school; she’s going on a diet and getting thin to look pretty — blonde, thin, and sexy in her new slinky dress. She’s doing it to fit in.
And, Girls Incorporated has done some fine research to show how young girls are feeling pressure to be thin and popular to the point that they are getting themselves sick and hospitalized in their attempts. According to Girls Incorporated, a 2000 poll revealed that 48% of girls in grades 3-12 noticed that the most popular girls in their schools were “thin.” This number increased to 60% in 2006, and I am too afraid to ask what the number is today. A separate survey by Girls Incorporated showed that 60% of girls in grades 9-12 were attempting to lose weight (Supergirl Dilemma, 2006). It’s enough that women in their thirties and forties are trying out Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig as well as other fad diets and prescription drugs to lose weight; we don’t need our daughters to start this hyper-conscious and self-loathing debacle of attaining the perfect body in the most impressionable years of their youth. Jezebel recently published an article that revealed the issue of 5-year-olds being treated for anorexia because they are being teased about being overweight, even though their BMI and their doctors tell them their weight is normal. What are we doing to our girls?
Although the idea of strong and empowering habits achieved by eating well and exercising and joining sports is a positive for this book, the fact that it is geared towards girls only, uses the word “diet” and not “exercise” in the title, and then has this subversive and defeatist cover to push through to the consumers, little girls already flooded with pressure to look hot and popular and thin, this book should stay off the market for good. One of the most fundamental lessons I teach my students is to write for your audience. The audience for this book is comprised of moms and little girls. Even if the little girls were drawn to Maggie’s perfect image of herself in the mirror, thankfully, the money comes from the moms. And the moms all give this book a resounding “NO!”
My advice to Paul Kramer is to hang this book up as a first draft, which received terrible reviews, and stick to what he knows—because writing for little girls is not his niche unless he wants to teach them to continue the self-hating, self-defeating they are already being targeted with by the media. If he doesn’t think so, then I advise him to read the tags the readers on Amazon have assigned his book: “teaching kids to self-hate,” “give your children neuroses,” “anorexia bait,” “if you hate your daughter,” “body fascist,” and “sexist drivel,” just to name a few.
This book does not belong on anyone’s list of books to read for empowerment, agency, or anything related to it.
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Some children are over-weight and blaming the author for writing a book that has a girl who wants to lose weight so she can be like other girls her age is not the answer to this complex problem. An over-weight girl should be medically evaluated to make sure there are no medical issues and if there are not, then her life style should be addressed. I agree she should not be put on a diet although what she is eating should be looked at. Maybe she should be getting more exercise and is spending too much time in front of the television set. Overweight is a symptom and not something she should be punished for. Maybe she needs a bike and friends who bike as well or someone who will sit down with her and find out what she wants to do that involves getting out of the house. Whatever, her or his medical health is number one and the child should be told that there is nothing wrong in not looking like everyone else. It can have an advantage. A girl can develop things she wants to do while not being pushed into the girl vs. boy game too early. It is such a complicated situation.
I agree with the premise that overweight is not a simple matter of losing the weight as the book being reviewed implies. Far from it. I just think that It is a huge problem and a very complicated one, unlike the attack on the above book seems to say. I like the Obamas but even Mrs. Obama is wrong when she attempts to address the obesity problem as a disease that needs to be eradicated. It is a very complicated problem without a simple solution. Even as I write this I am having trouble addressing it in terms that can be written in simple language because it can’t. It is no one’s fault but our children should not be pushed into adulthood before it is time for them to grow up. For many, losing weight is a passage from childhood to adulthood. For corporations, it is a way for people to spend money on the children.
I hope the book above dies on its own accord as bikinis for young tots does because there will not be a market for it. Something tells me that there will. Maybe we should be writing books that will let these kids know that their bodies are not the total value of who they are and that they should cultivate their inner worth more.