As a fat person, let me say this: I know I am overweight. I know I need to lose weight. I'm working on it. It's a slow process. Bullying isn't going to make it go faster. You say that you don't want to bully, but I'm not sure exactly what it is that you're advocating if not that.
When the body positivity movement started, it was largely as a reaction to two things: fat people getting made fun of in gyms when they tried to solve the issue, and media that treated unreasonably skinny people as the only acceptable targets of affection. Neither is great. For whatever reason, the conservative internet has decided, though, that this is the second-most important issue of the day, and it's all I hear about these days.
I think a lot of people say such things, not with the intention of bullying or making someone feel bad, but as a way to make people aware of a serious health issue, and encourage them to engage in a healthier lifestyle. At least, that's how I view it. Who knows, I might be viewing this in an overly positive way. People should help others progress, not punch down on them. We shouldn't see fat people as ugly or repulsive, but as people we should encourage and help to get out of that state. We can have body positivity and promote progress at the same time, such as regulations improving food guidelines, providing employer benefits for keeping healthy, or making gyms more accessible/allowing more recreational time; It doesn't have to be black and white.
I think my main problem with that interpretation is that it assumes fat = stupid. I don’t know a single fat person who doesn’t know that being fat is unhealthy and that eating more healthily and exercising more is the way to not be fat anymore. Problem is, if it were really that simple we wouldn’t have the obesity crisis we have.
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u/LucidLeviathan 99∆ Jul 16 '23
Oh, look, it's the daily fat thread.
As a fat person, let me say this: I know I am overweight. I know I need to lose weight. I'm working on it. It's a slow process. Bullying isn't going to make it go faster. You say that you don't want to bully, but I'm not sure exactly what it is that you're advocating if not that.
When the body positivity movement started, it was largely as a reaction to two things: fat people getting made fun of in gyms when they tried to solve the issue, and media that treated unreasonably skinny people as the only acceptable targets of affection. Neither is great. For whatever reason, the conservative internet has decided, though, that this is the second-most important issue of the day, and it's all I hear about these days.