Ah, yes. You are thinking of The Fantasy of Being Thin (http://kateharding.net/2007/11/27/the-fantasy-of-being-thin/) in Kate Harding's blog. And you're right. We live in a culture that equates weight-loss with self-improvement, with greater sex appeal, with greater cultural relevance (particularly for women), and as such, dieting is never simply a goal to lose weight. It is a goal to be a better person.
Which means that, in all likelihood, my officemate does experience my scholarship as some sort of moral judgment, because implicit in my work is the idea that weight loss does not make you a better person. Although the fact that she's asking for my absolution sort of bolsters that idea, doesn't it? If I'm fat, and have (in her mind) the power to make effective moral judgments about other people, then she's already flirting with the idea that weight loss does not constitute a moral high ground.
no subject
Which means that, in all likelihood, my officemate does experience my scholarship as some sort of moral judgment, because implicit in my work is the idea that weight loss does not make you a better person. Although the fact that she's asking for my absolution sort of bolsters that idea, doesn't it? If I'm fat, and have (in her mind) the power to make effective moral judgments about other people, then she's already flirting with the idea that weight loss does not constitute a moral high ground.