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acorsaut89
Posts: 1,147 Member
in Chit-Chat
So I was scrolling Facebook this morning and I came across this article posted by a friend of mine.
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a9127494/tv-show-fat-women-representation/?src=nl&mag=cos&list=nl_chg_news&date=030117
And it made me a little pissed off, frankly. I totally get that you shouldn't body shame and being big can be hard - hello 5'10 and 250lbs - but should we really, really be celebrating being unhealthy? Don't get me wrong - I am not hating on bigger girls, not even close. I'm just saying that maybe being big shouldn't be celebrated when it's unhealthy. Think about the damage being done to vital organs, and your joints. Think about the long term health consequences of what you're doing (diabetes, for example). Being severely overweight has long term ramifications and while I'm not saying hate on people who are big and body shame them . . . I just think that it shouldn't be glamourized like this.
I'm also bigger so it's not like I've been super fit my whole life, it's been an up and down thing for me too and while I love myself and who I am, I know that I can do better with fitness - run faster, lift heavier - and I can always improve my eating habits. I'm far from perfect, but making it seem like it's completely ok to be morbidly obese just seems like the top of an incredibly slippery slope for us.
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a9127494/tv-show-fat-women-representation/?src=nl&mag=cos&list=nl_chg_news&date=030117
And it made me a little pissed off, frankly. I totally get that you shouldn't body shame and being big can be hard - hello 5'10 and 250lbs - but should we really, really be celebrating being unhealthy? Don't get me wrong - I am not hating on bigger girls, not even close. I'm just saying that maybe being big shouldn't be celebrated when it's unhealthy. Think about the damage being done to vital organs, and your joints. Think about the long term health consequences of what you're doing (diabetes, for example). Being severely overweight has long term ramifications and while I'm not saying hate on people who are big and body shame them . . . I just think that it shouldn't be glamourized like this.
I'm also bigger so it's not like I've been super fit my whole life, it's been an up and down thing for me too and while I love myself and who I am, I know that I can do better with fitness - run faster, lift heavier - and I can always improve my eating habits. I'm far from perfect, but making it seem like it's completely ok to be morbidly obese just seems like the top of an incredibly slippery slope for us.
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Replies
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I agree with you. Shows like My Big Fat Fabulous life is an example of this. I don't get it.0
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I know! I have watched that show and listening to the excuses I am like seriously? I have friends who have PCOS and with careful eating and regular exercise they maintain a healthy weight - even during a pregnancy that was difficult. It's not like it can't be done, but the amount of excuses that girl has drives me insane. If she works out as much the show claims she does, and eats a relatively healthy diet it can be done but I think there's a lot more going on behind the scenes than that. But anyways . . . yeh, I don't get it.0
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I don't think the point of the article was to celebrate being unhealthy, rather just wanting a show that portrays a fat person just living. Not trying to lose weight, not hating themselves for being fat, just living a normal life, just like fat people do everyday.6
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I don't think the point of the article was to celebrate being unhealthy, rather just wanting a show that portrays a fat person just living. Not trying to lose weight, not hating themselves for being fat, just living a normal life, just like fat people do everyday.
But that's the thing: it's saying it's ok to be contributing towards living an unhealthy lifestyle and just being ok with it. Should we be ok with being morbidly obese? Should we be ok with the variety of potential illnesses it will bring later in life? Should that just be ok?
We all live our lives doing whatever we do, and that's all well and good but I just can't get behind it. Having been pre-diabetic myself, having been 350lbs . . . and now, feeling like I do now. It's not vanity - it's health. I don't care what I look like, and yes I have some saggy skin, but I feel great.
I'm not saying hate yourself for being overweight . . . not at all. Don't hate yourself - love yourself enough to be healthy.
And yes, I know there are some thin people who have incredibly unhealthy habits, too. That shouldn't be celebrated either.0 -
acorsaut89 wrote: »I don't think the point of the article was to celebrate being unhealthy, rather just wanting a show that portrays a fat person just living. Not trying to lose weight, not hating themselves for being fat, just living a normal life, just like fat people do everyday.
But that's the thing: it's saying it's ok to be contributing towards living an unhealthy lifestyle and just being ok with it. Should we be ok with being morbidly obese? Should we be ok with the variety of potential illnesses it will bring later in life? Should that just be ok?
