Is the 'fat acceptance' movement a good thing?

dija92

Hey

First off, I know this is a bit of a contentious topic, so I hope we can keep things civil!

I'm on the fence about the fat acceptance thing. And, at nearly 300lbs, I don't really want to spend too long on anything, especially a fence!!

Part of me thinks that fat acceptance is a tad bit dangerous in its attempts to normalise what is, essentially (although I am aware that I'm generalising here) , an unhealthy lifestyle. I'd also, although cautiously, argue that, while variation in weight is of course normal, openly stating that being 100lb+ over a 'normal' weight is anything other than a health concern is irresponsible. (Although I'm not saying that being ashamed is appropriate either.)

That said however, i guess it has many benefits... for instance I don't think a person that smokes will get nearly as much crap from people as an obese person. Both have made choices that impact their health... but only one is outwardly visible and is used to bully and mock people who, let's face it, likely use food as a coping mechanism.... pretty crappy given that there coping mechanism only affects themselves (as opposed to someone that acts like an arsehole to relieve stress etc.). Plus, maybe you need to be in a position where you feel like you're worth something before you can allow yourself to hope for better (although I don't know if anyone fully into fat acceptance would agree with the use of the word "better"...)

What do you guys think??

Nony_Mouse

Lengthy discussion here already that you might be interested in OP http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10376680/fat-acceptance-movement#latest

dija92

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

Lengthy discussion here already that you might be interested in OP http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10376680/fat-acceptance-movement#latest

Ahh, I didn't see that, thanks!!

BHFF

I think it is becoming far more acceptable to be "Fat" yes. And it can be dangerous just as it is dangerous to have models who are anorexic looking. We as a society have gone from one extreme to another. I recently saw a reality tv show called something like "my big fat life" and its all about being a fat person and how good it can be etc. We are glorifying being unhealthy and teaching others its ok. Def a problem in my opinion

SingingSingleTracker

dija92 wrote: »

Hey

First off, I know this is a bit of a contentious topic, so I hope we can keep things civil!

I'm on the fence about the fat acceptance thing. And, at nearly 300lbs, I don't really want to spend too long on anything, especially a fence!!

Part of me thinks that fat acceptance is a tad bit dangerous in its attempts to normalise what is, essentially (although I am aware that I'm generalising here) , an unhealthy lifestyle. I'd also, although cautiously, argue that, while variation in weight is of course normal, openly stating that being 100lb+ over a 'normal' weight is anything other than a health concern is irresponsible. (Although I'm not saying that being ashamed is appropriate either.)

That said however, i guess it has many benefits... for instance I don't think a person that smokes will get nearly as much crap from people as an obese person. Both have made choices that impact their health... but only one is outwardly visible and is used to bully and mock people who, let's face it, likely use food as a coping mechanism.... pretty crappy given that there coping mechanism only affects themselves (as opposed to someone that acts like an arsehole to relieve stress etc.). Plus, maybe you need to be in a position where you feel like you're worth something before you can allow yourself to hope for better (although I don't know if anyone fully into fat acceptance would agree with the use of the word "better"...)

What do you guys think??

Sounds like you have some things to work out yet in your psyche.

ellebreedlove42

I feel like accepting both extremes is dangerous. Fat and thin.
Being healthy should be a common goal we all work towards however I feel like everyone has a unique size and shape of ideal health.
And that we need to embrace those differences instead of making anyone feel badly for them.

Personally I've been bigger and generally healthy even though technically I was considered overweight.

As of right now it's dangerous for people overeating to justify it and glorify it AND for those undereating to glorify and justify those habitual lifestyles in the same.

zyxst

The short time I was involved with HAES, I thought I'd found a group of people that accepted me even though I was morbidly obese and relatively healthy. Then I started losing weight and they turned on me faster than a pack of hungry wolves on a rabbit.

