Paula Deenism: It's The Personal Responsibility, Stupid!

We have received the news that Paula Deen, popular television cook and self-titled "queen of Southern cooking," has Type 2 diabetes. There is outrage against Ms. Deen for advertising unhealthy eating, which I find particularly fascinating.

Here's the question: are we or are we not personally responsible for what we stick into our mouths?
I'm serious. This seems to be an unanswered question in this country.

Let's briefly discuss Ms. Deen. Without a doubt, she is a brilliant self-promoter; a comfortable presence whose personality Americans have overwhelming approved as attractive and acceptable.

As we all know, Ms. Deen's popularity is a matter of taste (no pun intended). It turns out that many Americans are comfortable with the homey, overweight human model on television, I suspect for many reasons.

Southern food is comfort food, and who better to peddle the grits than a Southern mama?
She did a great job in that role. People bought it and ate it, apparently.

Let us never forget that this is television, folks. Show biz. If it were not, perhaps if we were to meet this unknown person who enthused at a social event about high calorie treats, we would chuckle and understand that she enjoys eating those things. End of thought process.

It is her business what she passionately eats. It is our business what we choose to eat. It is a free country where anyone savvy enough to snag a slot on television can hawk anything at all.

Here's where the dispute comes in. We like to forget a little thing called personal responsibility. We live in a free country where we can turn the channel away from obvious stupidity, and shut our mouths to empty calories. In other words, we can just say no to a particular television person who is not our favorite bowl of grains.

So why not turn the channel and understand that this is show business, not science?

We turn to television for expert advice, when really what we are getting is entertainment, be it medical media actors, psychologists, dieticians, financial gurus.

In fact, you are choosing your favorite entertainers when you choose these shows on television.
(It is my hope that there is some real information offered, but I know where hope can lead, and it's not always good).

One last thought on the media event of Paula Deen's diabetes confession. What's up with those who celebrate her having diabetes?

Not only do we live in a spiritless place where being mean is practiced as an art. There is also an epidemic of blaming others for our own life circumstances and choices.

Instead, let's study what it means to be responsible for our own health and actions.

Let's make a deal to stop celebrating that anyone has a disease.

Right now.

 

Comments

[PrunellaC]

10:34 AM on 02/04/2012

For a psychotherapist, Dr. Pappas seems to be rather willfully missing the point for the backlash against Ms Deen in the wake of her diabetes diagnosis.

I don't see anyone “celebrating” Deen's diagnosis. I do see people criticizing her for promoting a severely unhealthy way of eating while proudly proclaiming “I'm your cook, not your doctor.” Through my criticism of Food Network, I've cut Deen some slack because she never pretended that her food was good for anyone. I couldn't bear her over-the-top dirty old lady persona (Foghorn Leghorn is a more realistic Southern representative), but I suppose that is a matter of personal preference.

Of course, Deen's medical situation is her personal business and she has no obligation whatsoever to share it with others. The fact that she chose to do so now, I believe, has more to do with explaining away her endorsement deal and protecting her brand – and her millions – than any altruistic motivation.

Personal responsibility? Absolutely. I'm all for it. I've not seen a single post where people blamed Deen for making them diabetic. The fact is that Deen and Food Network have overplayed their hand and their audience and now, Kardashian-like, must deal with the fallout. Paula needs to take her lumps like a big girl and stop whining that she lost a few million fans. Television and the public marketplace is no place for the thin-skinned.

http://hakunafritatta.blogspot.com/2012/02/paula-deens-reckoning.html

[saythisword]

10:52 AM on 01/23/2012

I think this approach is a bit disingenuous. Most of the anger I've seen is about Deen's own refusal to take personal responsibility for her OWN choices, not some sort of shocked "I can't believe she's been misleading us!" response.