We all live our lives doing whatever we do, and that's all well and good but I just can't get behind it. Having been pre-diabetic myself, having been 350lbs . . . and now, feeling like I do now. It's not vanity - it's health. I don't care what I look like, and yes I have some saggy skin, but I feel great.
I'm not saying hate yourself for being overweight . . . not at all. Don't hate yourself - love yourself enough to be healthy.
And yes, I know there are some thin people who have incredibly unhealthy habits, too. That shouldn't be celebrated either.
I still don't see how you're getting that it's saying it's ok. Everyone knows being overweight is unhealthy, but why would I as a fat person want to watch countless shows where the fat person is portrayed as stupid, weight obsessed and depressed, when that's not relatable to the majority of overweight people?3 -
If everyone knows it's unhealthy then why wouldn't we want to see more shows where people change things around? I don't watch a whole lot of TV, honestly, so my opinion is skewed here but I don't see fat people being portrayed and stupid, or weight obsessed or depressed at all. I see shows like My Big Fat Fabulous Life and see how having an illness - like PCOS, which may slow down your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE as it is made out to be - makes it ok to be so overweight she can't even shave her own legs, but as long as you love yourself everything is all going to be great and you'll have this totally great life while your mom needs to come over to help you shave your legs or put on your own shoes. Good message? Really?
I am all for loving ourselves for who we are. But it's a very dangerous message to send to say that people who are at serious risk for developing weight-related diseases are having their lives celebrated and put on TV. That show isn't about saying here's what I was, here's how I change my life, and here's how I'm healthy now . . . it's saying look at all the things that I can do while being dangerously unhealthy like it's nothing. I don't know . . . it just doesn't sit well with me for some reason.0 -
I'm not a fat shamer and I am still overweight and have been on the obese scale. But I knew I was fat and unhealthy. Being overweight should not be glamorized because it isn't glamorous. I have a hard time believing -like in that fat fabulous life show - that she feels so fabulous. Hard to feel fabulous after walking a flight of stairs and out of breath. Been there done that.2
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acorsaut89 wrote: »If everyone knows it's unhealthy then why wouldn't we want to see more shows where people change things around? I don't watch a whole lot of TV, honestly, so my opinion is skewed here but I don't see fat people being portrayed and stupid, or weight obsessed or depressed at all. I see shows like My Big Fat Fabulous Life and see how having an illness - like PCOS, which may slow down your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE as it is made out to be - makes it ok to be so overweight she can't even shave her own legs, but as long as you love yourself everything is all going to be great and you'll have this totally great life while your mom needs to come over to help you shave your legs or put on your own shoes. Good message? Really?
The thing about My Big Fat Fabulous Life is she's the only one that's ok with being overweight, but the show is still centered around her losing weight and the health consequences she faces for being the size she's at, so again, still not glorifying obesity as being healthy.3 -
Cutaway_Collar wrote: »I agree with the article. Being overweight or obese should never be a point of ridicule. Hollywood always gets by making fun of groups of people. And that notion pervades into society or vice versa. It is a vicious cycle.
If someone is obese or overweight or whatever, you know what you should do? Mind your own business. That should be the golden rule of life.
Also I don't think the article is celebrating being overweight. That is my piggy opinion.
I chance upon the comments in FB sometimes, esp on the pages of overweight people, for ex. Tess Holliday... and the comments are cruel. Why do you have an issue with overweight people like that?? They will take care if their own issues. Why is it your problem as a third person???
Because I live in Canada and my tax dollars pay for their choices, too.
Yes I recognize I may make choices people don't agree with and that's cool but when obesity is the number one reason for so many illnesses and our health care is failing as it is . . . as in, we don't have the money to support it . . . we can prevent a lot of these future illnesses by taking appropriate measure now.1 -
acorsaut89 wrote: »If everyone knows it's unhealthy then why wouldn't we want to see more shows where people change things around? I don't watch a whole lot of TV, honestly, so my opinion is skewed here but I don't see fat people being portrayed and stupid, or weight obsessed or depressed at all. I see shows like My Big Fat Fabulous Life and see how having an illness - like PCOS, which may slow down your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE as it is made out to be - makes it ok to be so overweight she can't even shave her own legs, but as long as you love yourself everything is all going to be great and you'll have this totally great life while your mom needs to come over to help you shave your legs or put on your own shoes. Good message? Really?
