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You have to get to them young, before they start developing self-esteem on their own.

Caperton

Weight Watchers. Atkins. Zone. How are you supposed to track points or calculate net carbs when you’re still mastering your addzuptas? Ask that irredeemable lardass Maggie!

Available October 16, Maggie Goes on a Diet is (judging the book by its cover) the story of an overweight girl who gazes into a mirror, dreaming of being thin so she can fit into this dress she wants to wear. And something about soccer, apparently. But probably not while wearing that dress, which seems like it could be kind of restrictive.

This book is about a 14-year-old girl who goes on a diet and is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image

Break it down, now:

This book is about a 14-year-old girl who goes on a diet

Because puberty is the perfect time to start calorie-restricting.

and is transformed

Through the magical, transformative powers of dieting.

from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl

Yay! Because she was abnormal before! But now she gets to be normal! Cake for everyone! Except, of course, Maggie.

who becomes the school soccer star.

Awesome diet, that. Is there one that could have made me a world-class equestrian when I was 14? ‘Cause there could have been money in that, maybe.

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Remember, parents: It’s never too early to start ruining your child’s self-image.

Maggie wants to play soccer. That’s awesome. It’s one of the most exhausting activities one can engage in, even above raining down sulfur. But if you asked any of the members of this year’s World Cup women’s team for their secrets to soccer success, I can’t image you’d find too many who’d say, “Well, it started when I was 14 and had this pink dress that totally wasn’t going to fit.” Or when they were six years old and already internalizing negative body images from the world around them.

We can’t just have Maggie Wants to Be a Soccer Star, So She and Her Parents Start Making Sustainable Lifestyle Changes by Eating Lean Proteins, Brightly-Colored Veggies, Complex Carbs, and the Occasional Treat and Working Out Responsibly to Build Muscle and Cardiovascular Endurance? I mean, yeah, it’s wordy as hell, but it seems like an ever-so-slightly healthier message than, “Maggie’s a fat tub of goo. If she goes on a diet, she can fit into that pink dress. Oh, and soccer. Or whatever.”

(h/t Huffington Post)

51 thoughts on You have to get to them young, before they start developing self-esteem on their own.

  1. We can’t just have Maggie Wants to Be a Soccer Star, So She and Her Parents Start Making Sustainable Lifestyle Changes by Eating Lean Proteins, Brightly-Colored Veggies, Complex Carbs, and the Occasional Treat and Working Out Responsibly to Build Muscle and Cardiovascular Endurance?

    Or even Maggie Wants to Be a Soccer Star and is Already Healthy and Fit with Her Choices, So She Joins the Soccer Team, Who Works with Her Based on How She Plays, Not How She Looks.

    I would totally read a book like that.

  2. GAH the rage. I was a soccer star in my high school, actually, which is just about the time I developed an eating disorder! Which didn’t help my playing or future health at all! If only I had focused on my pink dress. Or something. I hear the 5-8 year old range is now worrying about being too fat. Why are things getting worse?

  5. We can’t just have Maggie Wants to Be a Soccer Star, So She and Her Parents Start Making Sustainable Lifestyle Changes by Eating Lean Proteins, Brightly-Colored Veggies, Complex Carbs, and the Occasional Treat and Working Out Responsibly to Build Muscle and Cardiovascular Endurance?

    How about not. Because being fat at 14 does not mean that one is eating an unhealthily, nor that one needs to change that.

    Tori: Or even Maggie Wants to Be a Soccer Star and is Already Healthy and Fit with Her Choices, So She Joins the Soccer Team, Who Works with Her Based on How She Plays, Not How She Looks.

    I would totally read a book like that.

    I might, too. Fat girls (and boys) can play sports, too. If they happen to want to.

  6. Oh, and by the way? Low fat diets — that whole “lean proteins” thing — during adolescence can cause neurological issues. Teens need fat, and often simple carbs, too.

  7. My high school friends who played soccer were all extremely solid, and gained a substantial amt of weight while playing.
    I think the idea that athletic=lithe and ballerina-like, which seems to be what the book is going for, is horrifically damaging. There was some article awhile back (yeah, helpful, I know) about HS coaches not understanding or even being aware of Female Athlete Triad.

  9. Wow. I had never heard of the Female Athlete Triad before. (Although I had heard of each of those issues separately.)

  10. Awesome diet, that. Is there one that could have made me a world-class equestrian when I was 14? ‘Cause there could have been money in that, maybe.

