WHAT WE'RE ABOUT
We are constantly redefining our own perspectives, and therefore tend to write a lot about our personal experiences. Many followers and contributors are living with anorexia, bulimia, body dysmorphic disorder, depression, and a variety of other body image disorders or mental illnesses, so please be respectful and remember that health applies differently to everyone. Any and all potentially triggering content will be prefaced with a trigger warning.
RBI supports all races, genders, classes, and sizes. We try our best to make this a safe space for everyone. If we are not doing our job or checking our privilege, we invite you to please inform us.
Some of the artwork you see here has been created by our founder or moderators, some sourced when applicable. Please be kind enough to source this blog whenever you share it's content.
We are not health professionals. Any and all advice provided on this blog is supported only by our own research, studies, and personal experiences; nothing more.
This blog is part of the Safe Space Network.
You just can’t take me anywhere. Glorifying obesity at the beach :P
Oh my God! Look at all of the fucks she doesn’t give! :D
Brilliant!
some of my fave snaps from the full beauty project
That’s me in the upper right with the polka dots! :) A lot of people are saying that what I’ve done is wrong because by my appearance I’m glorifying poor health and other arbitrary attributes that are assigned to people like me. This is said under the assumption that by looking at me you can tell how I eat, how I live, the state of my physical and mental health and what my future will be. I could go into a stream of apologetics for myself but I feel it strays from the larger issue here:
- Disablism - a set of assumptions (conscious or unconscious) and practices that promote the differential or unequal treatment of people because of actual or presumed disabilities.
I don’t think anyone’s health, be it physical or mental, should disqualify them from the right to exist, love, be loved and pursue happiness. I am 46 years old, healthy and well but even if I weren’t I refuse to wear a proverbial scarlet letter as if I owe it to society to simply disappear and live in perpetual shame. I would never expect that of anyone not because I’m blind to who they are but because it’s wrong
Keep on “Glorifying Obesity” by glorifying love for yourself and your parts. Health is not visible, nor is beauty at all times, but I see it in you and in all these women and it makes my heart happy.
The notion behind “glorifying obesity” does not equate to “glorifying poor health” - it is a battle cry.
It does not choose one body type over another - it is a celebration of fat bodies, a validation of rights.
It begs you to question why a public health crisis targets one body type. Why…
The thing about ‘obesity’ is what is it for? It’s a bit like when gay people were branded ‘homosexual’ whilst everyone else was allowed to go about their business.
If fat people are to be units of ‘obesity’ then every other weight category should have it’s own unit of bullshit branding-formed from the stereotypical assumption of them.
If we are all equally disease, an epidemic of slim, an epidemic of chub, and epidemic of thin; then we’re all in it together aren’t we? No one is being set apart.
Seriously though, the essence of the problem with “glorification of obesity” is it is predicated on the notion that the norm for fatness is the hate fuelled hysteria set by the authorities and their tools.
Anything less than this i.e. a healthy balanced sustainable reaction is ‘glorification.’
I do not feel I’m glorifying anything merely because I do not accept that the absence of hate soaked hysteria as a problem.
It’s not the word, it’s the power relations behind it. That because someone wears a white coat, they can just brand anyone anything they damn well please. Everyone, regardless should be considering just how much power should be invested in those people to socially categorized others and change the status of physical, mental and intellectual health and well being.
They aren’t priests, or are they?
White coats are not elected, they do not have to consult their targets, nor answer for their actions to the people they affect. They don’t even have to be accurate, tell the truth or represent the facts they uncover in an unbiased manner.
There needs to be some discussion and ethical parameters set at some point.
I don’t care what they call others or myself, I don’t want to know. It is nothing to do with my identity unless I them it is. The same as it would be for what I’d call them, if I gave a shit.
Love this. ”Obesity” is a junk term, arbitrary, and holds no meaning to me once I strip it of its ability to correlate fatness with health, which in itself is an untruth.
There is a tongue-in-cheek attitude to the notion of embracing the term “glorifying obesity” - it’s a sassy jab, an effort to debunk and challenge, for all the very good reasons you’ve outlined and more. At the very least, it’s kick-starting a lot of real and necessary conversations and I fucking love it.
