therotund:

dalyn-aurelius:

redefiningbodyimage:

Go ahead and keep telling me my body is wrong, because I know the fucking truth.

I am fat.

And I am healthy.

So, fuck you.

—-

(This message brought to you by the frustratingly hateful, fear-mongering bullshit stemming from conversations on the Weight of the Nation series.)

And what of those of us who are fat and unhealthy? We have no way to defend ourselves, no wonderful health markers to prove people wrong. We are the living proof that fat is terrible, to be fat is horrible, and to be a part of fat acceptance is nigh signing our own death warrants. Doctors tell us it’s our own fault. Friends and family tell us it’s our own fault. Society tells us it’s our own fault. We are not healthy, we are in pain, and we are heartbroken because we are being told that we have nobody but ourselves to blame.

Perhaps being less fat would make us healthier. Perhaps not. But what really makes us unhealthy is our own self-hatred, encouraged by everyone around us. And every time I find myself standing in the doctor’s office, I find I hate my body more.

Fat people who go, “but, well, *I* am healthy!” don’t really help those of us who are not healthy but are desperately fighting for the right to self-love and self-respect in the same world. It’s great that you’re healthy, really. Congrats. What about those of us fatties who are not?

It’s a conversation that has to be had on both fronts. Fat does not equal unhealthy. Unhealthy does not equal worthless or any of the other things that fat is code for. Health is not a moral imperative.

Self-hatred isn’t good for anyone, regardless of their other relative health levels.

Those who end the conversation at “but I’m not unhealthy” really do need to remember to carry the conversation forward - because fat hate is not even about health in the first place. We’ve seen it more and more reframed as a health conversation - but a genuine health conversation wouldn’t be centered on attacking weight. It’d be centered on things people can do to be healthy. It’d be centered on ways to address stress and food deserts and chemicals in our environment and a whole lot of other things.

Fat is the easy scape goat.

Thank you for finishing/extending my thoughts.

The original post was just a personal statement. I plan on writing something more comprehensive and less emotional/frustrated/ranty at a later date, but I should know better than to leave fragmented messaging about fat health hanging out in the universe.