[Casa-Giardino]

10:54 AM on 01/22/2012

I was never a fan of Paula or any other chef on TV and in all honesty I do not watch any cooking shows. I agree with you about "personal responsibility" in eating and living life.
http://casa-giardino.blogspot.com/2010/09/sustainable-eating-means-cooking-from.html

[ThinkCreeps]

04:01 PM on 01/21/2012

Sure, she's not forced that junk down peoples' maws personally, but is it ethical or admirable to make lots of cash by showing people pictures of shockingly unhealthy food that also tastes bad?

How would you feel if a self-appointed medical presenter was advising people not to get vaccinated?

[Oginikwe]

11:07 PM on 01/20/2012

I hate the "stupid" that continues to be tacked on to everything. It's very rude and detracts from whatever message the individual was trying to get across as well as the individual who chooses to use it. If my doctor spoke to me or to someone around me like that, it would be the last word I'd hear out of his or her mouth. Very rude as well as condenscending.

[pqbfa]

01:19 PM on 01/20/2012

I completely agree with this piece - and I'm someone who likes to cook healthy (just last night, I made a recipe that called for 1 TBSP of olive oil and 3TBSP of butter...and cut it down to the olive oil and a little butter - all that fat was not necessary...but I digress). We all know better. I don't remember the last time that I made a Paula Deen recipe (if ever)...but there may be a celebratory occasion that calls for one. I think that her cooking has a place.

Another thing that bothers me about this whole situation is that it also smacks of sexism and elitism. Come on...Daniel Bouloud and Eric Ripert and other high-end Euro chefs do not cook light. They put AT LEAST the same amount of butter in their dishes. But they are men and "gourmet"...apparently this is different from being a woman and from the American South. Personally, I do not see the difference between a stick of butter in meuniere sauce and a stick of butter in a Southern fried dish...a stick of butter is a stick of butter. I do not have an axe to grind here, I'm from elitist New England :-)

Not that Ms. Deen should be let off the hook, though. Seriously, being a diabetes drug spokesperson?

[Dr. Cheryl Pappas]

04:00 PM on 01/20/2012

Your point about Paula Deen's media smack-down vs. the celebration of Michelin-starred chefs is thought-provoking, pqbfa. Thank you for your interesting response.

[mercury613]

12:27 PM on 01/22/2012

"Another thing that bothers me about this whole situation is that it also smacks of sexism and elitism"

I totally agree. I wonder if Deen would be so vilified if she wasn't an overweight woman.

[ThinkCreeps]

06:57 PM on 01/22/2012

I would hope that a thin guy who cooked revolting lardy food would run into problems with food reviewers.

[RW22]

11:25 AM on 01/20/2012

The United States, for the most part, is made up of ignorant sheep. For all the talk of personal responsibility and informed choices, there are milions of people in this country who would be completely suprised to found out that eating the way Paula Deen cooks or eating fast food on a regular basis is bad for you. Every other commercial on TV could be a Public Service Announcement about healthy eating habits and it would not help. Conservatives ridiclule Michelle Obama for mildly suggesting that children eat more fresh vegetables. They even have to run those "Get Up, Get Up" PSAs to encourage children to actually GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY, for Christ's sake! U.S. decline is in full advance.

[Dr. Cheryl Pappas]

03:50 PM on 01/20/2012

Yes, RW22. Wake up, America!

[Bringer of Awareness]

07:00 AM on 01/20/2012

Thank you. It is comforting to know there are others out there that are media literate and exercise critical reasoning.

[Bringer of Awareness]

07:04 AM on 01/20/2012

My comment was a reply to theroser. For some reason it is not appearing in my iPhone correctly

[FilthyHarry]

08:33 PM on 01/19/2012

The main flaw with the "personal responsibility" argument is that the people who use it seem to assume that it is the ONLY factor. So if you acknowledge "personal responsibility", then nothing else matters.

That is demonstrably not true. I can vociferously agree that personal responsibility is and should be a major factor in people's decision making process, but that I do so does not mean I must ignore other factors that also bear responsibility. Do people who hold up 'personal responsibility' as a shield against anyone else being responsible truly believe that no one has any power or ability to sway or mold other people's opinions? Its a patently ridiculous proposition. Yes personal responsibility should make people make better decisions, but that doesn't take away responsibility from people who deliberately choose to speak out irresponsibly from the consequences of their actions as well.

