Gentrification: Pushing Out the Working Class

In chapter four of Revolting bodies?, The Struggle to Redefine Fat Identity, Kathleen LeBesco mentions suggests that  a fat person reveals that the American Dream is a fabrication. The American Dream is the belief that anyone can achieve wealth regardless of his or her social class. LeBesco mentions:

Today, the socioeconomically advantaged are the only ones with enough time free from the ravages of wage labor and enough money to invest in personal trainers and pricey gym memberships to be able to cultivate the corps du jour— toned and supple, with a dangerously low percentage of body fat.

As LeBesco states, only the economically stable are able to afford the thin body. The brings forth plenty of questions such as:Is working class able to afford nutritious food? Can the working class afford personal trainers and gym memberships? Does the working class have time to exercise? Are there resources for the working class to obtain all of these at a low cost?

Therefore, being “fat” is deeply rooted in the economics of American government. Grocery stores such as Whole Foods that sell organic food are a prime example of how nutritious food is expensive.

The politics of obesity is specifically seen in gentrified cities where cost of living affects the working class. There are numerous cities such as Washington D.C., Detroit, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles that have been gentrified and the victims of gentrification are the working class.  I have personally seen this in the city where I used to live, Santa Ana, CA.  All these cities feature high costs of living and low resources and their working class citizens are victims of the vicious cycle of gentrification.

Santa Ana, CA is located in Orange County, one of the wealthiest counties in the country, and its population is 78.2 % Hispanic with an obesity percentage of 46.5%. Recently a program has developed to help educate citizens about healthy lifestyles by providing free exercise course, free cooking classes, and low cost medical help.  This program helps citizens of Santa Ana access resources are usually not available to the working class but it does not help fix the source of the problem: gentrification. Gentrification pushes the poor by raising property value, and reaches out to wealthier citizens by selling property at low prices.

As a former citizen, I have seen up to four families living in one home in order to be able to afford rent. Citizens who were once owned small business in the downtown area where pushed out by high rent prices in order to bring in high-end boutiques and bars. Not only did this affect the business owners, it also affected the citizens who once relied on those businesses to buy affordable clothes and food. With cost of living at its highest, citizens are struggling to buy food; not just healthy food but food in general. Being thin is not on the mind of these citizens instead they are struggling to provide their families with basic necessities. 

 Gentrification is a vicious cycle that pushes out the working class, who work hard and get nowhere. LeBesco mentions that“ failed consumers, ethnic Others, the working poor—flunk their citizenship tests, rendering them the citizens profane of contemporary American culture“ and this population is a victim of the American economy. The fat body is a reflection of  the unattainable American Dream. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgJ87khal_s
http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org/research/overweightdocs2012/Overweight_Orange%20County%20fact%20sheet.pdf