As of late, i’ve had a few encounters where folks seemed quite convinced that fat acceptance was about some very strange things. Fat acceptance has very recently gotten some mainstream media attention, and i think it’s very easy for people to jump to some erroneous conclusions. As such, i’d like to take this time to try to clear up some misconceptions; let’s hope i don’t mess it up too terribly much. 
There is, of course, the caveat that i cannot speak for the entire community - no one person does. We don’t have any higher authority within our ranks; hell, we don’t even have “ranks” for that matter. In any case, i do want to present some viewpoints that tend to be relatively across-the-board.
I will not be addressing misconceptions about fat itself, because if it were easy enough to do that in one post then i imagine there’d be no need for a fat acceptance community. 
Claim: People in the FA community think fat people are better than skinny people.
It’s not that we think we’re better than anyone else, but rather that we think we’re better than the negative stereotypes that many people are willing to believe. I think some people see this and think we’re being “uppity”; the problem is not that we’ve developed a sudden sense of superiority, but rather that we’ve developed a sudden lack of inferiority.
Claim: People in the FA community hate skinny people.
The short answer is that this is not true. The long answer is that i can’t speak for individuals, but i can assure you that the majority of people in the FA community do NOT promote any sort of sizism. Hating someone for being skinny is no different from hating someone for being fat.
That being said, the “omg skinny people suck” mindset does pop up from time to time. Oftentimes it comes from people who are new to the concept of fat/body/self acceptance. When they’re in the process of shedding their misconceptions about themselves, they go through a period of intense anger. It’s understandable for them to be angry: after all, they’ve been lied to their whole life. They’ve been told repeatedly and continuously that their being fat means they’re a bad person, or a failure. So when they find out it’s just not true? Of course they’re going to be angry! Unfortunately, since that anger is so fresh and relatively unexplored, it is often misdirected.
On an individual level, fat acceptance is a process. We are all at different stages of this process, and i would ask that you not judge the community as a whole, based on the actions and beliefs of an individual.
Claim: People in the FA community want everyone to be fat.
FA is not about wanting everyone to be fat. Body acceptance is about wanting everyone to be comfortable in their own skin; fat acceptance is about saying “we are fellow human beings, and would like to be treated as such”. The former is more personal, whereas the latter is more social/political.
Most people in the FA community agree that we want people to be comfortable with who they are, to give up the fantasy of being thin. This is an aspect of FA that can be really hard to wrap your brain around - many fat people find this to be an incredibly uplifting thing, but there are a fair amount of people who think that this is a negative statement. It’s really hard for me to explain this one, so just go read the article i linked a few sentences ago; Kate really explains it very well.
Claim: People in the FA community want everyone to find fat people attractive and/or sexually appealing.
Not true. Mind you, i wouldn’t hate it if fat people were more widely (ha!) considered attractive, but i recognize that individual taste is just that - the preferences of an individual. No, you are not required to be attracted to me. You have the right to think anything you like about me, so long as you understand that your low opinion of me does not give you the right to treat me poorly, nor am i required to put up with being treated poorly.
Also: i don’t want you to get the impression that your low opinion of me makes any sort of difference in my opinion of myself.
Claim: Fat acceptance = anti diet.
Actively seeking weight loss flies in the face of fat acceptance. You cannot say “i love myself for who i am” on one hand and then on the other hand say “i’ll love myself more after i’ve lost weight.” These two things are mutually exclusive on a personal level. Unconditional love cannot exist with conditionals and caveats; that’s kinda why it’s called unconditional. On a social/political level, dieting and fat acceptance are even more incompatible - you cannot accept something and want to get rid of it at the same time.
That being said, you are welcome to diet if you so choose. We are not going to stop you, but we also have no interest in being your cheerleaders. Some people are more outspoken about this than others.
This does not meant that we are anti-health. Far from it. Most people in the FA community believe in the concept of health at every size, often referred to as HAES.