[Dr. Cheryl Pappas]

10:55 PM on 01/19/2012

On the contrary, FilthyHarry, of course it is not the ONLY factor. "Personal responsibility" is a smart response to all that; the way to live well in a world where not everyone is conscious, responsible, or well-intentioned. It is not a state of denial.
By the way, I'm not saying that it is easy to be personally responsible.
It requires questioning everything important, knowing difficult things about yourself, and learning to care about how you live; learning sometimes from scratch. It needs to be practiced, this questioning of what is right for us, and the sooner, the better.

[Annie Koempel]

06:15 AM on 01/20/2012

You also can't forget to take into account all those people for whom 'personal responsibility' is near to impossible. Food access and availability are big issues that influence, inform, and perhaps even partially destroy, personal responsibility. If I can't access fresh fruits and vegetables on a near to regular basis, how much personal responsibility can I really wield?

[FilthyHarry]

07:23 AM on 01/20/2012

Ok so are you acknowledging that in addition to personal responsibility, Paula Deen was behaving irresponsibly to others? That is the problem I have with the 'personal responsibility' argument, its use is essentially a defense against someone else's wrong doing. Like the hundreds of millions of dollars tobacco companies spend to sway people's opinions and tastes to partake in a dangerous activity is somehow meaningless because of 'personal responsibility. People who know a lot less about food and diabetes than Paula Deen listened to what she had to say and she wasn't upfront with those people about certain realities. That is not to say she is solely responsible, but she certainly bears some responsibility for her actions. That would be her personal responsibility.

[Samson1]

03:14 PM on 01/19/2012

Two things. First you seem to have forgotten what you said in your article, "she is an entertainer" a "brilliant self promoter" Why would you expect her to change? Second personal responsibity would seem to be something that someone takes upon themselves, you know, personally. Not something one tells someone else to adhere to. Perhaps you and Paula don't share the same personal ethos?

[mercury613]

01:40 PM on 01/19/2012

Finally, a voice of sanity in all this ridiculousness.

[Jaime Hecht]

01:34 PM on 01/19/2012

I always grapple with this kind of sentiment. on the one hand, yes we decide our actions. But for anyone who has taken an introductory sociology class, we learn from early on that society is a powerful force. Whether we like it or not, we are influenced. And celebrities are on the stage of influence, along with advertisers with the most money, and lobbyists, well, with the most money. Ms. Deen has chosen to take her cooking onto a stage, and therefore has power and influence over many. It is then her "responsibility" to use that power for good, in my humble opinion. www.awellfedworld.com

[Dr. Cheryl Pappas]

09:50 PM on 01/19/2012

I so agree, Jaime, with using power for good. There are notable examples of celebrity being used for the good of all. For sure, media stars are not all aligned with humanitarian concerns or even having the goal of using influence to help people live better lives. This is tough, but it is always our job to investigate personal choices and learn to care for ourselves.

[ChristianWright]

11:35 AM on 01/19/2012

I would... just sayin'.

[Dave F]

11:28 AM on 01/19/2012

"Here's where the dispute comes in. We like to forget a little thing called personal responsibility. We live in a free country where we can turn the channel away from obvious stupidity, and shut our mouths to empty calories."

Let me get this straight: You're saying VIEWERS should exercise personal responsibility for what they put in their mouths, but when the pitchman (or woman, in this case) does NOT exercise personal responsibility because they are promoting UNHEALTHY FOODS, you are blaming the people who are (ahem, excuse the pun) fed this crap?

Please. Stop blaming the victims. I do not celebrate Paula Deen having diabetes. But if WE, as the viewing audience, need to be "personally responsible" for what we put in our mouths, SHE ought to be personally responsible for what comes out of hers.