    I’m pretty sure I read almost that exact book when I was a kid. I don’t remember the title, author, or anything else, except that it was about a fat girl who was picked up and she got a job at a stable and took up horseback riding. Of course, the exercise causes her to lose tons of weight, she wins a competition, becomes really popular, and gets the boy who didn’t notice her before she was “pretty.”

    Amazing how that particular storyline sticks with me practically 25 years later, when I can barely remember actual good books I read last year.

  11. I was going to suggest Maggie was insecure because the media messages she’s received tell her being fat is bad, but she learns while becoming a soccer star that her value is measured by who she is and what she does, not how much she weights or what she wears, which helps her gain self-confidence because hey, she’s pretty kickass

    I almost felt like I was quoting India.arie while writing that.

  12. MadGastronomer: How about not. Because being fat at 14 does not mean that one is eating an unhealthily, nor that one needs to change that.

    I was working from the assumption that if Maggie wanted to play soccer and was fit enough to play soccer, she’d already be playing soccer.

  13. Caperton: I played soccer as a not quite fit kid (5-6, I think) and there are roles that don’t involve running, as long as the team has fixed positions, so Maggie could have already been playing soccer.
    I think one of the problems with organized sports and even gym is that there’s an incredible pressure to be fit, and the measurement of ‘fit’ is arbitrary as heck.
    It’s a miracle that I didn’t develop an eating disorder as a kid. I realized I was fat by the age of eight. I think what I did develop was a sort of mild dysphoria. I revolted against the whole idea of being a girl: no pink things, ever, skirts and dresses went away in favor of pants and shorts, frilly shirts got chucked, and I still roll my eyes whenever anyone tells me I’m pretty. My level of activity is way higher than when I was a kid, but I’m never going to be skinny and I’m never going to be pretty- and I’m trying to be okay with that. I hope this book goes into the trashbin quickly.

  14. chava: I think the idea that athletic=lithe and ballerina-like, which seems to be what the book is going for, is horrifically damaging.

    It’s also not not true. I’ve seen an Iron Man event in person a few times. There are people competing in many shapes and sizes, even some that aren’t typically considered “healthy.”

    (In case anyone isn’t familiar with that, it’s a 2.4 mile swim, immediately followed by a 112 mile bike ride, immediately followed by a marathon.)

  15. In retrospect, one of the ways that my health and happiness were affected by fatphobia, was the way that my shame at being fat prevented me from pursuing a sport that I loved and was naturally good at.

    I was 29 years old when I competed in my first long distance swim race. I’ve not competed in half a dozen with several more to come in the next month. But I spent almost 20 years of my life avoiding swimming because of fat shame.

    Since weight loss in any great amount is, for the vast majority of people, impossible, suggesting that the Maggies of the world lose weight in order to play soccer just keeps them from ever feeling that they are able to play soccer.

    Not only is it wrong to conflate body size and health, but fatphobia is something that keeps fat people (especially, young, fat women) from doing things that keep us healthy.

  16. Politicalguineapig:
    I realized I was fat by the age of eight. I think what I did develop was a sort of mild dysphoria. I revolted against the whole idea of being a girl: no pink things, ever, skirts and dresses went away in favor of pants and shorts, frilly shirts got chucked, and I still roll my eyes whenever anyone tells me I’m pretty.

    Hi There. You’ve just described adolescent me.

  17. ks: I’m pretty sure I read almost that exact book when I was a kid.I don’t remember the title, author, or anything else, except that it was about a fat girl who was picked up and she got a job at a stable and took up horseback riding.Of course, the exercise causes her to lose tons of weight, she wins a competition,becomes really popular, and gets the boy who didn’t notice her before she was “pretty.”

    Amazing how that particular storyline sticks with me practically 25 years later, when I can barely remember actual good books I read last year.

    Holy crap, I READ that book! And I remember being puzzled that my own times at horseback riding girl scout camp did not magically make me thin!

    Does anyone remember one about a fat girl who eats cake every day or something and then one day she hikes up a mountain with her friend and when she gets home, she’s like “FU, cake! I’m going to hike up a mountain every day and be skinny!” and you just know she’s going to be Thin and Pretty (TM) the next month?

  18. The only fat-kid book I remember reading as a kid was Paula Danziger’s “The Cat Ate My Gym Shorts”.. I don’t think she gets magically thin in that.

  19. Maybe not in the book, but isn’t she skinny in the sequel? Also, she Can’t Believe It and we have to be subjected to her trying on (gasp) large/medium clothes or something.