The HAES people I knew were just as horrible at shaming as people who hate on fat people.

nataliehinkley2

I too feel conflicted about this group of people. Of course, I don't think it is right for us in polite society to go around shaming others for how they look, be it weight or anything else. However, I do think that some of these people live in fantasy land about their health. Sure you may be healthy at this weight today, but it catches up with you. I was in perfect health and obese when I was 22. Ten years later, I weigh the exact same except now I have hypothyroidism, type 2 diabetes, and recurring back pain that can be debilitating at times. My situation is my own and not every obese person is destined for the same and I get that. That being said, I am not sure if these activists are simply trying make themselves feel better (relatively harmless) or encourage obesity acceptance (irresponsible from a public health standpoint). Health is never something you should take for granted.

jennybearlv

I'm against HAES because, science. I would support a HSAES movement. It stands for Hot and Sexy at Every Size, because I do believe you should feel confident in yourself no matter what your weight or what you look like. But nobody should be deluded into believing they are healthy at a heavier weight.

tomteboda

People are people. If you can't see beyond their superficial traits, such as weight, skin color, hair color, body shape, etc. and treat them with the inherent dignity and respect due all human beings for the sake of being a human being, you have a problem.

That includes yourself.

Weight does not define a person, it does not confer moral value.

JeromeBarry1

I accepted being fat until I didn't. Then I stopped trying to be fat.

The journalists of fatness who have found a market niche writing apologia for obesity are no different from any other woo peddler.

RaeBeeBaby

Although there's already a lengthy thread about this topic, maybe it's time for a new one. It's difficult to wade through 27+ pages of comments so I'm more than happy to respond to @dija92 in a new thread with my thoughts. I do not believe the fat acceptance movement is anything more than a movement created to embrace an unhealthy lifestyle and insulate yourself with others who will protect you along the path to an early grave.

As a societal norm people seek to find acceptance among others like themselves. Everyone wants to hang with people who are similar to them. More than two-thirds of people in the US are overweight, and of those over one-third are obese, thus the fat acceptance movement has a captive following. I have been both overweight and normal weight in my life, fit and unfit. No matter what my size and fitness level I sought out people who were similar at that particular time. When I was working out vigorously, I hung out with like-minded fitness friends. I noticed at the height of my best fitness level some of my more overweight friends didn't have much time for me anymore. When I gained back some of the weight, suddenly they were friendlier. Perhaps they felt the same about me.

Of course, it is all personal choice but deep in our hearts we really know what we wish to be. No matter what they say, I do not believe anyone is truly happy being obese. They just want others who are like them to tell them it's OK. I have lost several friends, a co-worker and, just before Christmas, my cousin to the unhealthy ravages of obesity. My co-worker was 53, my cousin 51. They both died in their sleep from so-called "natural causes". Seriously? It's NOT natural to die in your sleep in your early 50's. On the flip side, another relative lost 140 pounds on her own with healthy diet and exercise. She told me she was never happy fat even though she pretended to be. I believe her. She was also part of the fat acceptance movement, until she wasn't.

I will object to OP's comment "given that their coping mechanism only affects themselves". Not true. Knowing the pain my aunt and uncle are feeling over the death of their dear daughter just hurts my heart and makes me so sad. Loved ones are affected, as is society as a whole. The number of obese people on disability because they can no longer work (or never worked) has skyrocketed. Therefore, taxpayers are supporting them through monthly disability payments, SNAP (food stamp) benefits, and housing subsidies. Obesity related health conditions are rampant - diabetes, heart disease, hypertension. Those are not just old people diseases anymore. Many insurance companies now cover bariatric surgery because they are weighing the cost effectiveness of covering that expensive surgical process rather than the long-term health issues and costs associated with a lifetime of obesity. I just counted and I know at least a dozen people who have had gastric bypass surgery. Three of them are in my extended family. Frankly, there's something seriously wrong with this trend.

I have seen so many people here on MFP who have reversed the life sentence of obesity and become healthy and happy. I cheer for them and support them and will continue to do so.

Thanks OP for the opportunity to comment and good luck on your journey!

tomteboda

RaeBeeBaby wrote: »

The number of obese people on disability because they can no longer work (or never worked) has skyrocketed. Therefore, taxpayers are supporting them through monthly disability payments, SNAP (food stamp) benefits, and housing subsidies.

And here you make the libertarian's argument against a socialized wellfare state for them; that government and "social" control of individual choices occurs when government has control of the purse strings, and that people feel justified in taking that control.

That said, these claims really need to be substantiated.

wizzybeth

I subscribe to the idea of treating everyone with dignity and respect, of being the best and healthiest I can be for me, and not trying to change others who are at a different point of their journey than me. It's hard to not criticize and judge...but that's my goal for 2017...to judge and criticize less, accept more...be honest when asked, inspirational when I can...but most importantly be at peace with myself.

lemurcat12

jennybearlv wrote: »

I'm against HAES because, science. I would support a HSAES movement. It stands for Hot and Sexy at Every Size, because I do believe you should feel confident in yourself no matter what your weight or what you look like. But nobody should be deluded into believing they are healthy at a heavier weight.

