An open letter from Fit After Thirty to Obama’s Pick for Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin:
Dear Dr. Benjamin,
Some of your critics are calling you a bad word, that rhymes with bat, hat, and rat. As in, I tip my hat to you: I am going to bat for you; and critics of your weight are a bunch of rats. The bad word they call you begins with “F”. It is a word that we, here at Fit After Thirty, call “the other naughty F word”.
It’s a word that we try not to use in its adjective form, and that we believe is overused in the media and in society at large, to reduce women to nothing more than a number on a scale, while ignoring the various other numbers that may define a woman. Any woman.
Numbers such as her IQ score, her college GPA, her salary, the number of kids she may have mothered, her Scrabble score, to name a few. Numbers like how many grandkids she has loved, the number of hours she’s spent perfecting a skill, the number tears cried for family members she has lost to disease, the number of hours spent caring for those ill loved ones, the people she calls friends, the number of years she’s been alive, and oh, I don’t know, the number of years say, that a woman may have spent in medical school earning a degree, and the number of patients she’s treated with that degree, which qualifies her to be nominated for the position of the top doc in the nation.
Some people overlook those numbers where you (and other women) are concerned, considering such numbers trivial, while making weight and/or waist size the be all and end all. I don’t.
This F word they call you, Dr. Benjamin, is a word that Fit After Thirty strives not to use as an adjective or as a label in describing a person. This website believes it’s a word that tends to be hurtful and demeaning, rather than supportive, uplifting, or inspiring. Therefore it is a word that we have chosen to spin into an acronym - *f.a.t. - from a positive set of words - Fit After Thirty - in order to create a positive mindset around the naughty “F word”. We hope that the new positive association will encourage and inspire.
Some of your critics say that because this naughty “F word” describes your physicality, that you aren’t a credible expert in the area of health. To that I say, I’ve known a lot of decent hair stylists who have really bad hair- dos, themselves. And I’ve also known of a lot of really lean people with clogged arteries in need of coronary bypass surgery. (David Letterman and Regis Philbin are two who come to mind, who I am sure your critics are familiar with). And let’s not forget; we all know of a Treasury Secretary who doesn’t pay his taxes and whose role as President of The Federal Reserve Bank of New York likely played a huge role in one of the biggest economic crises in our country’s history. And he still gets to play with the White House calculator.
Lean doesn’t necessarily equate to health. A Surgeon General’s job isn’t only about dealing with the disease of obesity. A body size doesn’t determine the quality of work you do. (Whereas, the quality of work you’ve done in the past, does). And you’ve done quality work, Dr. Benjamin. The way I see it, your confirmation hearings should be a walk in the park, because if Timothy Geithner is qualified to hold a position where he even gets to look at dollar signs, a few extra pounds shouldn’t disqualify you from doing what you have always done well, and with passion and compassion. Medicine.
Dr. Benjamin, it makes me sad that people don’t recognize that those who practice medicine, like yourself, are human beings prone to succumbing to the same pitfalls and struggles that the rest of us have. It would be great if all doctors could be genetically superior in the body department, as most of you are in the mind department, but alas, the majority of you are in fact, subject to the same hereditary misfortunes and genetic cruelties as the rest of us. I for one, feel that imperfections such as these make you doctors more human, and better able to understand me and my struggles as a patient.
Your critics believe that since we have an obesity epidemic in this society, that you would be hypocritical or lacking in expertise and motivation to discuss this issue, because you, yourself carry a few extra pounds. Let’s just agree that the next time you hear them say these things, you say to them, “hey, moron - would you take advice from a virgin-sex therapist? (pause) I didn’t think so!” (The “I didn’t think so” is important. Make sure to include that to show you’ve got spunk, Dr. Benjamin.)
I believe most Americans will come to realize that a Surgeon General who has eaten a Twinkee or two, prior to discussing how and why we should give them up, is necessary. Because truly, if you didn’t know how good they taste, then how could we know that you empathize with how difficult it is to give them up? You are relatable, and that’s what I like.
I for one, think that there may be no better person to help me inspire America and the world to redefine “fat”. To turn the word upside down (for some incline sit ups, perhaps) and to truly lead people to a healthy transformation in mind, body, and spirit. Hell, the fact that every blog and media outlet is raising the decibel level on the obesity problem where you are concerned, is a sign that you could be a powerful force in exacting change in the health of millions.
And who better, than a woman with a mother who died of lung cancer caused by smoking, a brother who died of HIV, and a father who died with diabetes and high blood pressure, to truly comprehend many of the complicated health issues America faces, not just from the perspective of a doctor in your professional role, but as a human being. As a daughter. As a sister. As a fellow woman in America.
All of these reasons are why I wholeheartedly support your nomination. I hope you’ll take comfort in knowing that during the media mudslinging process and the public debates that ensue regarding your weight, I got your back. Regardless of the size blouse you wear on it.
With Sincere Admiration,
*f.a.t. Suzy
