Thanks so much for writing this! I clicked through to see the changes and got enraged all over again, particularly around the complete removal of the word fat. As a fat person myself the absolute ignorance of the move makes my blood boil. The problem with body image in society was never the word fat but the perceptions around that word. Removing the word fat stigmatizes a perfectly useful adjective and does absolutely nothing about changing the way society worships at the the alter of starvation physiques. Striking a red pen through the word fat is the thoughts and prayers of body empowerment--useless rhetoric designed to make the person holding the pen feel better while doing absolutely nothing to make substantive changes.
Kids love the bad guys and can understand that is their role. A Series of Unfortunate Events, the book series won't ruin kids, as we know. Some parents roll their eyes and gasp, but kids get it.
I think we should also hold back in referring to people as all out “horrible” unless they are Hitler or someone else at that level of infamy. They have said or done “horrible” things but does that define their existence? Who should be the curator of that viewpoint.? This reaction if mine is perhaps inspired by friends who have referred to the residents of Palestine, Ohio as “knuckledraggers” holding signs that read ‘Joe has got to go” as if anyone who has concerns in that region is a “Trumper”. As far as the books go, I can’t imagine “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein surviving.
I know where you are coming from but I wasn't generalizing a group such as you are describing, so I don't think there is a comparison here. I was being kind with "horrible" which I didn't ascribe to any other author in particular (although there are many who I personally consider to have done super shitty things). I did call Dahl awful, and I was being super extra kind there. Some quick Google searching will show that Dahl was a misogynist, antisemite, adulterer, fascist (the bad adjectives continue)...he is a man defined by his own actions in that regard. His actions speak loud enough to leave that legacy behind. But that doesn't mean I think that his books should be changed.
The Atlantic article there that I linked also points out one of the other things that I think is interesting about these books. Adults and kids read them and KNOW that they are dark and problematic. And that's precisely part of the appeal. But it doesn't meant that by reading these things that kids will become like the books, especially if parents and teachers are talking with their kids about the more challenging aspects of these stories.
There are SO many of the books I read as a kid that wouldn't survive by any sort of political correctness standards of today.
Thanks so much for writing this! I clicked through to see the changes and got enraged all over again, particularly around the complete removal of the word fat. As a fat person myself the absolute ignorance of the move makes my blood boil. The problem with body image in society was never the word fat but the perceptions around that word. Removing the word fat stigmatizes a perfectly useful adjective and does absolutely nothing about changing the way society worships at the the alter of starvation physiques. Striking a red pen through the word fat is the thoughts and prayers of body empowerment--useless rhetoric designed to make the person holding the pen feel better while doing absolutely nothing to make substantive changes.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. :)
This is such a great point. Cleaning up what is perceived as imperfection only perpetuates the myth. Reminds me of this article: https://mckoss.medium.com/an-ais-definition-of-female-beauty-7baeb3461645
Ugh ugh ugh
Kids love the bad guys and can understand that is their role. A Series of Unfortunate Events, the book series won't ruin kids, as we know. Some parents roll their eyes and gasp, but kids get it.
I think we should also hold back in referring to people as all out “horrible” unless they are Hitler or someone else at that level of infamy. They have said or done “horrible” things but does that define their existence? Who should be the curator of that viewpoint.? This reaction if mine is perhaps inspired by friends who have referred to the residents of Palestine, Ohio as “knuckledraggers” holding signs that read ‘Joe has got to go” as if anyone who has concerns in that region is a “Trumper”. As far as the books go, I can’t imagine “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein surviving.
I know where you are coming from but I wasn't generalizing a group such as you are describing, so I don't think there is a comparison here. I was being kind with "horrible" which I didn't ascribe to any other author in particular (although there are many who I personally consider to have done super shitty things). I did call Dahl awful, and I was being super extra kind there. Some quick Google searching will show that Dahl was a misogynist, antisemite, adulterer, fascist (the bad adjectives continue)...he is a man defined by his own actions in that regard. His actions speak loud enough to leave that legacy behind. But that doesn't mean I think that his books should be changed.
The Atlantic article there that I linked also points out one of the other things that I think is interesting about these books. Adults and kids read them and KNOW that they are dark and problematic. And that's precisely part of the appeal. But it doesn't meant that by reading these things that kids will become like the books, especially if parents and teachers are talking with their kids about the more challenging aspects of these stories.
There are SO many of the books I read as a kid that wouldn't survive by any sort of political correctness standards of today.