Dietland by Sarai Walker

Dietland

Sarai Walker

Fat is very much a feminist issue in this comic revenge fantasy, as angry young women turn vigilante in a protest about the objectification of women’s bodies. The chick lit style book jacket belies the dark satire, with graphic descriptions of gruesome retribution by the 'lady terrorists' against those promoting the beauty, diet and pornography industries: a wickedly subversive take on gender politics.

Extract
On the Nola and Nedra show, Nola Larson King said 'I've been thinking about what you said earlier, Nedra, and I agree with you. I don't think this is terrorism or lady terrorism. Do you know what I think it is?'
'I'm dying to know', said Nedra Feldstein Delaney.
'I think it's a response to terrorism. From the time we're little girls, we're taught to fear the bad man who might get us. We're terrified of being raped, abused, even killed by the bad man, but the problem is, you can't tell the good ones from the bad ones, so you have to wary of them all. We're told not to go out by ourselves late at night, not to dress a certain way, not to talk to male strangers, not to lead men on. We take self-defense classes, keep our doors locked, carry pepper spray and rape whistles. The fear of men is ingrained in us from girlhood. Isn't that a form of terrorism?'
'For God's sake, Nola. You're going to get us both fired', said Nedra Feldstein Delaney.
Parallels
  • Eat My Heart Out by Zoe Pilger
  • Lightening Rods by Helen DeWitt