Glorify Obesity

derleecious:

redefiningbodyimage:

derleecious:

I’ve seen people DIE from complications of being obese and people want to glorify it? Fucking shit man. I know someone close to me who is suffering with heart problems because her obesity clogged almost 95 percent of the valves in her heart and the fat around it was constricting it from functioning properly. She needed a surgery with a 20 percent survival rate. She lived but still struggles because she can barely carry her own weight now. And people want to tell me that obesity should be glorified? Not everyone focuses on appearance, ya know. I find her beautiful, and so does she but she still understands that her weight has had negative implications towards her health. I am not going to glorify that obesity almost killed her and is the cause of her current suffering. It is her health that matters most. Her doctors did not mean anything rude and them mentioning that she was obese did not matter to us when he told us the chance of her survival. The last thing through our minds was how he was supposedly “fat shaming” because what mattered to us was that she lived. It Was that they helped save her life that day. I am not going to deny what was killing her. It was her own body.

Healthism prioritizes health and fitness over everything else. It turns levels of health and fitness into worthiness and morality. Society’s accepted definition of “health” is super vague and non-inclusive to those with chronic/mental health issues and disabilities. Basically: there is more to life than the pursuit of health, so let’s focus on it in a different way. Let’s focus on redefining what we think we know about it and how it relates to fat bodies and experiences.

“Glorify Obesity” is a statement meant to instigate thought about what “obesity” truly means, how it is defined, and how it is used to systematically oppress and discriminate against fat bodies. 

I am very sorry to hear about your loved one, but I’m quite sure “obesity” did not clog 95% of their heart valves. It is more likely that a culmination of genetics and lifestyle choices are what caused that kind of damage.

“Poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle do cause health problems, in people of all sizes. This is why it’s so fucking crucial to separate the concept of “obesity” from “eating crap and not exercising.” The two are simply not synonymous — not even close — and it’s not only incredibly offensive but dangerous for thin people to keep pretending that they are. There are thin people who eat crap and don’t exercise — and are thus putting their health at risk — and there are fat people who treat their bodies very well but remain fat. Really truly.”

- Kate Harding

Fatness does not equate to unhealthiness. People of all shapes and sizes are capable of poor health. Health is multifaceted and varies from person to person. To assume poor health when looking at a fat body is pure ignorance. To assume a person’s fatness is a direct cause of their poor health is also pure ignorance. End of story.

Want to learn more? Check out my resources. I promise, I’m not making this shit up.     

You are correct in saying that lifestyle choices are what lead to her poor health.  It was those lifestyle choices that lead to her obesity. It was not staying fit and not practicing healthy nutrition that contributed to her obesity.    Genetics may have also played a role, along with her age.  However, obesity could have been prevented had proper measures been taken.  Obesity is NOT entirely uncontrollable and out of ones’ hands… Of course their are other factors.  Not every persons’ body is the same and they may deal with situations differently.  There are health conditions that may lead to obesity if gone unchecked.  There are genetics that effect it, as there are diets and controllable aspects.  It is the same with thinness.  No one is going to try and deny that and no one should.   

What I do not understand, is what is with people bringing up “thin people” this and “thin people” that whenever obesity is mentioned?  It is as if they are trying to point fingers childishly and make everyone that does not agree with them out to be the bad guys.  To make thin people into enemies as if every thin person is against them. I personally find it irrelevant to compare the thin with the obese. Just as I find obesity dangerous to glorify, I find thinness dangerous as well.  I would never even dare to make a false claim that being thin is good or to make a false claim that it is always healthier to be thin rather than to be obese.  Just as being obese can have serious implications on ones health, so can being underweight and malnourished.  Both can lead to serious health risks.  To say otherwise is not only foolish but severely ignorant.  It is also extremely dangerous and any person in their right mind shouldn’t advocate either, and certainly not glorify them.  

Yes, you can not assume a person healthy or not simply due to their body size or weight.  You can not assume a person who appears “too thin” are unhealthy just as you can not assume a person who appears overweight is unhealthy…HOWEVER, a person who is underweight or overweight may or may not have serious health issues related to their weight.  Whether or not their weight is the cause of their health issues or vise versa is really something no one but a trained and educated medical professional can say and it should be left to them to determine not to some social justice bloggers who know nothing about health.  So far, obesity and undernourishment has been medically linked to a series of complications and that should NEVER be ignored.  EVER.  I am not being albeist.  I am not weight shaming.  I am being realistic.  

My issue is that whenever someone says something about obesity being negative on health, they are met with harsh retaliation by people who obviously know nothing about their own health and throw words around accusing them of albeism and being discriminative towards them for being “fat.”  They accuse them of fat shaming, without even trying to understand the true concerns of obesity; and when they do at least listen, they find ways to sugar coat it or twist it around to fit what they want to believe despite whether or not it is factual.      

You CAN be happy with your body; with advocating the redefinition of body image, while at the same time, glorifying body image in itself rather than a specific body size.  Glorify neither thinness nor obesity. Why can that not be an option? You simply can not expect to redefine body image with any other mind set.  Would it truly be redefined? 

I find it amusing how you imply that I don’t know anything about my own health, or rather, that I’m a “social justice blogger” who knows nothing about health in general. Your assumptions are fucked (as most assumptions are).

The whole fucking point is to learn. It’s why I started this blog and these projects I put out into the world. It’s the reason why I’m engaging in conversation with you right now. It’s what I fucking do every day.

I do not claim to be an expert on everything, but I DO claim to be an expert on my own health. It is something I am deeply invested in learning about and cultivating an awareness of because it is my own. You don’t get to decide how much I do or don’t know about myself.

You are obviously not grasping the concept behind the image that sparked this discussion that is meant to be taken as a tongue-in-cheek statement.

By “glorifying obesity” I am giving fat bodies prevalence over thin bodies, yes - Because fat bodies are so often silenced. Because “obesity” and “health” have become greater signifiers of worthiness and morality than being a good person and decent human being. Because fat bodies ARE SHAMED, every day, multiple times, on multiple and widespread levels. There is a fucking “epidemic” coined for our bodies that is nothing but a vessel for this shame. Our health is assumed, our habits are assumed, simply because of our body size. Shaming fat bodies is encouraged by our society and thinness is put on a pedestal on a daily fucking basis.

God forbid I suggest we celebrate fatness for once.

Health is not simple. None of this is simple. Are you even familiar with my blog, with this project, with what I do? I encourage you to look through the archives, tags, and content here before you come back to me with another misinformed answer.