FAT

[Schlobin at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 20263

One of my friends, Rich, who is a professor at the University of Michigan 
School of Social Work gave me permission to post these comments to this list

"I love the Harry Potter books too. 
But anyway, something that really bugs me about the books is her depiction 
of obesity and her equating it with sloth, greed, and narrow-mindedness 
(her depiction of Harry's cousin). I think that continues to promote 
intolerance and mistreatment based on weight. I feel these wildly popular 
books will not do much for kids who are bullied and ostracized based on 
weight.
On the who's who in Harry Potter website, notice the description of Dudley:
"Dudley Dursley: Harry's chubby, spoiled and bratty cousin, also a Muggle."
I bet nine of out ten kids would start with a description of Dudley's 
weight as his defining characteristic."

I brought up Hagrid and Molly and noted that Mrs. Malfoy is thin, but still 
think 
that this is an issue worth discussing...

Susan