Blog Post #8: Anti-Fat Acceptance

Why can't society just accept fat people for who they are? They're human beings too. They have feelings and emotions, but, they have different body size compared to most of the people we always see in our everyday life. Since they also feel the way we feel, if they are judged, criticized, teased, and bullied, they become so emotional that sometimes lead them to have depression, anxiety, stress, etc. and their stress can become stress-eating so they will become fatter! Being fat, overweight, or obese is very stressful not only for people who are truly fat, but also to those who feel like they're fat even though they are literally not. For those who are 'truly fat' and 'feeling fat', they have something in common when they encounter the word 'acceptance'. Most of the obese people find it very difficult to lose weight and cope up with their current body size. Some think it would be better if the society will just accept fat people for who they are and for what body size they have so, they invented a community where every fat people in the world is accepted and understood- and that is the 'Fat Acceptance movement'.

The first event of Fat Acceptance movement started in New York City in 1967. After that event, there comes an organization which was called the National Association For The Advancement of Fat People (NAAFA). Then, the NAAFA was followed by the Fat Underground in 1980's. And today, there are now several fat acceptance groups online typically found in social media. Many obese people now who want justice for fat discrimination joined the fat acceptance movement. They joined such groups simply because like the pro-ana and pro-mia, these certain kinds of people want to have a big family where they are wholly accepted and understood, they want to be a part of a large community who are struggling to fight for their rights in the society, and they want to change people's minds and opinions about them. But, obviously, there are many people who disagree with the fat acceptance. Some think that fat acceptance is a ridiculous, unacceptable, and a 'bullshit' idea.

I read an article entitled Fit Pride Isn't Hate Speech written by Maria Kang from the site ideas.time.com. The author of the article Maria Kang is a freelance writer and founder of Fitness Without Borders, so she is an advocate of fitness and a healthy lifestyle. In her article, Maria says, "In the age of Photoshop, plastic surgery and celebrity idolatry, it seems women are constantly debating what is considered a "real" woman. And, as I found out recently when I posted a picture of myself looking fit and healthy in workout clothes with my three sons (playfully asking the question "Whats your excuse?"), apparently I don't count."

Maria Kang posted a picture of herself in Facebook wearing workout clothes together with her three sons. She posted that picture because she was encouraging fat women to also post pictures of themselves only wearing bikinis. Her intention for posting that was to say that 'being overweight is normal'.  But, Facebook banned her temporarily and even shut down her account for almost three days because she had supposedly violated the site's term of service- after a number of users flagged her post as a damaging and offensive post for fat acceptance. And also, someone said that her post is a "hate speech". In her article, she well-written her own view about her issue. She was disturbed about today's culture for labeling a disliked speech as something hateful. For her, she was asking that since the fat-acceptance movement is growing, should the promotion for 'fit pride' and a healthy and fit body should be countervailed? Another statement from her article, she said that 'being overweight is now normal; being at a healthy weight is not.' She asked if one's body defines how healthy he/she is, and she answered "not always but in most circumstances yes". She said that according to a study, "metabolically, healthy obese participants had a higher risk of dying earlier or having heart-related problems than those who were normal weight and also metabolically healthy." 

"When people shame fit and healthy individuals for perpetuating an "unattainable" body image, they're also dismissing the real health benefits that fit bodies represent. After all, healthy people breed healthy children, and healthy children create a healthier future. Why shouldn't that be celebrated?" Maria Kang says. 

To summarize what Maria Kang wants to say in her article, she quite disagree with the fat-acceptance movement because of the hazardous effects of it in our health. She was also disturbed and irritated about the people today who don't understand the good intention she wants to convey to them specifically to the fat people. Some fat people could have hated her because she has a physically fit body, that's why some labelled her post as a hate speech. For the site Facebook, they banned her because Facebook thought that she hates fat people and the fat acceptance movement. But for her, she was shocked to know today's standard for being healthy and as an advocate of fitness, she still wants to see fat women who are stepping out of their shadows just to show to the world that they can be successful in attaining fit and healthy bodies. She also wants to say that all women are "real" women and they should be proud of themselves.