  20. I read some comments from the author where he says, “I’m not advocating that that six-year-old go on a diet in any way shape or form.” Sorry, buddy, but you wrote a book called “Maggie Goes on a Diet” for 4-8 year olds, so… yeah, that’s exactly what you’re doing.

  21. Flames. Flames on the side of my face.

    You can teach kids about healthy eating. You can make sure they try many fruits and vegetables and have access to good food. You can teach them about exercise and about finding a physical activity that they love to do and make sure that they try out a bunch of different things.

    The second you start talking about “going on a diet” as a thing that kids/teenagers should do, it is abusive. You are setting them up for a lifetime of disordered eating.

  22. xenu01: Holy crap, I READ that book! And I remember being puzzled that my own times at horseback riding girl scout camp did not magically make me thin!

    Yeah, a thing I remember about every barn I rode at was that all my instructors had asses you could serve breakfast on and could clean and jerk a hay bale without grunting. It gives you a new perspective on the female body.

    That was also about the age I started backpacking. I kind of expected that my training to carry a heavy pack up a mountain would get me all skinny and whatnot. Turns out, all it did was give me a body that could carry a heavy pack up a freaking mountain. No, I wasn’t any more likely to fit into that pink dress, but I’d turned into a superhero, which was just as good. Maybe better.

  23. If Maggie’s diet doesn’t involve Frosted Flakes, I call shenanigans on it turning her into a soccer star. Everyone knows you can’t be a tiger without the taste of Kellog’s Frosted Flakes(TM)!

  25. Caperton:
    No, I wasn’t any more likely to fit into that pink dress, but I’d turned into a superhero, which was just as good. Maybe better.

    <3 this. In 2004-2007, when I could beg/bargain for time off from work, it was me and a heavy backpack. I remember feeling utterly at peace thinking, "I am sturdy. And strong.”

  26. Applause for Captain Awkward.

    One day, Wadsworth, when we’re alone together…

    also seems suitable.

  27. Ahahaha. The “backpacking=thin” thing is crazytalk.

    In all fairness, I lose about 10-15 lbs every time I go on a serious solo trip—I can’t carry enough food to make up the difference. But you know, it doesn’t STAY lost. I’d estimate I gain it back within two weeks, most times.

    Caperton: Yeah, a thing I remember about every barn I rode at was that allmy instructors had asses you could serve breakfast on and could clean and jerk a hay bale without grunting. It gives you a new perspective on the female body.

    That was also about the age I started backpacking. I kind of expected that my training to carry a heavy pack up a mountain would get me all skinny and whatnot. Turns out, all it did was give me a body that could carry a heavy pack up a freaking mountain. No, I wasn’t any more likely to fit into that pink dress, but I’d turned into a superhero, which was just as good. Maybe better.

  28. Bah. Sorry, ya’ll. I forgot about “crazy” not being acceptable in this community. Apologies.

    chava:
    Ahahaha.The “backpacking=thin” thing is crazytalk.

    In all fairness, I lose about 10-15 lbs every time I go on a serious solo trip—I can’t carry enough food to make up the difference.But you know, it doesn’t STAY lost.I’d estimate I gain it back within two weeks, most times.

  29. Clearly the cover isn’t about playing soccer, but fitting into a dress that doesn’t fit. And I can’t help but think, “Who on earth would buy her a dress that doesn’t fit in the first damn place??” So it has nothing to do with health, but simply about appearance. If they showed her on the sidelines, not being able to keep up with the team (just as bullshit an argument) then it would be about health. So….argh.

    Also the art sucks.

  31. If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was a satire. But no, I’m not that lucky.

    I’d rather read my kids “Go the Fuck to Sleep.”

  32. Doctress Julia, thank you for the idea, and Caperton, thanks for this post. There is some general awesomeness going on, over at the Amazon product page, in terms of tags and discussions. Activism works!

  33. I was working from the assumption that if Maggie wanted to play soccer and was fit enough to play soccer, she’d already be playing soccer.

    Poor assumption. You can, in fact, play soccer even if you ARE “out of shape.” In addition, the practices you recommend is not going to get one into shape for soccer. Running wind sprints would do better for her. And, again, you don’t put teens on low-fat diets, because those can be really damaging.

    It’s really great that you see that there’s something wrong with this book, Caperton. But your suggestions for fixing it and the assumptions they’re based on are actually pretty damaging and fatphobic, too.

