I never considered the possibility that the idiotic Fat Acceptance Movement might be sponsored by corporations that peddle junk food but the idea makes a lot of sense. There is so much cynicism behind the movement’s tenets that somebody has got to be making a packet from it.
8 responses to “Who Pays for Fat Acceptance?”
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I have to disagree. Being very obese (not just somewhat overweight) has profound effects on many physiological systems. It affects among others the immune system, the brain, the gut microbiome (the collection of bacteria in the gut), metabolism in all the tissues including the liver and the fat tissue itself. And all these things affect one another in very complex ways (for example, bacteria in the gut affect the immune system and overall metabolism). Thus I find it quite possible (but don’t have proof) that such a change is almost irreversible and that losing a lot of weight would be exceedingly difficult and could actually cause health problems. So “fat acceptance” (which is not the same as encouraging people to be fat) seems fair to me.
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I’m not sure you are very familiar with fat acceptance movement. The main idea of the movement is that people get morbidly obese for absolutely no reason whatsoever, it is completely healthy to be size 26, and doctors who point out that this weight can lead to diabetes, hypertension and other illness are deluded evildoers.
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AFAICT the fat acceptance movement is not at all about relieving any real problems of fat people or countering real discrimination they face, but simply making huge drama about any suggestion that fat people are less than perfect snowflakes just the way they are or suggesting any connection whatsoever between lifestyle choices and body shape.
A prime example can be found here:
http://www.shakesville.com/2015/07/i-write-letters.html
Am I the only one who reads a subtext here: “I am the queen bee in the movement and don’t you forget it!” It seems that there are a lot of veiled threats for a letter that is supposedly about acceptance…..
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I’m overweight myself, and I find the idea that this has no negative health impact just beyond ridiculous and simply childish. Why can’t people just be less infantile about the whole thing? I overate, I lived an unhealthy lifestyle, I face the consequences. Why is it so hard to do?
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I agree — being overweight or obese leads to health issues, and pretending that it doesn’t is delusional.
My understanding of the FAM is that, while clearly obnoxious especially in some venues on the web (like Shakesville), at its core it really fights the prevalent fat-shaming and fat-hating outlook in the society, and biases against fat people in many spheres of life.
Namely, a lot of people (fat people included) feel that a fat person is entitled to existing only if a) he or she feels completely disgusted with themselves every second of the day and b) is in a perpetual state of trying to lose weight. There are many people who just cannot stomach the idea of a fat person who accepts being fat and is fine with their size and their life in general. There are plenty of people who just get ticked off at the idea of a happy fat person, as if fat people simply don’t deserve to be happy or otherwise at peace with themselves.
I think FAM is supposed to counter that narrative. But then of course it goes overboard and becomes ridiculous with “500 lbs and in perfect health! ” I think this is basically overcompensating for the supposedly well-meaning comments, where as soon as a fat person says they feel fine and are happy, someone will come to tell them they are unhealthy (which generally means “no, you do not get to feel fine.”)
Basically, I have a lot of sympathy for the FAM. I am not what you would call fat, but I have been wanting to be thinner my whole life (always between sizes 10-16, 6 ft tall). It’s exhausting feeling miserable about your looks all the time. Occasionally, you have to say “I am just not going to think about how I look for a while.”
I am not sure if I am making sense…
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I have not once seen a petition or an ask for policy changes among fat acceptance bloggers for including fatness in an ADA/ENDA/ Title IX/employment non-discrimination/public accommodation schema — I have not once seen anyone make that leap, whether they’re into fat acceptance or not.
I’ve seen plenty of people get all metaphorical with civil rights movements, and wax indignant over the lack of clothing choice, seating, etcetera, and talk about their feelings at great length, which amounts to “I can’t participate in capitalism at the degree and measure I want to given everything else about me (privileges, education, whatever)”. Participating in capitalism is hugely important in a capitalistic society, but to most people it just reads as trivial and a vent over feelings.
Of course these posts/writings dwarf the “I feel bad about my body/am struggling not to feel bad about my body/the hell with you for trying to make me feel bad about my body/lack of choice of mates”.
The faces of FAM is very much white middle to upper class women and men. People who have other issues care much more about those issues and feel that impacts their lives more directly and deeply.
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You said what I was trying to but much better and more thoroughly.
I will say that the simple equation of fat = ‘doomed to eternal bad health’ is simplistic and different people can gain different amounts of weight without suffering unduly from it. That said FAM don’t seem to make that point either.
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This feeling that people disapprove of one’s existence, that everybody is judging, that everybody is sneering and looking critically, that one is ugly, that everybody thinks one doesn’t deserve to be happy or at peace – these feelings are not connected to weight. Fat people feel this way, thin people feel this way, modelesque and absolutely gorgeous people feel this way. And there are also fat, obese, thin, etc. people who don’t feel this way and who say “God, I’m so beautiful” every time they pass by a mirror.
Weight gets blamed for these feelings because it’s such an obvious culprit. But in reality, weight has nothing to do with it.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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