I like that.

I'd like "healthy as I can be at my size" too. I don't like the idea that people shouldn't try to lose if they want or be aware of the risks, but I also think it's valuable to encourage people who -- for various reasons -- don't want weight loss to be the focus to still do other things to be as fit and healthy as possible. As I've said before I -- stupidly, but whatever -- did not believe I could lose weight at one point, as I felt disconnected from my body, out of control. Just deciding to control what I could and eat healthfully and exercise helped me feel much better and get over this and -- shock, I know ;-) -- I lost weight pretty easily when I did. Simply harping on me about eating less and losing weight wouldn't have helped at that time in my life (I felt like dieting would be awful and impossible and make me miserable without even working), whereas focusing on improving myself and controlling what I understood I could control did help.

Yes, I know that's not what HAES currently is, too bad.

AvaWander

Everyone should be treated with respect and consideration regardless.

Being overweight or obese is very unhealthy and encouraging society to adopt this state as the norm or something to strive for is ludicrous.

I have experienced being criticized constantly when I was chubby so I know what that feels like but since I've been slim, especially when I was really skinny, I was subject to unwelcome comments and outright hate.

I've had strangers lecture me on EDs, about how a "woman needs some meat on her bones because that's what men like" and snicker and poke fun at the size of clothes I was picking off the rack at Winners one day...just to name a few.

When over half the population is overweight, this is already a widely accepted state which does not need to be encouraged. Besides it being unhealthy, I feel that the fat acceptance movement and hating on thin people go hand in hand.

SymbolismNZ

AvaWander wrote: »

Everyone should be treated with respect and consideration regardless.

Being overweight or obese is very unhealthy and encouraging society to adopt this state as the norm or something to strive for is ludicrous.

I agree 100% with this in terms of general society; I hate people who make it into "us vs them"; I've been at the extremes of being a very lean professional sportsman in my youth to being morbidly obese to being a marathon runner to being morbidly obese; it's not a case of hating someone because they're of a different composition to you and you should treat every single person with the same respect and decency that you'd want to be treated with.

Where I differ a bit is that I think we need to be harsher on our close friends and family members; especially those that believe there is no harm in carrying around a lot of body fat and being much heavier than they should be. I've had a very accepting wife watch me go from 185lb to 310lb while she stayed at her constant 125-130lb; and she loves me regardless, but I do wish she had been a little tougher on my eating habits and a little less enabling too.

GottaBurnEmAll

I wish people would separate the arguments for self positivity, and anti-shaming from the Fat Acceptance movement proper. Because they are two separate things.

If you think the Fat Acceptance movement is simply about obese people not wanting to be shamed, you're not aware of things I posted in the other thread.

That is not where the movement is headed. The vanguard of the movement is actively against thin people. The vanguard of the movement shames obese people for losing weight. The vanguard of the movement is taking steps to have the morbidly obese regarded as a protected class.

I firmly believe all of that is hogwash and wrong-headed and is entirely separate from the issue of affording dignity to individuals who are obese.

Legislation has been attempted to be introduced in one Canadian province along the lines of the granting the obese special privilege. Universities have courses specializing in "fat studies". This is taking things too far down into the rabbit hole.

Obesity is a self-inflicted condition that can be treated. I'd rather see some focus on how the complex condition can be effectively addressed than this denial that it's a problem to the point where it's invading academia.

emalethmoon

I think there are parts that are wonderful. Adipisitivity art photos showing the beauty that can be found in every body are great! Fashion and art and sexyiness, yes! But I've parted ways with the HAES part of fat acceptance because, while I've found love and fashion and beauty (to an extent) as an obese person, my knees hurt, and my back hurts, and I had gestational diabetes twice. This isn't healthy! I'd love if we could find a middle ground where everyone could feel good about themselves at any size, but could still recognize that they probably don't feed good enough physically to stay their size. Support folks where they're at and help them get where is healthiest for them.

lemurcat12

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

I wish people would separate the arguments for self positivity, and anti-shaming from the Fat Acceptance movement proper. Because they are two separate things.

Yes, I think this is a worthwhile point and have been convinced it is true (and I tried to make sure it was separated in my post).

I wonder if anyone has comments on this.