Claim: People in the FA community believe there is a medical conspiracy against them.
This one is kind of vague, honestly. I think that if there was absolutely no medical bias against fat people, then blogs like First, Do No Harm would not exist. This isn’t to say that every fat person has had negative experiences with doctors, nor is it to say that thin people haven’t had their share of negative experiences with doctors. Rather, it’s pointing out that medical neutrality is not a given.
I think it’s safe to say that most people in the FA community do not view this as a conspiracy, per se. I think it’s also safe to say that there is a lot of information out there about how fat does or does not affect a person’s health; how that information is interpreted often depends on the bias of the individual (or individuals) interpreting it… and that works both ways.
Here’s a great example: i remember hearing a lot about eggs when i was a child, how they were supposed to be this wonder-food. Then it was decided that eggs were horrible for you, that they caused cancer, they were so high in cholesterol that if you had too many of them you were certain to die of an early heart attack. Then it was decided that the whites were okay, but the yolks were horrible. Eventually, the whole matter was more or less dropped. Some people stopped eating eggs, others didn’t.
And now, to wrap it all up…
All of this being said and done, if you have any questions as to what fat acceptance is about, you are welcome to ask those questions here. I don’t know that i’ll necessarily have the answers, or even if there are answers to be had for those questions. I know that not everyone in the FA community will agree 100% with what i’ve had to say, but again, i’ve tried to give as unbiased a viewpoint as possible for the purpose of clearing up some misconceptions that i have personally witnessed. I hope this has helped in some fashion.
February 4, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Lindsay, this is fantastic! I’ve been seeing the same attitudes with a lot of people who link to us (especially “fat people hate skinny people,” which always makes me want to comment saying “which Shapely Prose were you reading?”), and they’ve been frustrating me, but I wouldn’t have been able to dispatch them so beautifully.
February 4, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Fillyjonk, i think i needed to write this to see if i couldn’t get back some of the sanity points i’d lost in the last week or two. Some of the misconceptions people have come to me with are just mind-boggling.
February 4, 2008 at 4:11 pm
This is great! You’re clear, concise and articulate. Thanks for such a great overview. Even those of us who, like me, have been on board for a number of months (or more) can always use a review.
February 4, 2008 at 4:18 pm
This is fantastic! Do you mind if I link to it as a sort of FA FAQ on the main page of my blog?
February 4, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Great job, lindsay. I think you put it wonderfully.
February 4, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Lindsay, this rocks.
And I remember the egg scare! I remember, even more clearly, commercials out out by the American Egg Council saying, “Guess what? We were wrong! Eggs have a third less cholesterol than we thought!”
That right there was the genesis of my questioning of “scientific” studies about food and health and dirt.
February 4, 2008 at 4:54 pm
…the problem is not that we’ve developed a sudden sense of superiority, but rather that we’ve developed a sudden lack of inferiority.
That? Is brilliant.
February 4, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Julia, Lonie, I’m glad you liked it!
JoGeek: I’d be honored! Feel free to link as much as you like.
TR: i remember my grandma, when she was 80something years old (lived to be 92, mind you) asking my dad during the egg-scare if he thought maybe she should cut down on eggs. Bear in mind she ate like a bird anyways, so when she was really hungry, she’d have a single egg along with her morning toast and tea. My dad said he figured if she’d been eating eggs all her life and was up in her 80s, she could eat as many eggs as she damn well pleased.
Nicole: yeah, it was one of those things that kind of came to me in lightbulb-over-head form, but it was more of a BLAM! There it is! Heh. I love it when that sort of thing happens.
February 4, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Thank you for taking the time to clearly, logically, and tactfully address these points. This is really well-written, and could certainly be used as a media resource.
Thanks!
February 4, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Actively seeking weight loss flies in the face of fat acceptance. You cannot say “i love myself for who i am” on one hand and then on the other hand say “i’ll love myself more after i’ve lost weight.”