  34. Yeah, so we need an alternative to this and fast. How’s about: “Angie Loves Herself Unconditionally” or “Randy is Healthy and Husky” or “Mandy; A Girl Power Super Star Wins the Championship Because She Ignores Jerks Who Tell Her To Go On A Diet And It Fuels Her Fire For Winning” or “Annie Learns to Sew and Makes the Best Dress Ever” or “How to Make a Bonfire Out Of Horrible Children’s Books.”

  36. This is just hideous.

    MadGastronomer:
    I was working from the assumption that if Maggie wanted to play soccer and was fit enough to play soccer, she’d already be playing soccer.

    Poor assumption. You can, in fact, play soccer even if you ARE “out of shape.” In addition, the practices you recommend is not going to get one into shape for soccer. Running wind sprints would do better for her. And, again, you don’t put teens on low-fat diets, because those can be really damaging.

    It’s really great that you see that there’s something wrong with this book, Caperton. But your suggestions for fixing it and the assumptions they’re based on are actually pretty damaging and fatphobic, too.

    Word.
    You know, if I knew a girl who wanted to get fitter and liked soccer, I’d advise her to play soccer. Not go on a ‘sustainable lifestyle change’ which is really just another type of diet since it is based on restricting certain foods.
    Also, when I was a kid we ate in the way you described. I was still fat, and terrible at soccer, as it happens.

    The reality is that by 14 most girls – especially fat ones – have already been on numerous diets. If ‘going on a diet’ was any kind of ‘solution’ worth selling to kids we’d know by now.

    I’m sure the author is probably shocked at the outrage here. I mean, Michelle Obama spoke openly about ‘managing’ her daughters’ weight, four year olds fear becoming fat because they perceive that it’s a social transgression, and plenty of ‘family diet’ books are sold which basically teach caregivers how to put children on restrictive eating regimes and normalize weight loss attempts. This is hardly a society where one would expect a story about a teen diet to raise eyebrows. Sigh.

  37. Andie: I knew there always had to be more like me 😀 And I read ‘The Cat Ate My Gym Shorts’ but not the other book. I remember it being about summer camp, and after my second year in attendance, I’d gone right off the idea of camp.

  38. Captain Awkward: Flames. Flames on the side of my face.

    <3 <3 <3
    Madeline Kahn.

    And I will add to the "Maggie just goes and plays soccer" side of the ledger, as that strikes me as how you go and learn to play soccer.

  39. @Spilt Milk, MadGastronomer –

    Maybe we’re working from different definitions of “fit” and “in shape,” but neither of those is mutually exclusive with “overweight.” It’s not a matter of dieting and working out to lose weight–it’s just a matter of going from non-athlete to athlete to “soccer star,” which is almost certain to involve some physical conditioning and the right kind of nutrients to give her energy and keep her fast-twitch muscles fast-twitching when she needs them to. She may or may not lose weight doing that, but there’s no reason a fat girl can’t play soccer as well as (or better than) a thin girl anyway.

    It’s not a matter of losing weight or restricting anything (because frankly, anything that keeps me away from Rocky Road ice cream or mozzarella cheese is far from “sustainable”). And I completely understand why a focus on young girls’ weight is such a serious issue–I spent ten years of my life abusing my body in horrible, trigger-warning kinds of ways because of it.* Fat or thin, it’s a matter of taking care of your instrument, right up to jogging to warm up and having a banana before the game. (And saving the burger until after the swim meet–that’s a mistake you only make once.)

    *Mom, Dad, if you’re reading this: It wasn’t you. You were awesome. No guilt.

  40. chava:
    My high school friends who played soccer were all extremely solid, and gained a substantial amt of weight while playing. I think the idea that athletic=lithe and ballerina-like, which seems to be what the book is going for, is horrifically damaging.

    Mine too. I started doing karate this year, and after 6 months of hardcore running and fighting, i’ve gained 10 lbs.

  41. Caperton:
    @Spilt Milk, MadGastronomer –

    Maybe we’re working from different definitions of “fit” and “in shape,” but neither of those is mutually exclusive with “overweight.” It’s not a matter of dieting and working out to lose weight–it’s just a matter of going from non-athlete to athlete to “soccer star,” which is almost certain to involve some physical conditioning and the right kind of nutrients to give her energy and keep her fast-twitch muscles fast-twitching when she needs them to. She may or may not lose weight doing that, but there’s no reason a fat girl can’t play soccer as well as (or better than) a thin girl anyway.

