I thought of the analyst Winnicott's observation: 'It is a joy to be hidden but disaster not to be found'.

Fat is a way of saying no to powerlessness and self-denial.

The insistence that the commercialisation of the body is a fit subject for political discussion and intervention is well overdue.

Emotional Literacy means being able to recognise what you are feeling, so that it doesn't interfere with thinking. It becomes another dimension to draw upon when making decisions or encountering situations. Emotional expression by contrast can mean being driven by emotions, so that it isn't possible to think. These two things are often confused, because we are still uncomfortable with the idea of the validity of feelings.

... within every form of oppression lies the seeds of liberation.

We know that ever woman wants to be thin. Our images of womanhood are almost synonymous with thinness.

Many young girls are constantly consumed by controlling and managing their body image to the extent that they are much more involved in the production of the self than in living.