Sure I can. If I went from being overweight to being morbidly obese during a specific time-period in my life (a time period when I was inactive and using food as a coping mechanism) is it really that strange that I see a lower weight as a sign that my body is getting back to where it is comfortable?
I’ve never given a penny to the diet industry and I’ve never been remotely tempted to go on a commercial diet. I try to eat well and I exercise. I’m trying to not use food as an emotional crutch. In my case (emphasis on the my) I think my body would be happier and healthier at a smaller size. That’s not to say that everyone would be better off at smaller size.
I believe that fat people deserve the same rights and respect as everyone else and I don’t think that thin equals health. I’m quite vocal about this. I don’t have a fantasy of being thin. I’ve been smaller and I’ve been larger. I know that losing weight won’t improve my love life (but for the fact that it will be easier to be on top). I won’t land the amazing job I’ve always wanted. The cool kids won’t magically beg for my friendship.
And, you know what? I am not a unique and special snowflake. I’ll wager there are quite a few people out there just like me.
February 4, 2008 at 6:53 pm
“Claim: People in the FA community want everyone to find fat people attractive and/or sexually appealing.”
It would just be fantastic if those who actually are naturally attracted to fat people were not ostracized and ridiculed for it! I think you’d find a lot more people *already* attracted to fat people than is currently believed to be.
February 4, 2008 at 7:00 pm
No offense meant to Devi, but posts like that just make me feel like the FA movement is always going to be an uphill battle against the very people it could help the most. Thin people use food as an emotional crutch, too. Some also can be and are inactive. They also use food to cope. (Read Rethinking Thin by Kolata, if you haven’t yet.) Does that mean they should starve themselves into “a more comfortable weight”? If not, then why should larger people?
I hate this slippery slope of using HAES as smoke and mirrors for weight loss.
February 4, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Hi
I think that for many people Fat Acceptance is not even about the activist activities, they just want people who support them.
As for dieting I can never criticize those who are heavier than me and chose to lose some weight slowly and reasonably. All that I can say is the dieting has not worked for me. I was born fat and losing weight for me is a uneven match.
William
February 4, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I wonder why you read my post and came to the conclusion that I starve myself?
I don’t count calories but since my typical day includes three square meals and several snacks, I think it’s safe to say that I’m far from starving.
How is your comment any different than people looking at overweight individuals and assuming that they all sit around eating donuts?
As far as “the very people it could help the most” have you stopped to consider how many people the “us vs them” mentality alienates or what these people might have to offer?
February 4, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Wow.
It’s like FA 101.
February 4, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Here’s another one: recovering from an eating disorder is not the same as weight-loss dieting. FA encourages the first and not the second.
If you lose weight by stopping compulsive eating and starting to exercise, good for you! If you gain weight by stopping anorexia, and doing some muscle building, also good for you! Those are both great achievements. Being healthy is where it’s at. But while some people do successfully lose weight by adopting healthier habits, that doesn’t mean that everyone can. Especially if they’ve already *got* healthy habits and are still “overweight”.
February 4, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Excellent summation!
February 4, 2008 at 7:55 pm
No, no, no. Sorry, Devi. I didn’t conclude you were starving. I was just using that as shorthand for restricted eating.
I think it’s great you try to eat well and exercise. I do, too. But I still think it’s a slippery slope for the FA movement (and me personally) to marry HAES with weight loss (even a little weight loss, even not-near-goal-weight weight loss). When I see posts where people talk about being fat acceptors yet wanting to lose weight, it makes me want to run as far away as I can from this movement. A movement that has actually helped me be happier about myself in some ways than I have in two decades.
Please forgive me for offending you. When I read your comment it brought back all the years of feeling I’m not good enough and should lose weight. Hey, if Devi can do it, why can’t I?
It’s really easy to turn HAES right back into the same old, same old anti-fat shackles. “I’m healthier at a smaller weight. I feel better at a lesser size. I don’t want to be thin, just not as big as I am now.” It’s maddening. I’m trying to figure out all this stuff, and it can be crazymaking.