The notion behind “glorifying obesity” does not equate to “glorifying poor health” - it is a battle cry.
It does not choose one body type over another - it is a celebration of fat bodies, a validation of rights.
It begs you to question why a public health crisis targets one body type. Why…
How are the definitions of words up for debate?
“Obesity traditionally has been defined as a weight at least 20% above the weight corresponding to the lowest death rate for individuals of a specific height, gender, and age.” - http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/obesity
Your post also ignores the strain that obesity puts on government, energy, insurance, and medical infrastructure. I’m all for stopping bullying, but it’s flatly wrong to pretend there aren’t implications and issues with being overweight and/or obese.
If you’d taken the time to read the sources I provided, you might’ve found the following:
Last year the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report about the rising costs in health care, including the reasons. Media headline’s based on this report included “CBO – Obesity will Decimate Future Health Costs and Care” and “Obesity’s Punch to the Gut”.
The CBO report stated clearly that obesity was NOT a major cause for rising healthcare costs.
http://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/obesity-and-health-care-costs/
As well as:
This graph represents the healthcare costs that can be attributed to disease prevalence (that’s the blue portion and the purported costs of obesity are included) and healthcare spending that can’t be attributed to disease prevalence (that has nothing to do with obesity and it is the green area)
It’s time to stop scapegoating fat people as a way to distract the public from massive issues of access to foods, safe movement options, and affordable (or free) evidence based healthcare. It’s dangerous, irresponsible and cowardly.
http://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/the-true-cost-of-fatties/
Your way of thinking is turning you into an anti-bullying hypocrite. Please take the time to challenge what you think is so obvious about obesity. Stop taking what you hear at face value. I can’t summarize every single thing that can possibly be said in one blog post. You have to do a little work on your own.
And I’m a firm believer in redefining everything, including “obesity”. No words are safe.
The notion behind “glorifying obesity” does not equate to “glorifying poor health” - it is a battle cry.
It does not choose one body type over another - it is a celebration of fat bodies, a validation of rights.
It begs you to question why a public health crisis targets one body type. Why fat bodies are allowed and encouraged to be openly dehumanized and discriminated against. Why “health” is assumed and used as a weapon, oppressing fat bodies on an systematic level: in our government, during our doctor’s visits, in the media, entertainment and fashion industries.
Why, when push comes to shove, some people will admit “BMI is bullshit” or “fat people can be healthy” but most will stop short of comprehending that much of the damage that is being done to our society is being enforced through this war on fat bodies called the “obesity epidemic”.
Consider that the amount of shame and stigma surrounding fatness due to obesity paranoia is the true epidemic causing damage to our society’s physical and mental health. Consider what would happen if we actively started to work against and challenge it directly by stripping the word “obesity” of its ability to turn fatness into a medical condition.
We have been taught that fatness is to be feared and not revered. When we “glorify obesity” we turn that way of thinking on its head and I believe it is incredibly necessary that we do.
——
My personal sources: The Radical Fatty series and tagged relevant content on obesity and glorifying obesity.
Other sources: Lesley Kinzel’s article on the subject, a great article on Weight-Based Stigma and Bullying, and My Big Fat List of Resources for good measure.
I’m going to quote someone else who contributed to the thread because I think they worded it quite perfectly:
I’m always cynically amused at people who think that the building up of one thing will tear down what is considered the opposite. The support of gay rights will supposedly destroy hetero-marriage. The checking of white privilege will make white people the receiver of the centuries of subjugation of brown people. Glorifying obesity will make it so all people will then have to be fat to be considered worth anything. It’s ridiculous. - campzombiemommy
[Image: A green/blue and white duotone design with large typography overlapping a silhouetted fat body. The text is bold, overlayed and overlapping. It simply states: “GLORIFY OBESITY - Redefining Body Image”]
This is part three of a poster series I’m working on that focuses on using blunt and unapologetic messaging to incite thought and reaction (hopefully of a positive or inquisitive nature) regarding fat discrimination, health, obesity hysteria, etc.
