TOW #4 - The Shame of Fat-Shaming

In Gina Kolata's hard-hitting exposé titled The Shame of Fat Shaming, she explores the rejection and disapproval that obese Americans face every day. In the text, Kolata illustrates the ripples caused when high-influencing authorities make such fat-shaming remarks. Gina Kolata is a reporter at The Times, focusing primarily on science and medicine. Her primary purpose is to illustrate educate the reader on the devastating effects of fat-shaming to ultimately convince the audience to stop bullying. In recent events such as the Republican Presidential Nominee's scathing remarks about the obese, Kolata feels it important to bring the fat-shaming issue to light. Writing for the American public, she uses logos to illustrates how wide-spread the problem is among today's youth, “Dr. Puhl and her colleagues asked fat kids who was doing the bullying. It turned out that it was not just friends and classmates but also teachers and — for more than a third of the bullied — parent” (Kolata 1). By incorporating professional research into her writing, Kolata establishes credibility with her readers, which will make them take into account what she is actually saying. In addition to logos, Kolata also uses pathos to appeal to the reader's emotions in order to encourage them to end fat-shaming, “They shame and blame themselves for being fat and have the same sorts of thoughts about other people who are obese”. In showing how fat people often self-hate due to outside influences. Kolata's diction in words such as “shame” and “blame” evoke empathy from the reader, which serves her purpose in ending fat shaming. Thus, Kolata achieves her purpose of explaining and attempting to end fat shaming through using logos and pathos.