My bad if I hung my issues on you.
February 4, 2008 at 8:08 pm
worthyourweight, that’s okay, I’m sorry if I was a bit knee-jerk in my reaction. I’ve occasionally felt like my opinions within FA get brushed off because I don’t necessarily think that all weight loss is bad and that can make me a bit defensive.
For what it’s worth, I do understand the fear that HAES will lead to disordered/obsessive thinking. It’s a trap that I find myself falling into at times despite my best efforts and intentions.
February 4, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Devi said: Sure I can. If I went from being overweight to being morbidly obese during a specific time-period in my life (a time period when I was inactive and using food as a coping mechanism) is it really that strange that I see a lower weight as a sign that my body is getting back to where it is comfortable?
Devi, it seems to me that for you it was less a matter of “losing weight to better appreciate yourself as a person” and more “getting back into a weight range that is comfortable”. Be that physical or emotional comfort, i’m not going to pass judgment either way. It’s your body, and you’re the one who’s got to live in it.
Really, what i said in the bit you quoted was more directed at the mindset of “fat acceptance is great, but i think i’ll be happier if i lose weight.” What you described doesn’t fit into that, if i’m understanding you correctly.
February 4, 2008 at 8:19 pm
William: i’m less activist, more hippie. My particular thinking about FA is that i think people would be happier if they learned to like who they are Right Here, Right Now. And having people around and able to support them in that is certainly something that i’m all for.
Cath: excellent point. I didn’t bring up ED issues mostly because i have very limited experience with them in any form, and i try to be careful to not stick my feet in my mouth whenever possible. We have some really great resources in the FA community for ED-related issues, but i’m afraid i’m not one of them (unless you count being able to point to a handful of people who are).
worthyourweight & devi: you guys both rock. I really appreciate that you were able to have this conversation and come to an understanding of where the other was coming from. Thank you for that.
February 5, 2008 at 9:00 am
Great post! I think organizing by “claims” is soooo useful.
February 5, 2008 at 11:58 am
You write with such clarity I really enjoyed this post.
A lot of their funny ideas get on my nerves though because they are so convinced that the truth is with them that they don’t bother to check out what we say, into that void goes us as a mirror image of them, wrong. They are the religious fundamentalists thinking they have the trewth, and we are the skeptics, we know they are mostly wrong, we’re not saying we’ve got the answers.
Self hate wastes a lot of energy, when you let even some of it go it can free up a lot of energy which some people use to diet. I detest diets, and I am so glad not to have to put up with diet talk, but I’m not convinced they are self-haters.
As for a medical conspiracy against us, this is wrong, it’s not against us, it uses us, it also uses the haters who are fed lines which they parrot and think are their own ideas, we are all just part of a marketing campaign and empire building on the part of obesity science. They’d do it to anyone, we are nothing special in that regard.
February 5, 2008 at 3:26 pm
This: “Also: i don’t want you to get the impression that your low opinion of me makes any sort of difference in my opinion of myself.” is perfect!
I would add–not all people in FA are fat nor is FA exclusively for fat people. I have several not-fat friends who read Shapely Prose and The F-Word religiously because they find it to be useful commentary toward society’s generally disordered attitude toward bodies.
February 5, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Nicely done, clear and concise.
Good addition, Pennylane. I think that’s why I prefer the Health at Every Size moniker, since it is more obviously inclusive.
As for the conspiracy notion, I believe it was Naomi Wolfe who pointed out in the Beauty Myth that there doesn’t have to be an actual conspiracy to achieve the same effects.
February 5, 2008 at 11:15 pm
This entry rocks! I’m putting the link up in my next post, and paying homage.
It’s just going to be a sort of echo if that’s ok. The only parts I’m going to post are the claims, and my personal position on them. Once again: I am putting the link up, and citing you.