    The best way to become a soccer star is still to start playing soccer — and to eat enough to support that, and do the exercises to strengthen those muscles, but you started in entirely the wrong place. And automatically assuming that if this character hasn’t just started playing it must be because she physically can’t is absurd, and fatphobic, whatever else you say. It’s far, far more likely it’s because she doesn’t think she can, because she’s fat. But if she starts playing soccer, and then gets into it and really trains, well, maybe then she can become the soccer star.

    Also, “sustainable lifestyle changes” is usually code for “restrictive diet that tries to make you think it isn’t one” these days. Fucking Atkins (the maintenance diet version) is billed as “sustainable lifestyle changes.”

  42. MadGastronomer: The best way to become a soccer star is still to start playing soccer — and to eat enough to support that, and do the exercises to strengthen those muscles, but you started in entirely the wrong place. And automatically assuming that if this character hasn’t just started playing it must be because she physically can’t is absurd, and fatphobic, whatever else you say. It’s far, far more likely it’s because she doesn’t think she can, because she’s fat. But if she starts playing soccer, and then gets into it and really trains, well, maybe then she can become the soccer star.

    Ah. I see your point, and you’re right, that was really wrong thinking on my part. I’ll remember this in the future. Thank you for being patient with me.

  43. “there’s no reason a fat girl can’t play soccer as well (or better than) a thin girl anyway”.

    Exactly! That’s why I’m puzzled by the mention of ‘lifestyle changes’ at all. It seemed like you’d made the assumption that Maggie must not eat her brightly colored veggies already, since she’s fat. And that’s obviously problematic.

    I guess I just knee-jerk against ‘lifestyle change’ rhetoric because it is often another word for ‘diet’ – and yes, if you are talking about things like keeping some foods just for treats then that IS a form of restriction and not intuitive eating, even though intuitive eaters may well end up keeping their intake of those foods fairly infrequent. ‘Lifestyle changes’ are also used as shorthand for shaming and blaming fat individuals for what are really systemic problems.

  44. I was working from the assumption that if Maggie wanted to play soccer and was fit enough to play soccer, she’d already be playing soccer.

    I agree this might be an overly optimistic assumption since it doesn’t account for the numerous folks who might tell Maggie that she’s unathletic at her current weight, that she’s too fat for soccer, that she’ll be great someday but might want to lose weight first, etc. I haven’t experienced it with soccer specifically, but i have experienced it with ballet, gymnastics, riding horses (in multiple disciplines), basketball, track, cross country, swimming, and yoga. It’s one of the reasons that it took me three decades of life to identify myself as an athlete.

  45. All of that said, can we have a sequel called Maggie and the JV Soccer Team Put on Their Cleats and Pay a Visit to Paul Kramer?

  46. Caperton: Ah. I see your point, and you’re right, that was really wrong thinking on my part. I’ll remember this in the future. Thank you for being patient with me.

    Sure. Glad I could get my point across. 🙂

    And I like that sequel.

  47. More applause for LC.

    Husbands should be like Kleenex – strong, soft and disposable.

    Flies are where men are most vulnerable.

    He wasn’t a very good illusionist?

  48. Howsabout Mom Avoids Book In Droves Because If There’s One Thing She Wants Her Underweight Seven Year Old With The Sensory Processing Disorder To Do, It’s *Eat* G@#$%^&t.

    Thank you for indulging the personal rant.

  51. I’m annoyed I can’t remember the title, but it was forty years ago or so that I read a book I loved; the heroine puts together a girls’ football team at her school; one of the team members is the heaviest girl in her class, and she’s put on a special diet (specially BALANCED diet) and gains weight, because all the working out she’s doing packs on a lot of good solid muscle – the desired result for her position on the team. Imagine that!

    Some adult makes some comment about her weight of the “Are you sure that your weight is actually healthy?” meaning, of course “Why aren’t you thin?” and it is made clear to this adult that she’s in *perfect* physical shape.

    It is an *excellent* book, and the author doesn’t cop out at the end (i.e., the girls do NOT learn to be submissive/stop playing football/let the boys win/any other baloney).

    Looks as if there’s been some unpleasant regression in attitude since then – including a book for young adults called Moose Girl. As it happens, I know the author, who is very thin, and has never been heavy – making the whole “uplifiting” story about the central character’s weight loss a real slap in the face. Fortunately, the sole review on Amazon.com is by a friend of hers, so it’s probable that the stilted writing kept it from reaching as many people as it otherwise might have.

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