Something must be done about this fat acceptable BS

Vent your rants and raves here about whatever makes you mad, angry or frustrated.
Post Reply
mattyman
Junior Poster
Posts: 611
Joined: September 12th, 2010, 3:15 pm

Something must be done about this fat acceptable BS

Post by mattyman »

Hi again.

It make me really angry to see the fat that being fat is becoming socially acceptable. I just checked

The arguments that fat people use to justify being fat
I saw a few rather infuriating articles earlier on, so I will only comment on a few points that stood out. Here they are;

1. Body mass index is not accurate
Whilst the BMI isn't always the best indicator of body fat percentage (it doesn't take muscle mass into account) the truth is, fat is not beautiful and fat is not healthy. The big danger is that people who are severely overweight might use this as justification for being overweight and denial that they have a problem.

2. The claim that fat is not unhealthy
I've noticed that people who make this claim tend to seriously cherry-pick studies. Not only that, they make a point of those people who die of underweight-related illnesses and that they're not reported. They're quite right in that under-weight related health problems are less widely reported but the facts are, there's more overweight people than unhealthily underweight people, more people die of overweight-related illnesses than of underweight-related illnesses.

3. That fat people are not romantically challenged
If this was the case, then how come so much of the fat-acceptance brigade wants to peddle the idea that men finding slim women attractive is a cultural construct?

4. The claim that some have no desire to be slime
That may be the case for some, but the reality is most people do aspire to be slim. Most existing overweight people try very hard indeed to be shed their weight. Again, the danger with this claim is that it can make those who're feeling angry at the discrimination they have faced feel the need to give-up.

5. That Fat is beautiful
The truth is, most men these days are too scared to say what they really find hot or attractive in a woman for fear of offending people and of getting disapproval. The truth is, fat is not beautiful, especially when you get above 35% body fat in a woman. A woman with 40% body fat will look to most people 'fat'. Check it out on google guys.

Where do all those arguments come from? Feminist sites.

The dangers of fat acceptance
Whilst it's true that some idea;s for women might be unachievable and might be harmful, there is a danger that being overweight could be normalized and that hot women could be made to look like the freaks. Worst of all, it could encourage denial about weight issues and bad lifestyle patterns that have developed over years.

Where does the fat acceptance movement come from?
When I look into their stuff I kind of see the motivation for where they're coming from; fat people don't like presumptions made about them as to what their lifestyle and diet might be like; the majority of overweight people are desperately trying to lose weight. Those who's efforts to lose weight are not being appreciated no doubt feel angry at people not taking them seriously.

It does nothing of address the root cause of obesity
Obesity at the personal level is the result of several personal and environmental factors, and of long standing patterns and habits that get ingrained. My concern about fat acceptance, and the reactionary 'fat shaming' is that it diverts attentions away from these. Neither is any help.

Fat shaming is just as bad
This is just a purely reactionary and immature way of looking at things. If anything, I'd argue that fat shaming is what FUELS the fat acceptance brigade. The only thing about fat acceptance I'd agree on is being against stereotypes and prejudices. By shaming fat people, you're giving them more ammunition, you're making them more defensive to the idea of change. It's just like someone with a drinking problem. You don't get an alcoholic out of denial and into long term sobriety by confronting them and shaming them. That's widely recognized as bad practice.

The bits I agree with
I think we'd all agree;
[*]Discriminating against someone for whatever reason is not acceptable
[*]Being overweight isn't as simplistic a problem as lack of willpower, (it's usually a complex set of psychological factors and patterns that have developed over many years)

It is these two points that fuel the fat acceptance movement and the uglier points highlighted earlier. Of course, if anyone tries to present both sides of an argument on todays internet, they're immediately written off for not saying 110% what the audience wants to here. Sorry, I don't tell people what they want to hear, I express views and facts and spark food for thought.

I'm angry with both fat acceptance and fat shaming. Neither achieve anything.
Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Rants and Raves”