February 6, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Just gave me a eureka moment. Some people say they’re working to lose weight and I want to scream NO at them. Others don’t bother me. It’s where they’re coming from that matters.
“I’ll love myself (more?) after I’ve lost weight” is hugely different than “My body’s uncomfortable and I’m going to change something.”
February 6, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Isn’t it interesting how many of these assertions (that you’ve so succinctly and clearly overturned - great job) are simply reversals of what the anti-FA lobby thinks of us? Because they DO think skinny is better than fat, hate fat people, want everyone to be thin, and want everyone to be sexually attracted to the thin (or assume everyone is anyway). This is pure projection, assuming that we’re thinking the way they do only in reverse - and it shows up their way of thinking for what it is. It’s the exact equivalent of the anti-feminist guys who think equality ‘really’ means women lording it over men. If people can only think in terms of better/worse, superior/inferior, the notion of everyone being treated fairly and equally is something they’re going to have trouble grasping.
February 6, 2008 at 3:03 pm
“It would just be fantastic if those who actually are naturally attracted to fat people were not ostracized and ridiculed for it!”
This does indeed happen. A young gay man who was posting videos for a while on YouTube (he took down his vids last year) identified himself as a chubby-chaser, and he said that people he knew would distance themselves from him when he was honest about his predeliction.
February 6, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Lindsay, this is great. I have been following the media coverage of FA lately, which is largely a good thing, but some of these ideas have been gaining a foothold and I’m glad someone addressed them.
February 6, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Hi Lindsay
Blogs like this are so important because so many people will read the messages here and never respond, but they do count on the support that is given out.
Learning to like yourself is a up hill battle for many Fat People. I will not let my size inhibit me from entering any social gathering or sitting, but swimming and locker rooms are out of the question.
I am not a total success, but I do not think of myself as the least bit of a FA failure. I guest we all have to find our place.
William
February 7, 2008 at 5:02 pm
And you say you’re not a “writer”? I beg to differ!
February 7, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Eek, i am SO behind on comments! Sorry for the delay in response, things have been crazy around these parts as of late.
withoutscene: Thanks! I’m rather pleased with the sorting by claims thing as well. I may use a similar approach with a future post.
wriggles: I’m glad you enjoyed it. Part of the problem is that many of the people who are determined to be anti-fat/anti-FA is that they’ve made up their minds and refuse to believe otherwise. It is similar to some types of fundamentalism in their prolific use of apologetics. I’m sure they might say the same of our side of the story.
pennylane: oh certainly, FA is not just for fat people. I’ve seen several comments on assorted blogs similar to what you’ve mentioned.
Kaethe, when you said “there doesn’t have to be an actual conspiracy to achieve the same effects”, i got a nasty chill - it’s rather unfortunately true.
Jon B: Hee! I’m glad this post inspired you to write your own responses to the same claims. I’ve already skimmed it, but haven’t had a chance to comment just yet. And i do appreciate the link, but no need to worry about me freaking out; your own post was perfectly kosher IMHO.
Kat: YES. Exactly.
Emerald: Good grief, i hadn’t considered it in the light of reversals. Unfortunately, there are some people who can only feel good about themselves when they are able to pinpoint Someone Else as being worse; it’s rather Jerry Springer-esque, isn’t it? I can’t imagine what it must be to live like that as an adult.
Loveandlight: gah, that’s a damn shame. One of the aspects of FA is that not only is it OK to be fat, it’s OK to be attracted to fat people. Fat-admirers are often looked down upon because it’s thought of as a kink - like fat is some kind of foreign thing. It’s as if fat-admirers are ostracized for being attracted to something Not Human. Good grief.
spacedcowgirl: i’m sure as FA gets put more out there, more misconceptions will need to be addressed. An FA blogger’s work is never done. O.o
William: fat acceptance is a process. It’s not so much a matter of failure/success as it is of perpetual emotional and intellectual growth.
Meowser: Heh. I mostly meant in the professional sense. I think i write fairly well when i put my mind to it, but i don’t see it as a central part of who/what i am.