[Part Two: Fat ≠ Death]
[Part One - “There is no obesity epidemic.”]
MY DESIGN WAS FEATURED IN AN ARTICLE BY LESLEY KINZEL ON XOJANE!!!!!
“I GUESS I’M GLORIFYING OBESITY JUST BY EXISTING — IS THIS A PROBLEM?”
I AM TOO GODDAMN EXCITED TO NOT USE CAPS RIGHT NOW.
HERE IS A BEAUTIFUL EXCERPT:
“…glorifying obesity is depicted as a dangerous virus, implying that if fatness is allowed to spread unchecked, our culture and civilization are at risk of cataclysmic destruction. Possibly in a hail of donuts.
The thing is, this is actually kind of true.
If obesity continues to be “glorified” in the manner described — by allowing fat people to be on television, to share pictures of themselves feeling good about their bodies, to wear bikinis, to enjoy food, and so forth — the social fabric of our current body culture in the United States would be severely threatened.
Some of the dangers of glorifying obesity may include:
- Young girls might not fear getting fat more than they fear nuclear war, losing their parents, or cancer.
- Fat people might no longer be at an increased risk of having their illnesses (including cancers) misdiagnosed or diagnosed late, by doctors working in a medical community in which disdain for fat bodies is rampant, or given the wrong dosages of medicine — both of which can cost millions in unnecessary tests and prolonged treatment.
- Eating disorders — which admittedly are not exclusively about weight but which are cultivated by a culture that identifies fatness as a failure of control — might no longer be a central feature in the lives of 10 million Americans.
- We might not have a weight loss industry that generated $60 billion in revenue in the United States last year, mostly by making women feel like crap about themselves.
- Fat people might not have to worry about whether seats on airplanes or in restaurants or basically anywhere they go can physically accommodate them.
- Dudes might not yell at me in parking lots.
- Fat people everywhere might develop a powerful self-respect, and demand respect from others, and might be less likely to suffer bullying and shaming in silence.
- Fat people might not be so handy for scapegoating, schadenfreude and cheap laughs, or as a means by which others can feel superior.
- People of all sizes might feel better about themselves, because no one would be wasting energy and focus worrying about what would happen to them, how their life would be ruined, if they became fat.
Many of us are willing to back up Stella Boonshoft and Jennifer Livingston because we recognize them as individuals — they’re not an epidemic, they’re not a threat to our national security, they’re not selfish gluttons using up all the healthcare: they’re PEOPLE.
What shame-centered obesity epidemic rhetoric accomplishes better than anything else, better even than its purported intention to improve public health, is to erase the humanity of fat people. Because all those obese folks clogging the overstated statistics are, in fact, still people. They’re friends and coworkers, moms and dads, children and grandparents. You know some of them. You probably like them. You probably don’t think of them as an epidemic, or as posing a clear and present danger to the future of humanity.
If reminding folks that fat people are people first — that they are individuals and not some monolithic amoeba of disease rolling itself over the planet, and that their bodies are not shameful, not ugly, not embarrassing, not immoral, but as worthy of acceptance as every other body is — if THIS is the same as glorifying obesity, then bring on the glory. I will carry the banner. I won’t be sorry, not for my part in changing our culture around bodies in general and not for my own body that I live in, right now — I won’t be sorry, and I won’t apologize. Neither should you.”
OKAY SO I ENDED UP COPY/PASTING MOST OF THE ARTICLE, I COULDN’T JUST PICK ONE LITTLE BIT, SORRYIMNOTSORRY.
This is so wrong I can’t even begin to explain why but I will try anyways. “Turning things around” so that the media glorifies obesity instead of thiness WILL NOT SOLVE ANYTHING. Glorifying one type of body as if it’s the only type of body WILL NOT SOLVE ANYTHING. People, especially on tumblr, are so fucking US centric that they never stop to think that there ARE countries who do glorify obesity. Look at Mauritania. They glorify obesity. Obese is considered the only way a woman can be beautiful. Female children are sent to farms where they’re force fed until they vomit, get sick and get so fat that they can’t walk up stairs. Do you honestly fucking think that that’s any better than people trying too hard to be thin? Women are PUNISHED by authority figures for not being fat enough. Don’t believe me? Think I’m spreading lies and propaganda about obesity because I don’t want people to be “naturally fat”?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3429903.stmhttp://www.wired.com/table_of_malcontents/2006/12/fattening_wives/What if we glorified health, being yourself, confidence, and self esteem instead of trying to force people to do things that aren’t realistic or that they might not like/want to do?
