I think you're being too harsh here. What I read in the article is not an attack on fat people... In fact, the writer obviously tries to make clear that the problem is not that some fat people have good self-esteem but rather that people who definitely are overweight do not perceive themselves as such. -
"A healthy acceptance of one's own body is undoubtedly critical to good self-esteem. But a lack of awareness of one's own obesity can lead to undiagnosed obesity-related conditions including sleep apnea, high blood pressure and diabetes."
Yes, the article probably is coloured by the negative view on fat people in general. But it's main purpose is not to degrade and humiliate, it is to show that some people are in greater danger of suffering these illnesses because they are not at all aware that there is any danger.
The 'but what about their HEALTH' is concern trolling when paired with such statements as "About 165 people, or 8% of the group, chose ideal body shapes that were the same or bigger than their own, suggesting a misunderstanding of healthy weight." and "14% of black participants had distorted body image, preferring an obese form", conflating standards of beauty (white ones, no less) with health.
"A healthy acceptance of one's own body is undoubtedly critical to good self-esteem. But a lack of awareness of one's own obesity can lead to undiagnosed obesity-related conditions including sleep apnea, high blood pressure and diabetes." <--- does it right there. It equates fat people liking their bodies and/or people liking fat bodies with a lack of awareness of fatness, insinuating that fat people who like their bodies/ people who like fat bodies are deluded
( ... )
Fat people are just to stupid to realize that they are fat and will drop dead at any second. All those fat people you see walking around? At death's door. The moment you avert your gaze, they will drop to the ground stone cold, possibly crushing a small child or beloved pet on the way down. Also: fat is totally new and prior to the 1980s nobody was fat ever. All those photos and illustrations and portraits you see of fat people from the past? Those are all faked. Also: Jesus ate hardly anything at the last supper (we know this from paintings painted by people hundreds of years after it took place) and so he doesn't like fat people either.
Also: sunshine, fat people know that they're fat. In current Western culture you'd have to live in a cave to be fat and not know it, especially if you're female. The majority of the bodies portrayed in media are thin to very thin; the majority of the sizes in stores don't go above a 12 for women; very few fat people can go to the doctor and have their weight not brought up as the first order of business.
That normalization they go on about at the end of the article is belied by the study they cite at the beginning, where only 8% of the participants liked fat bodies (notice that there is not one word about the bodies they percieved as close to their own, which puts lie to the insinuation -- right there in their stupid little illustration -- that fat people are deluded about their fatness).
This article is just disgusting and its the reason I can't buy woman's pants anymore. All of the 'normal' pants are too small, and all of the 'fat' pants are either too big or very ugly. Its like "Oh well if you aren't a size 8 then you must be HUGE and not care how you look so we'll just shit out some stretch pants that no one looks good in for you."It took an hour and a half of looking to just say fuck it and wander into the men's section to find something that actually fit me.
Why are men allowed to be heavy or old while women have to be either twig-like jail bate their entire lives or hide in shame?
Ugh! I would love love LOVE for whoever designs the patterns on plus-sized shirts to be shot dead.
For one thing, apparently chubbies like me only ever need ill-fitting workout clothes (seriously, can I find a pair or yoga pants that I didn't make myself that don't tell the world "Here's my FUPA!"?) or contraining substitute teacher-wear. I can only ever find button-down shirts, and yet I've never found a button-down shirt that didn't scream in terror at my boobies and snap front buttons. Why is it so hard to, y'know since they already went to the trouble of making plus-sized clothes anyhow, design clothes that are actually flattering and not designed to look good only on skinny people?
I actually cannot articulate the rage that this fills me with. It is actually physically impossible to do. If I tried it would involve copious usage of the word FUCK.
Maybe one of the Eldrich Gods could figure it out, I dunno.
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"A healthy acceptance of one's own body is undoubtedly critical to good self-esteem. But a lack of awareness of one's own obesity can lead to undiagnosed obesity-related conditions including sleep apnea, high blood pressure and diabetes."
Yes, the article probably is coloured by the negative view on fat people in general. But it's main purpose is not to degrade and humiliate, it is to show that some people are in greater danger of suffering these illnesses because they are not at all aware that there is any danger.
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"A healthy acceptance of one's own body is undoubtedly critical to good self-esteem. But a lack of awareness of one's own obesity can lead to undiagnosed obesity-related conditions including sleep apnea, high blood pressure and diabetes." <--- does it right there. It equates fat people liking their bodies and/or people liking fat bodies with a lack of awareness of fatness, insinuating that fat people who like their bodies/ people who like fat bodies are deluded ( ... )
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Fat people are just to stupid to realize that they are fat and will drop dead at any second. All those fat people you see walking around? At death's door. The moment you avert your gaze, they will drop to the ground stone cold, possibly crushing a small child or beloved pet on the way down. Also: fat is totally new and prior to the 1980s nobody was fat ever. All those photos and illustrations and portraits you see of fat people from the past? Those are all faked. Also: Jesus ate hardly anything at the last supper (we know this from paintings painted by people hundreds of years after it took place) and so he doesn't like fat people either.
I mean duh!
Just stop eating so many donuts, ok?
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That normalization they go on about at the end of the article is belied by the study they cite at the beginning, where only 8% of the participants liked fat bodies (notice that there is not one word about the bodies they percieved as close to their own, which puts lie to the insinuation -- right there in their stupid little illustration -- that fat people are deluded about their fatness).
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Why are men allowed to be heavy or old while women have to be either twig-like jail bate their entire lives or hide in shame?
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For one thing, apparently chubbies like me only ever need ill-fitting workout clothes (seriously, can I find a pair or yoga pants that I didn't make myself that don't tell the world "Here's my FUPA!"?) or contraining substitute teacher-wear. I can only ever find button-down shirts, and yet I've never found a button-down shirt that didn't scream in terror at my boobies and snap front buttons. Why is it so hard to, y'know since they already went to the trouble of making plus-sized clothes anyhow, design clothes that are actually flattering and not designed to look good only on skinny people?
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Hooray for all bodies!
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Maybe one of the Eldrich Gods could figure it out, I dunno.
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