February 8, 2008 at 5:09 am
I really enjoyed this post. I have spent most of my adult life on some form of diet, and I’m finally just trying to eat the food that makes me feel good and fuels my life.
I’m strong, I love my body, I can bellydance a solo on stage in the sequined gear and have everyone in the audience applaud, I can run a half marathon (I like running, it makes me feel good about myself), my aerobic fitness measured with the step test is “good” and my resting heart rate is excellent. And I’m overweight.
It makes me so sad to think of the time I’ve wasted trying to be thin, because that’s what’s pretty. (Funnily, I’ve never wanted for dates, at any ago.)
I love the concept of HAES, because that’s what I aspire to be.
February 9, 2008 at 12:04 am
[...] — by worthyourweight @ 12:04 am After an exchange I had in the comments to Lindsay’s great post at BABble, I realized I needed a reminder not to be seduced into using the HAES philosophy as an [...]
February 9, 2008 at 8:05 am
What an amazing post! I must admit that I had some of these same misgivings you’ve spectacularly debunked before I started reading FA and HAES blogs, shame on me.
HAES is very important to me because for most of my life I’ve been naturally extremely thin so I used to overeat and load up on junk food to try and gain weight to make myself look more socially acceptable. Now, though, I love my body no matter what the shape, and that gives me motivation to eat healthily and get a bit of exercise.
So anyway, my point was something like love your body and take care of it, but I probably didn’t make it very well ^_^
February 10, 2008 at 12:47 am
Ha, ha. I logged on to make fun and instead I got a quite well reasoned intelligent, well put-out argument for fat acceptance. Joke’s on me, I guess.
February 23, 2008 at 3:22 pm
This is great! I’m so glad to have stumbled on this. May I link this from my blog?
February 23, 2008 at 3:28 pm
happyfatgrrl: link to your heart’s content!
February 29, 2008 at 9:42 am
[...] This post by Lindsay at BABble has got me thinking about the “Big Fat Clubhouse” again. As I sometimes mention whenever I happen to care, I am losing weight. Call it a “diet”, call it a “lifestyle change”, whatever. It’s no skin off my nose. [...]
May 1, 2008 at 2:39 am
I have been internet surfing this afternoon and here I am. I am one of those morbidly obese people who is having trouble accepting what is being said in these sites. But I don’t think I am the only one. There is a link to a site where there are links to a modelling agency for fuller figures. So, maybe there is a career for me then, since size doesn’t matter. Oops, but it does. I have to be a certain height, certain shape, etc. All the pictures of the models are women who would look normal on the street, not fat. There aren’t any 5 foot 4 women wearing size 26 cloths and yet they are considered to be accepting of fat women.
This is just really hypocritical. If sites are going to promote acceptance of overweight people or people no matter what they weigh, then why are they linking to modelling agencies that use the thin version of fat women, or women with a certain height and shape or a certain bone structure or ‘beautiful’ women. Throw any woman in, no matter what they look like.
Whats the use of fighting the biases and discrimination of society when fat people and fat acceptance sites show their own biases and discrimination. So, there goes my modelling career, I am not thin enough for the thin mags and not thin enough for the fat mags either.
*I’m going to go find a cave and curl up with a hot chocolate and a good book and try and forget there are more human beings out there. People just hurt each other.*
June 10, 2008 at 12:49 pm
i’m used to be slightly overweight until i lost something like 20lbs in 2 months (unintentional and completely stress-related. intense homesickness + relationship issues + psycho roommate = magic diet people!)
the strange thing is, i was always kind of happy and confident about the way i looked….until i lost the weight!! weird, isn’t it. i was never really self-conscious about my weight until i entered the “acceptable bmi range”. i think it’s got to do with all the damn comments like: “wow! you lost weight! you look great! blah blah blah” which triggered the whole knee-jerk thoughts of “so you’re saying i looked like shit before?”
