Body shaming at its absolute worst... thoughts please.

Options
Tillyecl1
Tillyecl1 Posts: 189 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
In the Daily Fail:


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2686676/Why-todays-young-women-unashamed-fat-Horrified-rolls-flesh-shes-witnessed-summer-LINDA-KELSEY-takes-no-prisoners.html

Obviously this is an opinion piece but I am quite uncomfortable with both the article and the comments (which involve body shaming at both ends of the spectrum, i.e 'fat people are gross' as well as 'only dogs like bones').

I was just wondering what people thought and if you have ever been guilty of body shaming (intentionally or otherwise)?

Also, given that no one is perfect and that people's view of what is beautiful is subjective, is it ever OK to comment on another person in this way or would it be different if this article had been written about a celebrity for example?
«134567…13

Replies

  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
    Options
    I think we've all done it at some time or another, including to ourselves. That said, it's not a thing we really *should* do. I hate mean nasty articles; all they do is make people feel like crap. Fat is not a moral failing. There are lots of reasons that make people fat (or skinny), and it's wrong to judge and point fingers. If we're in a position to advise someone at all (usually because that person has asked for help, or is complaining about their body and doesn't know what to do) then I think it's best to advise for health, such as recommending eating more nonstarchy vegetables and taking a walk every day, and let them deal with any size issues themselves or with their doctor.... unless they specifically come to you saying "I don't like my weight, do you know how I can change it." but then that advice should be offered in a nonjudgmental way and for the ultimate goal of improving health rather than just focusing on looks.
  • WithWhatsLeft
    WithWhatsLeft Posts: 196 Member
    Options
    It might be more... comfortable to understand the point she's trying to make if she didn't keep using the word "fatty".
  • girldownsouth
    girldownsouth Posts: 920 Member
    Options
    I found this article to be horrifically offensive, but typical of the daily mail. I think it's a complicated subject that she clearly doesn't have the insight to understand. Although, at the same time, I personally wouldn't display my legs in hotpants...
  • Hell_Flower
    Hell_Flower Posts: 348 Member
    Options
    My advice is to never read the Daily Mail.

    Contrived, sensationalist crap with a reading age of 7 years.

    That said, I agree with the point about over-feeding your children and that it should be classified as abuse. Starving your child would definitely warrant a visit from social services - stuffing them full of MacDonalds and fatty processed food sure as hell should as well. A child who is 2 stone over-weight is just as at risk as a child who is 2 stone underweight.
  • nelinelineli
    nelinelineli Posts: 330 Member
    Options
    I empathise with what she wrote. That being said, this sort of passionate hatred often (if not always) simply reveals the writer's own fears and frustrations. She's just projecting, trying to rationalise her own fears of being fat, and I feel her pain, but it has nothing to do with others imo.
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
    Options
    Edit: Nevermind.
  • meridianova
    meridianova Posts: 438 Member
    Options
    It looks like the writer took the gold medal in "Jumping to Conclusions" at the 2012 Olympics. What she doesn't know (and honestly has no way of knowing) is what the daily lives of those girls are really like. She comments that they're sharing a bag of crisps (ZOMG! THE HORROR!), but for all we know that bag may have been something convenience store-sized, not the giant family bag intended to serve 20 people at a picnic. She doesn't know if those four agreed to treat themselves to a week on the beach after they'd each lost 50 pounds. For all she knows, they may be joining a fitness getaway where they're running on the beach each day instead of just lounging on it.

    While it's possible that she's right, these four are nothing but hamplanets brimming with fatlogic and thinking that they're the next Giselle Bunchen and plan to wear skimpy bikinis to show all the men their "curves", it's far more likely that she's overreacting because of her own disgust of fat. She hates to see it on herself, therefore anyone who is fat is 100 times more disgusting.

    We're all guilty of snap judgements. Fortunately we're not all writing about them in the daily paper. She really should have just kept those opinions to herself.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    Options
    Silly, ill informed opinion piece in the Daily Mail?

    How surprising...
  • So_Much_Fab
    So_Much_Fab Posts: 1,146 Member
    Options
    DM is a POS website which is only useful if you want to read 5 articles on any of the Kardashian clan on any given day...
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Options
    It's written in the usual harsh Daily Mail click-bait style which unfortunately has detracted from what could have been a thoughtful message about the normalisation of larger sizes. When 50% of the population is overweight or obese, and TV is full of "fat shows", it's very easy to think, "At least I'm not THAT bad," or "There you see, I'm only average," and not see that your size risks threatening your health. 20 years ago, I would never have been able to buy my size clothes in anything but a plus-size store, but now pretty much every high-street shop carries at least 5 sizes bigger than mine so I need never be chastened into losing weight by an unkind waistband again.
  • scraver2003
    scraver2003 Posts: 528 Member
    Options
    It looks like the writer took the gold medal in "Jumping to Conclusions" at the 2012 Olympics. What she doesn't know (and honestly has no way of knowing) is what the daily lives of those girls are really like. She comments that they're sharing a bag of crisps (ZOMG! THE HORROR!), but for all we know that bag may have been something convenience store-sized, not the giant family bag intended to serve 20 people at a picnic. She doesn't know if those four agreed to treat themselves to a week on the beach after they'd each lost 50 pounds. For all she knows, they may be joining a fitness getaway where they're running on the beach each day instead of just lounging on it.

    While it's possible that she's right, these four are nothing but hamplanets brimming with fatlogic and thinking that they're the next Giselle Bunchen and plan to wear skimpy bikinis to show all the men their "curves", it's far more likely that she's overreacting because of her own disgust of fat. She hates to see it on herself, therefore anyone who is fat is 100 times more disgusting.

    We're all guilty of snap judgements. Fortunately we're not all writing about them in the daily paper. She really should have just kept those opinions to herself.

    ^^^ This is EXACTLY what I was thinking.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,244 Member
    Options
    I refuse to even try to make an intelligent comment based off of something in the Daily Mail. So not worth the time.
  • hj1119
    hj1119 Posts: 173 Member
    Options
    Being married to a Brit, this doesn't shock me. Stop reading the DM.

    I will say, I don't entirely disagree with her statement about overfeeding children junk food being abuse, not love.
  • Supertact
    Supertact Posts: 466 Member
    Options
    Someone being honest on the Internet?? Quick flame her!

    I support this article and the author.
  • hmg90
    hmg90 Posts: 314 Member
    Options
    Isn't every article in the daily mail like this, in larger or smaller degree?

    If someone wants to be fat, they can be fat. It has nothing to do with me. I do find it annoying when they complain though.
  • Emeryeon
    Emeryeon Posts: 61
    Options
    Whatever, that article literally makes me not want to eat anything all day. Im going to of course cause I might faint but still. I can see why some girls have eating disorders after being big.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    Options
    It's now body-shaming to say things that are demonstrably factual?
  • NerdyAdventurer
    NerdyAdventurer Posts: 166 Member
    Options
    Meh, a worthless opinion piece.

    One thing I will agree with that she said is "We live in a society in which it has become OK to shame people for being skinny, but to come out and say 'You’re fat. Not healthy, not a good look' would be tantamount to a crime."

    That is 100% true.

    This
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Options
    The best thing in the article is that the author says she says she doesn't have a daughter.

Categories