It’s always interesting, the things people project onto this or decide to take away from it.
None of the above content implies anything at all about thinness. It does not say “Glorify obesity, NOT thinness” or anything of that nature, in fact no other body types are being shamed at all. It says, quite simply: “Glorify Obesity” - but you saw the words provided and filled in the blank areas, reacting impulsively to it in a negative way.
I’m quite taken aback that you also imply that this way of thinking is trying to “force people” into doing anything at all. It is a celebration of fat bodies - full stop. Fat bodies that are subjected to the hate and shame that comes with existing in cultures that pursue obesity like a plague, treating and speaking about fat bodies (MY body) as an epidemic that needs to be stopped.
This has nothing to do with health extremes - as in the case you outline regarding the fattening culture of Mauritania. It has to do with treating fat bodies like any other bodies, celebrating them like all other bodies, and not tying them to a public health crisis.
To quote Lesley Kinzel from the discussion thread connected to her article above:
I honestly think that obesity paranoia might be a barrier to constructive public health strategies, because it focuses exclusively on one aspect (obesity) while ignoring the effects of said high-calorie low-nutrition foods on EVERYONE. Basically the message is that it’s fine to ignore nutrition and healthful activity if you’re not fat, and while I don’t think anyone has an obligation to be healthy, that’s not a helpful ideology.
Ideally, I’d like to see us talking about how poverty affects access to nutritional options, how corn subsidies are screwing everything, and how stigma itself can negatively affect health. But obviously these are ideas way less sexy to an easily-distracted public than straight-up fat panic.
The intent behind the notion of “glorifying obesity” is to promote wellness and self-acceptance and break down the stigma about fat health - that all fat bodies are fat for the same “unhealthy” reasons. There are many reasons why people are fat and not fat, so let’s stop associating fatness with poor health and start celebrating ALL bodies, including fat ones, and the people who own them.
[Image: A green/blue and white duotone design with large typography overlapping a silhouetted fat body. The text is bold, overlayed and overlapping. It simply states: “GLORIFY OBESITY - Redefining Body Image”]
This is part three of a poster series I’m working on that focuses on using blunt and unapologetic messaging to incite thought and reaction (hopefully of a positive or inquisitive nature) regarding fat discrimination, health, obesity hysteria, etc.
[Part Two: Fat ≠ Death]
[Part One - “There is no obesity epidemic.”]
MY DESIGN WAS FEATURED IN AN ARTICLE BY LESLEY KINZEL ON XOJANE!!!!!
“I GUESS I’M GLORIFYING OBESITY JUST BY EXISTING — IS THIS A PROBLEM?”
I AM TOO GODDAMN EXCITED TO NOT USE CAPS RIGHT NOW.
HERE IS A BEAUTIFUL EXCERPT:
“…glorifying obesity is depicted as a dangerous virus, implying that if fatness is allowed to spread unchecked, our culture and civilization are at risk of cataclysmic destruction. Possibly in a hail of donuts.
The thing is, this is actually kind of true.
If obesity continues to be “glorified” in the manner described — by allowing fat people to be on television, to share pictures of themselves feeling good about their bodies, to wear bikinis, to enjoy food, and so forth — the social fabric of our current body culture in the United States would be severely threatened.
Some of the dangers of glorifying obesity may include:
- Young girls might not fear getting fat more than they fear nuclear war, losing their parents, or cancer.
- Fat people might no longer be at an increased risk of having their illnesses (including cancers) misdiagnosed or diagnosed late, by doctors working in a medical community in which disdain for fat bodies is rampant, or given the wrong dosages of medicine — both of which can cost millions in unnecessary tests and prolonged treatment.
