The Dark History of BMI & Fatphobia
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
02/18/25
•46m
About
Comments
Featured In
Dark ideas and stigma around different body sizes really took hold in the Enlightenment.
Very unenlightened, if you ask us.
This started all sorts of awful movements, and one result was BMI - or Body Mass Index - which is still used as a measure of health by doctors today.
What even is the BMI? Why are women and people of colour particularly affected by these harmful ideas? And what's the future of fatphobia and BMI?
Joining Kate is the fantastic Amy Farrell, professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Dickinson College and author of Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture, to take us back to the dark origins of BMI and fatphobia.
This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
Inside the Magdalene Laundries
February 14, 2025
•49m
Societies all throughout history have tried to control female sexuality.
Ireland's Magdalene Laundries and Mother and Baby Homes are two examples of this, where women were imprisoned against their will.
As you'll hear, it's a history that dates back to the 18th century and is still unfolding today.
Joining Kate to take us inside the Magdalene Laundries and the Mother and Baby Homes are two special guests:
Natalie Hughes-Crean is a Specialist Case Worker at Frea Renewing Roots, a charity based in the north of England to help women and families affected by Mother and Baby Homes.
Katherine O'Donnell, campaigner and co-author of Ireland and the Magdalene Laundries, A Campaign for Justice.
How was this imprisonment and mistreatment of women allowed to go on for so long? How complicit were the state? And what are some of the incredible stories of the women whose lives these institutions ruined?
This episode was edited and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
Inside Europe's Biggest Red Light District
February 21, 2025
•51m
Between 1860 and 1925, tens of thousands of women worked in Dublin's Monto, the largest red light district in Europe.
It was a world of narrow alleyways full of brothels busy with sex workers, at a time when the Catholic church was trying to establish ideas around what a woman should be. Hint: it was very different to the women of Monto.
What was life like for the women who lived and worked in Monto? How did these 'poor unfortunates', as they were known, create a community and support each other amidst such hard times? And how did they influence fashion trends of the time?
Joining Kate today is the fantastic Caroline West, author of Wrong Women: Selling Sex in Monto, Dublin's Forgotten Red Light District, which is available now.
This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
If you'd like to get in touch with the show you can contact us at betwixt@historyhit.com.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Promoted