[mercury613]

01:38 PM on 01/19/2012

Except that Paula Dean, unlike you, is not blaming anyone *else* for what she puts in her mouth.

[Dave F]

06:44 PM on 01/19/2012

Strawman! Why don't you try reading the last part of my last sentence. S.L.O.W.L.Y., since it clearly didn't sink in the first time.

[Dr. Cheryl Pappas]

07:36 PM on 01/19/2012

Your point about "blaming the victims" strikes at the heart of my message, Dave F.
Paula Deen is paid to entertain. "VIEWERS" are watching a theatrical performance and desperately need to not mistake this for "education". Rather, we need to think.
It's also time to personally take responsibility and wherever possible to unplug this vile identification of "victimization".
It will take work, but being a victim of a television "expert" and her circus act is a crucial beginning step.

[Dave F]

10:26 PM on 01/19/2012

Again, I'll ask, as this question keeps getting ignore by both you and the other person who wanted to make it all about "me": Where is Paula Deen's personal responsibility in this? Is she not responsible for what comes OUT of her mouth, just as much as we are responsible for what we put in ours? Please answer that. Giving a "sweep it under the rug" patina that she's "just an entertainer" whitewashes the fact that this "entertainer" is telling people to eat poorly, then not have to be held accountable for saying as much THEN, on top of that, PROFITING off of a diabetes drug - a disease that is directly tied to.. what she promotes on her food show! Shouldn't SHE be responsible too? The "Food Network" is about... ummmm - oh yes, FOOD and EATING (in case that simple point eludes you, which it appears it does).

[Dave F]

10:56 PM on 01/23/2012

Hey, would you look at that? The Food Network didn't even know she had diabetes!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/23/paula-deen-diabetes-announcement-celebrity-chefs-support_n_1224454.html

And the other "entertainers" on that network aren't giving her one whit of support, given her diagnosis. Maybe because she hid it? Maybe because that's not personal responsibility?

I wonder if you will continue to be an apologist for this predator in light of the lack of support she is receiving from the other "entertainers" on the same network.

[theroser]

07:59 AM on 01/19/2012

If I trick you into walking down a dark alley and then bonk you over the head and take your wallet isn't it really your fault for not using your personal responsibility and avoiding the dark alley? Or maybe you should have used your personal responsibility to not carry a wallet? If everyone, or even most people, had a good command over their "personal responsibility" their would be no advertising industry. The shows try to convince yout that you deserve to have whatever you want, then the ads sell it to you. Our consumer economy relies on people lacking personal responsibility. I am also diabetic and wouldn't wish it on anybody, but I've worked out every day since my diagnosis and drastically change my eating habits. I've lost obver 80 pounds in less than a year and have avoided having to go on medication. Paula has had the disease for three years and has made no apparent lifestyle changes. In fact, she continues to promote the very lifestyle that contributed to the disease. Isn't that lying? Isn't she personally responsible for being honest? Or is personal resposibilit always the other guys problem?

[OmniDude]

10:22 AM on 01/19/2012

Faved your comment...

Paula Deen has been an enabler for promoting unhealthy habits that made her sick. What is the personal responsibility for promoting those habits 3 years after her diagnosis?

[Dave F]

11:35 AM on 01/19/2012

This is spot on. The whole POINT of advertising and marketing is to get people to do things, by emotionally appealing to them. Ms. Deen - AS A PUBLIC FIGURE - has responsibility. If not, what's the point? I guess I should cook up some poison on TV, smile and tell some good stories while I'm doing it, then when people die say, "Well, THEY should have exercised personal responsibility!"

What lunacy people have bought into in this country! It's okay if you're selling something to have NO responsibility whatsoever, apparently. And at the same time, we are cutting education budgets, laying off teachers and letting the "free market" take care of things. I guess in conservative fantasy land, letting millions of people die first is the way the market should correct itself, rather than the person selling the product have any accountability for their actions and words!

Pure insanity, driven by greed and selfishness.