Fat acceptance movement

From RationalWiki
(Difference between revisions)
Jump to: navigation, search
(Well, if a man desires this "baby girl," then she should be happy, right? Because, really, this whole "body image" thing is about reassuring women they are desireable to men. </sarcasm>)
Line 3: Line 3:
 
'''Fat activism,''' '''fativism''', or the '''fat acceptance movement''' is a social movement that works to change attitudes towards fat people, be they people who are simply larger than the "model thin standard" typical of modern Western society, or people who are actually [[obesity|obese]].  
 
'''Fat activism,''' '''fativism''', or the '''fat acceptance movement''' is a social movement that works to change attitudes towards fat people, be they people who are simply larger than the "model thin standard" typical of modern Western society, or people who are actually [[obesity|obese]].  
  
While advocating for realistic attitudes about body shape and size is not the same thing as addressing attitudes towards people who are obese are distinct, the two are often conflated.{{fact}}
+
While advocating for realistic attitudes about body shape and size is not the same thing as addressing attitudes towards people who are obese are distinct enterprises, the two are often conflated.{{fact}}
  
 
Either way, everybody can agree that '''fat-shaming''' is dangerous. Not only does it not make people lose weight, it actually causes them to gain it.<ref>[http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0070048 Perceived Weight Discrimination and Obesity. Angelina R. Sutin, Antonio Terracciano. July 24, 2013.] DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070048</ref>
 
Either way, everybody can agree that '''fat-shaming''' is dangerous. Not only does it not make people lose weight, it actually causes them to gain it.<ref>[http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0070048 Perceived Weight Discrimination and Obesity. Angelina R. Sutin, Antonio Terracciano. July 24, 2013.] DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070048</ref>

Revision as of 15:17, 16 June 2014

Not just a river in Egypt

Denialism

Icon denialism.svg
A dirty dozen gems

Fat activism, fativism, or the fat acceptance movement is a social movement that works to change attitudes towards fat people, be they people who are simply larger than the "model thin standard" typical of modern Western society, or people who are actually obese.

While advocating for realistic attitudes about body shape and size is not the same thing as addressing attitudes towards people who are obese are distinct enterprises, the two are often conflated.[citation needed]

Either way, everybody can agree that fat-shaming is dangerous. Not only does it not make people lose weight, it actually causes them to gain it.[1]

Contents

Rejection of idealized body types

The first group of "fat activism" has more to do with issues of body image in the modern world. There is a strong push to define "healthy" and "at weight" as being extremely thin, especially when talking about women. These definitions do not account for a person being larger because they carry muscle mass, and often cast healthy, but larger people as "overweight" because their bodies do not conform to the maxim[2] that one can never be too rich, nor too thin.

An added myth is that non-medical practitioners think one can diagnose health problems by looking at people's bodies. This is not the case; one cannot know if another person has liver damage, is dehydrated, has high cholesterol, etc., merely by looking at another person's body type. That would make diagnostics a lot easier. Combating these misconceptions is sensible.

Straight denialism

The second group of fat activists, those who attempt to present a view that it is okay to be obese, are much less sensible. While they are correct in their assertions that obesity is a medical condition, and the obese should not be scorned, ridiculed or labeled as "lazy", these activists sometimes engage in a form of denialism, arguing against the medical evidence that being overweight has serious health effects.[citation needed]

An offshoot of this second group has arisen that mixes social justice with fat activism, and a significant extra helping of the aforementioned denialism. Members of this faction may variously claim that:

  • Not only does being overweight not have serious health effects, but doctors who suggest this are purposefully trying to oppress overweight individuals.[citation needed]
  • Losing weight is either impossible, or not able to occur through deliberate effort on the part of the person.[citation needed]
  • The aquatic ape hypothesis is not only correct, but demonstrates that being overweight is advantageous.[citation needed]
  • Everyone who is thin is privileged, even if this is due to a medical condition or starvation.[citation needed]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Perceived Weight Discrimination and Obesity. Angelina R. Sutin, Antonio Terracciano. July 24, 2013. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070048
  2. Low, K. G.; Charanasomboon, S.; Brown, C.; Hiltunen, G.; Long, K.; Reinhalter, K.; Jones, H. (2003). "Internalization of the Thin Ideal, Weight and Body Image Concerns". Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal 31: 81–89. doi:10.2224/sbp.2003.31.1.81
Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Community
Tools
support