Heike on the Fat Acceptance Movement
Fat people, repeat after me:
It is not - nor will it ever be - healthy to be fat.
Fat is not sexy.
Nobody owes you anything because you fail to exercise self-control.
Show me a paraplegic who asked to be wheelchair-bound and reliant upon others to wipe his ass and I’ll buy your argument that being fat is just like being handicapped. Unless you have thyroid problems or a rare metabolic disorder, chances are that Twinkies™ are the reason you can’t see your fucking feet.
I have a confession to make: I’m not thin. I am five feet, three inches tall and weigh 170 pounds. I lead a very sedentary lifestyle and have an addiction to carbohydrates that is bordering on obscene. Before I became pregnant, I was a very healthy 130 pounds, but I gained about fifty in the second and third trimesters due to a steady diet of bologna sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. My kid is almost eight years old, and although I’ve managed to get as much as thirty pounds off before, it usually comes back just as soon as I stop working out or exercising portion control. In other words, I blame noone but myself for my weight problem, and I recognize that it is a problem.
When I was at a healthy weight, I had energy. When I was at a healthy weight, I could shop anywhere I wanted and know that the majority of what I found would look good on me. When I was at a healthy weight, I did not automatically suspect everyone I dated of wanting to be with other women. Simply put, when I was at a healthy weight, I was happy.
Since I’ve been in a size 14 (I’ve been as big as an 18 before, but this seems to be where I end up after each attempt at dieting), I’m miserable all the fucking time. Everything hurts, nothing fits, I feel awkward in my own skin… why on Earth would I want to accept that for myself, let alone ask anyone else to? I’m very fortunate in that I’ve found someone - a really healthy guy - who can stomach the sight of me naked, because I sure as hell can’t.
The Fat Acceptance Movement is largely fatuous (get it? Largely fatuous? I slay me). If you accept yourself as you are, then what difference does it make what anyone else thinks? Despite the fact that American asses are expanding at an alarming rate, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll ever destroy society’s perception of fat people as lazy and indulgent, and do you know why that is? Because we are.
“Maybe you are, Heike, but I’m certainly not.”
What made you fat, then?
“[enter excuse here]”
Bullshit.
According to the Endocrine Society and Hormone Foundation, “Most obesity is caused by energy imbalance - consuming more calories than the body expends.” There are other causes of obesity, such as hypothyroidism, and the website goes on to say that this is why doctors “consider many factors when assessing obesity.” So, once again, I will concede that not every fat person is fat because they don’t know when to push away from the table. Chances that you’re one of those people is slim. No, really. Go ask your doctor. I’m sure he/she will agree.
“You misunderstand the purpose of the Fat Acceptance Movement, Heike. We don’t have a problem with our weight, Heike. Everyone else does.”
So why are you poking around websites about fat acceptance, then? Why organize an entire movement in its name? If you truly accepted it, you wouldn’t be. You would never diet, you wouldn’t exercise, and you wouldn’t care about what anyone else thought… not even throngs of fellow fat people who really, really, really don’t want to be fat.
I read this excerpt from Tolerance.orgs’s page on obesity, and it made me want to vomit:
“During the Civil Rights Movement, black children would get picked on at school and when they got home they were told ‘black is beautiful and you’re fine just the way you are.’ Fat children get teased at school and when they come home they hear ‘maybe we should get you on a diet.’ We’ve got to change that kind of thinking.”
Are fat people really likening their condition to the plight black Americans faced during the Civil Rights Movement? Instead, I suppose should we be telling our obese children, “Fat is beautiful and you’re fine just the way you are.” The enormous difference between fat kids and black kids is that black kids didn’t become black gradually over time, for whatever reason. They came out of the womb black. Most (not all!) fat kids became fat because their parents aren’t watching what they’re eating. Most (not all!) fat kids became fat because their parents allowed them to sit in front of the television all day instead of making them get off their lazy asses to go outside and play. Most (not all!) fat kids became fat because their parents allow them to stuff whatever they want in their fat faces.
Here’s the bottom line:
Are you fat? If you don’t like it, do something about it (myself included). But the key to fixing the obesity epidemic is not by pretending it doesn’t exist. Accepting personal responsibility for your state is the first step in solving this huge problem. The rest will come naturally.
You’re not off the hook, skinny people. Here are a few bits of wisdom to carry with you:
Unless you’re three feet tall, a size 8 is not fat.
Being thin doesn’t give you the right to be an asshole. Stop paying so much attention to everyone else and eat a fucking hamburger, already.
