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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which part of Gay's body is stronger as a result of her difficulty with standard-size seating?

2. Where was Gay's first teaching job following her PhD program?

3. According to Gay, statistics say that what percentage of Americans are obese?

4. Which food did Gay eat a lot of during her twenties?

5. What is the name of the TV show Gay discusses in which participants gain and then lose weight?

Short Essay Questions

1. What medical reason does Gay say is responsible for contestants on shows like The Biggest Loser gaining most of their weight back?

2. What problem does Gay have when she starts to lose weight and begins feeling better about herself?

3. How does Gay characterize her relationship with Jon?

4. What does Gay mean by what she calls Lane Bryant fat?

5. What kind of a job does Gay have while she is living in Phoenix?

6. How does Gay feel about exercise?

7. Why does Gay say she still watches reality television weight-loss shows even though she hates them?

8. What is Gay’s impression of Oprah and Oprah’s influence on the cultural conversation about weight loss?

9. As Gay is finishing her MA program in creative writing, what are most of the fictional stories she writes about?

10. Why does Gay do extensive research on restaurants before she goes out to eat?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Gay describes conflicting feelings toward cooking. Explain some of her positive and negative attitudes about cooking, citing specific examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Gay describes her body as a cage “of my own making” and says she has been trying to figure a way out of it for 20 years (19). Write an essay detailing what she means by this and provide examples of how she feels imprisoned or limited by her body.

Essay Topic 3

Gay writes, “I do not require the affirmation of strangers" and says she views these types of comments as "the expression of the fear of unruly bodies” (165). Write an essay detailing Gay’s feelings about the “encouragement” strangers sometimes offer about her body.

(see the answer keys)

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