The thing about My Big Fat Fabulous Life is she's the only one that's ok with being overweight, but the show is still centered around her losing weight and the health consequences she faces for being the size she's at, so again, still not glorifying obesity as being healthy.
I never said it glorifies it as being healthy. No, I said it makes it seem perfectly acceptable.0 -
acorsaut89 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »If everyone knows it's unhealthy then why wouldn't we want to see more shows where people change things around? I don't watch a whole lot of TV, honestly, so my opinion is skewed here but I don't see fat people being portrayed and stupid, or weight obsessed or depressed at all. I see shows like My Big Fat Fabulous Life and see how having an illness - like PCOS, which may slow down your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE as it is made out to be - makes it ok to be so overweight she can't even shave her own legs, but as long as you love yourself everything is all going to be great and you'll have this totally great life while your mom needs to come over to help you shave your legs or put on your own shoes. Good message? Really?
The thing about My Big Fat Fabulous Life is she's the only one that's ok with being overweight, but the show is still centered around her losing weight and the health consequences she faces for being the size she's at, so again, still not glorifying obesity as being healthy.
I never said it glorifies it as being healthy. No, I said it makes it seem perfectly acceptable.
OK my point is it still doesn't make it out to be acceptable.2 -
The purpose of the show is that she's fat but she should still be treated like a decent human being and can have fun.3
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acorsaut89 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »If everyone knows it's unhealthy then why wouldn't we want to see more shows where people change things around? I don't watch a whole lot of TV, honestly, so my opinion is skewed here but I don't see fat people being portrayed and stupid, or weight obsessed or depressed at all. I see shows like My Big Fat Fabulous Life and see how having an illness - like PCOS, which may slow down your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE as it is made out to be - makes it ok to be so overweight she can't even shave her own legs, but as long as you love yourself everything is all going to be great and you'll have this totally great life while your mom needs to come over to help you shave your legs or put on your own shoes. Good message? Really?
The thing about My Big Fat Fabulous Life is she's the only one that's ok with being overweight, but the show is still centered around her losing weight and the health consequences she faces for being the size she's at, so again, still not glorifying obesity as being healthy.
I never said it glorifies it as being healthy. No, I said it makes it seem perfectly acceptable.
OK my point is it still doesn't make it out to be acceptable.
Are you ok with being overweight/unhealthy as long as you accept yourself and are happy?0 -
acorsaut89 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »If everyone knows it's unhealthy then why wouldn't we want to see more shows where people change things around? I don't watch a whole lot of TV, honestly, so my opinion is skewed here but I don't see fat people being portrayed and stupid, or weight obsessed or depressed at all. I see shows like My Big Fat Fabulous Life and see how having an illness - like PCOS, which may slow down your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE as it is made out to be - makes it ok to be so overweight she can't even shave her own legs, but as long as you love yourself everything is all going to be great and you'll have this totally great life while your mom needs to come over to help you shave your legs or put on your own shoes. Good message? Really?
The thing about My Big Fat Fabulous Life is she's the only one that's ok with being overweight, but the show is still centered around her losing weight and the health consequences she faces for being the size she's at, so again, still not glorifying obesity as being healthy.
I never said it glorifies it as being healthy. No, I said it makes it seem perfectly acceptable.
OK my point is it still doesn't make it out to be acceptable.
Are you ok with being overweight/unhealthy as long as you accept yourself and are happy?
I'm not ok being overweight obviously because I'm on this website, but I expect to be treated like a human no matter what size I am.5 -
acorsaut89 wrote: »If everyone knows it's unhealthy then why wouldn't we want to see more shows where people change things around? I don't watch a whole lot of TV, honestly, so my opinion is skewed here but I don't see fat people being portrayed and stupid, or weight obsessed or depressed at all. I see shows like My Big Fat Fabulous Life and see how having an illness - like PCOS, which may slow down your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE as it is made out to be - makes it ok to be so overweight she can't even shave her own legs, but as long as you love yourself everything is all going to be great and you'll have this totally great life while your mom needs to come over to help you shave your legs or put on your own shoes. Good message? Really?
