Monday, 26 March 2012
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Fat Shame
Dickinson College held a conference dealing with the issue of "Fat Shame."
The thinking is that young people are given an unrealistic picture of what they should look like.
The students were asked to sign pledges to not engage in "Fat Talk." The concern is that women are ashamed of how they look based on false standards. Here is the link: Link
I guess some people can say it is a health issue.
Should a person feel shame if they are fat?
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Comments (88)
Yes, we are given a unrealistic image of what we should look like to be "attractive". That needs to stop but probably never will. Seriously, quit rewarding fat people with special treatment though. I see a health issue here. If your fat and its making you unhealthy and you want to change it then I hope you would. But if your happy with the way you look and don't care about your health or you are healthy then you shouldn't feel shame; be proud of who you are. Don't worry about what others say or how you look. I mean, they want people to take a pledge... Saying they won't engage in "fat talking" because it could hurt someones feelings due to the unrealistic images put out there making them ashamed...? Why does image have to matter with everything? I mean, isn't this in a way just enabling the fat people even more by saying its okay to have bad health? You should be a ashamed for being a spineless, lazy piece of crap! Anyways, I can get behind those that are trying to help themselves by choosing a healthier lifestyle or have a medical condition but those who aren't... I can't. Obesity is a way of life okay... you want to cure it? PUT THE PEPSI AND POTATO CHIPS DOWN, GET OFF YOUR COUCH AND TAKE A FREAKING WALK!
Of course not. They should, however learn that the person that only matters in concern of their weight is themselves. Otherwise, if they try to spend the rest of their lives trying to make everyone else happy, they are never going to succeed. Simply trying ignore the problem like this "Fat Shame" Pledge is not going to work either. If the women (or men) are unhappy with their weight, they need to do a proactive change to do it; not sit around, complain and mope about it trying to seek sympathy while doing absolutely nothing to change it.
@Xbeautifully_broken_downX - it's actually from an article about fat-shaming. http://www.xojane.com/issues/whats-wrong-fat-shaming
There's so much more to worry about that this really shouldn't take priority over everything else. You should be concerned with your own health though, within a reasonable limit as all things should be.
I think its a good idea, especially on college campuses, to have encouraging programs like this.
no, its not a health issue.
you will never be able to tell someone's health by looking at them.its called concern trolling when you tell someone you're worried about their health. its not yours to be concerned about, and you're not concerned you're uncomfortable with having to see fat when you're told it shouldn't exist.so, no, they shouldn't feel shame. people should feel shame for shaming people at all.@RealistFantasies - You can never tell the entire detailed history of someone's health with just a glance, but you can pick up certain cues and get a rough idea. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1689653/pdf/10097394.pdf
Obviously though, concern trolling is bad, but it is inaccurate to say you can't pick up ANY health cues at all from a mere visual inspection. Can those cues be inaccurate? Sometimes. But are they accurate? Yes, a lot of times they can be pretty indicative of someone's overall health. It's mother nature's way of making the best with limited info. It's also the reason why our species selected increased muscle mass in male-bodies, for example, and the distinctive secondary sexual characteristics found in female-bodies.
I'm actually a well-built guy, and I worked hard to get that way. Should I feel shame for looking "unrealistic?" I refuse to accept fat as the norm. By the way, that girl doesn't even look fat. -_-;
Shame society - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shame_society
@QuantumStorm - i should have phrased that better:
weight/physical aspects are not an indicator of health habits.someone can gives physical cues of being unhealthy, but that doesn't mean you know why or can judge them based on those cues.@Kazydai@mancouch - thats the point though, she doesn't look fat but will still be told she is, because she doesn't fit the societal stick figure expectation of women, even if that expectation isn't realistic in the least.
@RealistFantasies - Physical aspects can be indicators of health, and there is evidence to back up that claim. Is it always accurate? Of course not - but it developed as an efficient way to handle a limited amount of sensory information (since obviously we didn't evolve with our entire, detailed medical history printed on our foreheads, hahaha).
There will always be exceptions to the rule, and there are certain things that may not be readily apparent from a physical inspection - but again, visual cues developed as a sufficient, not perfect, way of analyzing health.
I think in our society, we would be better-served if, rather than focusing on "fat acceptance" or "thinspo", we focused more on healthy eating and exercising habits. But as long as women view marriage as the primary means by which to secure and feed their biological instincts, it probably won't happen.
@QuantumStorm - but what i mean is, no matter if you can tell someone is unhealthy, you can't tell if that health issue is based on habit or an actual disorder/uncontrolled problem.
eating healthy and exercising=/=being healthy.women gain weight due to cysts and cysts aren't "healthy" but aren't defined by habits. they're still going to be judged for being overweight despite not having control over it, and thats only one example.i don't really know how to clarify what I'm trying to say, sorry.@RealistFantasies - The chances of it being a disorder or a problem that is uncontrollable via eating healthy/exercising is slim. And as for cysts, that's a potential health issue too depending on how those cysts develop and progress, so it does play into the visual cues thing.
But I think I see where you're going in that people shouldn't be openly mocked/ridiculed for physical aspects, and that I agree with.
@RealistFantasies - I believe that we should stop saying that being fat is bad, but I don't think we shoul start saying that it's good, either, of that makes sense. Whatever the reason, I don't think being proud of your fatness is the right way to go. I dunno, being proud of having cysts, thyroid conditions, or an bad eating habits just seems weird to me. I don't mean to sound like an asshole. It's just that I was fat once. I never blamed it anything but my ba eating habits, though because that's what it was. I worked on it and exercised and I got better. So from that experience, I hate it when people come up with excuses. Maybe it's right, maybe not. Just my opinion.
Shame no.
Guilt yes.
@Kazydai@mancouch - i think its unfair to say someone shouldn't be proud of who they are though, because society says it looks wrong.
saying "fat is good" is not the same as saying "I'm proud of myself despite being fat."I would never shame anyone for being fat, but I'm also totally unsympathetic towards fat people who do nothing to change their lifestyle/diet/exercise habits and just keep on complaining. I don't like the weight I'm at either, but I make an effort to eat less shit and get more exercise to combat it.
@RealistFantasies - I agree. "I'm proud DESPITE" is one thing. I just don't think people should say "I'm proud OF".
@Kazydai@mancouch - the same could be said about deformities, sexuality, and anything else anyone doesn't agree with.
why is this any different, or any more of someone else' concern?@RealistFantasies - The reason why fatness gets a harder rap is that unlike congenital defects or sexual identity, it's more often due to the personal lifestyle choices made. No one chooses to be born with a defect, but they can exercise more control over things like being overweight. Again, not justifying fat-shaming, but that's why people have a lower tolerance for things like the "fat acceptance" movements.
@galadrial - you need to take a breath and reread what I said. I said feeling shame was entirely up to the individual.
@voicimessecrets - I agree with you.
The thing is that it's not about being ashamed or proud of being fat. It's about the overall health of the person, I just ignore todays standards of body size, in my book and that of my nutritionist, I'm in the right track.
@wildchildofthebluemoon - Eh, if a doctor is telling you to lose weight, you should listen. While it's true you don't walk on your wrists, you DO use your wrists to pull yourself up. You also probably lean on your wrists from time to time. Being overweight can affect your joints--all of them. Don't tell yourself that the world is against you and everyone needs to look the same. That's simply not true. It is true, however, that doctors get medical degrees and are assumed experts in their fields. As much as I hate getting multiple pap smears in a year, the doctor tells me I have cysts and I listen to her. Blaming other people would be like smokers getting mad that they're raising their risk of cancer.