what i’m trying to say in my rambly sort of way is that i’m glad i found this concept of HAES and body-acceptance! although i don’t agree with some of the things (it’s very hard to completely go against the brainwashing that the mainstream medical community throws at you when you’re working in the field) i absolutely adore the idea of loving your body, no matter the size
September 25, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I am a Fat-American. My comments-some random, some not: 1. Glad to have found this site. 2. The question everyone needs to ask themselves, no matter what size: “Am I able to do anything I want, achieve any goal, at the weight/size I am now? Am I living life to the fullest?” If the answer is “no”, your weight is a problem. 3. How many FA people tell their true weight on their drivers’ licenses? I do (360 lbs). It’s a matter of personal choice but I think we all should-if it’s OK to be fat then why lie? 4. I do not hate on men who do not find me attractive. Everyone has different tastes. I have my own set of “deal breakers” -physical and personality wise. OH-and if you’re fat, don’t settle. 5. Fatness CAN be funny. Making fun of it in and of itself is not wrong. Just please, if you are going to make fun, make it original. 6. Hey fellow fatties-watch out for high blood pressure and diabetes. Leading causes of kidney failure. On top of that, you can’t be put on the transplant list if your BMI is too high. Discrimination? I don’t know. But reality nonetheless. We need to take care of ourselves. 7. Why can’t I find anything online about being a Western “woman of size” traveling to Japan? C’mon-I know there must have been a fat American woman there recently. Maybe she’s there now. Tell me all about it! Do you fit in the seats? Does the furniture/seats in restaurants hold up? Will infrastructure (stairs, etc) support all of this loveliness? Will they hire me at an eikawa? Do Japanese men have fat fetishes, since we are so rare there?
October 3, 2008 at 8:54 am
Cyndi, responding to you point by point here.
1. Thanks! Glad you like it.
2. Interesting point; i would have said that it was that person’s level of fitness that was a problem. But “anything i want” is a rather large scope there. Are we including flying and being able to walk on walls? Because, as cool as that would be, it’s wholly unrealistic, and no matter who answers “no” to whether or not they can do those things, whatever they happen to weigh is irrelevant. But that’s entirely semantics. In any case, if someone is physically incapable of doing the things they enjoy doing, regardless of the reason for why they cannot do those things, then they need to re-evaluate their priorities and make changes accordingly.
3. How many people of ANY body shape tell the flat out truth on their drivers license? I’ve had several boyfriends lie about their height, because there are social stigmas against short men - and they figured, hey: a cop can’t tell what height you are when you’re sitting in your car. If everyone was already comfortable talking about their size, we probably wouldn’t need to be a Fat Acceptance movement. People lie on their IDs because they do not feel comfortable admitting their weight, because there are social stigmas associated with it. There’s a difference between being comfortable with your body and being comfortable talking about your body.
5. I’m thinking i don’t entirely agree with you, but i recognize that humor is subjective. I’ve never been a huge fan of physical humor, especially humor where someone gets hurt - be it physically or emotionally.
6. My blood pressure is quite fine (just below “normal”), no history of diabetes (i have been tested several times, and no signs of it). Many health risks have genetic components. In my family, people live a hella long time, there’s no BP issues, no diabetes, but there’s oodles of cancer. I think it’s safe to say that everyone needs to take care of their own health, be they fat or not - weight is no guarantor of health.
7. Probably because positive size-related resources are rare and hard to find. I know there have been some women within FA who have been there at some point, but cannot recall of the top of my head who that might be.
October 3, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Fat Bastard, there are some FA activists who feel that there is a great deal of intersectionality between FA and feminism, and they approach the issues on both sides from that angle. Other FA activists feel that race issues and FA issues are very much entwined, and they approach the issues on both sides from that angle. Different people are going to have different opinions - that’s just the nature of sentient human beings. You are welcome to your opinions, just be sure you recognize that you are not entitled to have the rest of the world share them with you.