- Eating disorders — which admittedly are not exclusively about weight but which are cultivated by a culture that identifies fatness as a failure of control — might no longer be a central feature in the lives of 10 million Americans.
- We might not have a weight loss industry that generated $60 billion in revenue in the United States last year, mostly by making women feel like crap about themselves.
- Fat people might not have to worry about whether seats on airplanes or in restaurants or basically anywhere they go can physically accommodate them.
- Dudes might not yell at me in parking lots.
- Fat people everywhere might develop a powerful self-respect, and demand respect from others, and might be less likely to suffer bullying and shaming in silence.
- Fat people might not be so handy for scapegoating, schadenfreude and cheap laughs, or as a means by which others can feel superior.
- People of all sizes might feel better about themselves, because no one would be wasting energy and focus worrying about what would happen to them, how their life would be ruined, if they became fat.
Many of us are willing to back up Stella Boonshoft and Jennifer Livingston because we recognize them as individuals — they’re not an epidemic, they’re not a threat to our national security, they’re not selfish gluttons using up all the healthcare: they’re PEOPLE.
What shame-centered obesity epidemic rhetoric accomplishes better than anything else, better even than its purported intention to improve public health, is to erase the humanity of fat people. Because all those obese folks clogging the overstated statistics are, in fact, still people. They’re friends and coworkers, moms and dads, children and grandparents. You know some of them. You probably like them. You probably don’t think of them as an epidemic, or as posing a clear and present danger to the future of humanity.
If reminding folks that fat people are people first — that they are individuals and not some monolithic amoeba of disease rolling itself over the planet, and that their bodies are not shameful, not ugly, not embarrassing, not immoral, but as worthy of acceptance as every other body is — if THIS is the same as glorifying obesity, then bring on the glory. I will carry the banner. I won’t be sorry, not for my part in changing our culture around bodies in general and not for my own body that I live in, right now — I won’t be sorry, and I won’t apologize. Neither should you.”
OKAY SO I ENDED UP COPY/PASTING MOST OF THE ARTICLE, I COULDN’T JUST PICK ONE LITTLE BIT, SORRYIMNOTSORRY.
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.
Oh my god, there’s a thing called “healthist”. Is that like ableism or discriminating against people for not managing their health. and that first link features a delightful picture of a severely underweight girl looking forlornly at a mirror which reflects an obese version of her, the article being about fat controversy or something and to not diet. because all chicks that aim to lose weight have body dimorphia. Also there’s apparently no obesity epidemic.[Image: A green/blue and white duotone design with large typography overlapping a silhouetted fat body. The text is bold, overlayed and overlapping. It simply states: “GLORIFY OBESITY - Redefining Body Image”]
This is part three of a poster series I’m working on that focuses on using blunt and unapologetic messaging to incite thought and reaction (hopefully of a positive or inquisitive nature) regarding fat discrimination, health, obesity hysteria, etc.
Some voices like to imply that fat positivity glorifies obesity.
To that I say: So fucking what? If glorifying obesity means supporting fat bodies, then a-fucking-men to that.
Fuck the healthist majority of the world for drawing these conclusions. Fuck those who judge the worth of others by their perceived level of health.
And fuck what you know about “obesity”.
[Part Two: Fat ≠ Death]
[Part One - “There is no obesity epidemic.”]
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.
[Image: A green/blue and white duotone design with large typography overlapping a silhouetted fat body. The text is bold, overlayed and overlapping. It simply states: “GLORIFY OBESITY - Redefining Body Image”]
This is part three of a poster series I’m working on that focuses on using blunt and unapologetic messaging to incite thought and reaction (hopefully of a positive or inquisitive nature) regarding fat discrimination, health, obesity hysteria, etc.
Some voices like to imply that fat positivity glorifies obesity.
To that I say: So fucking what? If glorifying obesity means supporting fat bodies, then a-fucking-men to that.
Fuck the healthist majority of the world for drawing these conclusions. Fuck those who judge the worth of others by their perceived level of health.
And fuck what you know about “obesity”.
[Part Two: Fat ≠ Death]
[Part One - “There is no obesity epidemic.”]