Just because people know that, they're unhealthy doesn't mean that; they know how to reverse/improve! I didn't even, know that; Dietitians exist! This' more a fundamental problem of, our educational system than; the individual because this, isn't common sense! Just read all of, the myths that; people come here believing & asking about, such as; the: "Military Diet", etc.!0 -
MeeseeksAndDestroy wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »If everyone knows it's unhealthy then why wouldn't we want to see more shows where people change things around? I don't watch a whole lot of TV, honestly, so my opinion is skewed here but I don't see fat people being portrayed and stupid, or weight obsessed or depressed at all. I see shows like My Big Fat Fabulous Life and see how having an illness - like PCOS, which may slow down your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE as it is made out to be - makes it ok to be so overweight she can't even shave her own legs, but as long as you love yourself everything is all going to be great and you'll have this totally great life while your mom needs to come over to help you shave your legs or put on your own shoes. Good message? Really?
The thing about My Big Fat Fabulous Life is she's the only one that's ok with being overweight, but the show is still centered around her losing weight and the health consequences she faces for being the size she's at, so again, still not glorifying obesity as being healthy.
I never said it glorifies it as being healthy. No, I said it makes it seem perfectly acceptable.
Yeah! Why should anyone who is overweight be accepted as a human being! The outrage!
That's a huge jump - I stated in my original post that this isn't about that. Everyone is a person and regardless of your size it doesn't make you less of a person. But what it can do is give you less quality of life. I am still plus sized, I haven't been fit my whole life by anymeans. I was 350lbs in 2012. I am the last person to say you're less of a person because you weigh X. The whole post was about glorifying being overweight, period. Nothing about fat shaming or body shaming. So that's a big jump.0 -
acorsaut89 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »If everyone knows it's unhealthy then why wouldn't we want to see more shows where people change things around? I don't watch a whole lot of TV, honestly, so my opinion is skewed here but I don't see fat people being portrayed and stupid, or weight obsessed or depressed at all. I see shows like My Big Fat Fabulous Life and see how having an illness - like PCOS, which may slow down your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE as it is made out to be - makes it ok to be so overweight she can't even shave her own legs, but as long as you love yourself everything is all going to be great and you'll have this totally great life while your mom needs to come over to help you shave your legs or put on your own shoes. Good message? Really?
The thing about My Big Fat Fabulous Life is she's the only one that's ok with being overweight, but the show is still centered around her losing weight and the health consequences she faces for being the size she's at, so again, still not glorifying obesity as being healthy.
I never said it glorifies it as being healthy. No, I said it makes it seem perfectly acceptable.
OK my point is it still doesn't make it out to be acceptable.
Are you ok with being overweight/unhealthy as long as you accept yourself and are happy?
I'm not ok being overweight obviously because I'm on this website, but I expect to be treated like a human no matter what size I am.
^^^Exactly! Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.2 -
I've always thought fat and TV was more an issue of sexism. There have always been overweight men on TV playing regular roles where their weight didn't play into the script, but thin women on TV has always been the norm.3
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DeficitDuchess wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »If everyone knows it's unhealthy then why wouldn't we want to see more shows where people change things around? I don't watch a whole lot of TV, honestly, so my opinion is skewed here but I don't see fat people being portrayed and stupid, or weight obsessed or depressed at all. I see shows like My Big Fat Fabulous Life and see how having an illness - like PCOS, which may slow down your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE as it is made out to be - makes it ok to be so overweight she can't even shave her own legs, but as long as you love yourself everything is all going to be great and you'll have this totally great life while your mom needs to come over to help you shave your legs or put on your own shoes. Good message? Really?
Just because people know that, they're unhealthy doesn't mean that; they know how to reverse/improve! I didn't even, know that; Dietitians exist! This' more a fundamental problem of, our educational system than; the individual because this, isn't common sense! Just read all of, the myths that; people come here believing & asking about, such as; the: "Military Diet", etc.!
Oh I agree - there's a ton of misinformation out there and it's so easy to get wrapped up in it. It isn't easy at all, but personal accountability is huge, too.0
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