Actress attacks the Economist’s ‘fat shaming’

To editors at The Economist, the article was a worthy study of the links between sexism and obesity. But to readers in the Middle East the headline ‘‘Why women are fatter than men in the Arab world’’ was an outrageous provocation. Now Enas Taleb, the Iraqi TV actress used to illustrate the story, has said that she intends to sue the magazine for the distress it has caused her. The Economist described Taleb as ‘‘Rubenesque’’ and said that Arab men’s preference for women of her shape may have contributed to the Middle East’s well-recognised obesity problem. ‘‘Iraqis often cite Enas Taleb, an actress with ample curves, as the ideal of beauty,’’ it said. Taleb, 42, said the article was ‘‘a great insult to the Arab woman in general and the Iraqi woman in particular’’. She added: ‘‘I have faced bullying and offensive comments.’’