The second article I read is entitled Unacceptably Fat by Jim Goad from the site takimag.com. Jim Goad says, "The results are in: fat people overeat because our fat-fearing society "fat-shames" them, which then causes them to overeat. This doesn't explain how they got in the first place, but let's not get picky."

In his article, Jim Goad talked about a new study called "The ironing effects of weight stigma" from the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. The study said that, "Exposure to weight-stigmatizing news article caused self-perceived overweight women, but not women who did not perceive themselves as overweight, to consume more calories and feel less capable of controlling their eating than exposure to non-stigmatizing articles." Simply saying, women who feel they have been discriminated against based on their weight are prone to put on some pounds. He also said in his article that some of the people who are members in fat acceptance movement deny the health risks of being fat. He mentioned that the CDC claims that being a porker increases one's risk of heart disease, liver disease, gallbladder disease, diabetes, stroke, breast and colon cancer, sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis. According to a 2006 study, Obesity is clearly associated with increased risk for mortality and it's also called "morbid" obesity or as called by children "deathfat". 

"What I don't understand is that if you're truly A-OK with being fat, why would you need "acceptance" from others? ... The fact the you appear to need my acceptance only makes me think you don't accept yourself, which in turn makes me less likely to accept you. Why can't you accept that?" Jim Goad says.

According to the author, he found fat acceptance movement unacceptable because aside from the many health risks that an obese person can get from his/her own obesity, people who are overweight or obese blame the people who had fat-shamed them. They usually blame them as the reason for their overeating. The author doesn't want to accept fat people if they force him to accept them for their size and for their personality because he thinks that fat people don't need an acceptance from the society if they already accepted the way they look and if they already knew the reasons why were they fat.

The third article that I read is entitled Size Matters: Oh, the horror written by Tasha Fierce from the site bitchmagazine.org. Tasha Fierce said, "Continuing the conversation about respecting and accepting fatness as a choice, I thought I'd examine some of the reaction to a recent sensationalist story about a fat woman in New Jersey named Donna Simpson, who expressed her fantasy of adding 385 lbs. to her current 604 pound weight in order to be named in the Guinness Book of World Records as the heaviest woman alive." 

Tasha was struck about the cognitive dissonance of the commenters on the thread on a NY post article about the issue. Some said that they had supported her goal to be the heaviest woman alive. Others acted concerned for her health and for the welfare of her daughter. While others are disgusted and often would express a desire to see her dead. The author mentioned a question, what is it about this woman's acceptance of herself at such a large size that triggers such emotional response? Other, smaller fat people also expressed disgust at her size and many stated that they were fat but would "never give up trying" to lose weight. Fat people are attempting to get skinny but in the case of Donna Simpson she never attempt to lose weight but instead to put more weight. 

"The drama over Donna Simpson is less about health and more about choice- respecting the choices others make for their own bodies and protecting the right to make that choice and not be penalized for it by society." Tasha Fierce says.

For Donna Simpson, she has some good points why she wants to be in the Guinness Book of World Record. I think she really fantasizes to be 1000 lbs, she loves to eat, she is not dissatisfied with her body, and she enjoys her body. Although, she knew to herself that she has a binge-eating disorder, she's suicidal and she has a lot of health problems, she still pursues her dream. For Tasha, I think she respects the choice of Donna because Donna is enjoying the body and life that she has. But, for me, it's also okay to have a strong fighting spirit if you want to be the heaviest woman alive. The only problem for me is that, if other fat people would know about her goal, they might admire her and maybe someday in the future, fat people will also be competing with one another in order to be heavier than her, and if that happens, I can't imagine how will the world would weigh about.

As we can observe in our society today, the population of fat and obese people are increasing and their kind is becoming stronger and more confident because of the emergence of the fat acceptance movement organizations and online groups. They are becoming powerful in a way that they have been forcing other people to accept them, to not hurt them in personal or in social media, to not fat-shame them, and to respect the choice that they want to remain fat until they die. Many fat people now are overreacting and becoming compulsive when it comes to their rights and acceptance in the society. And because of that, they are making other people discriminate and criticize them more instead of respecting and understanding them.