Fat activism
| A dirty dozen gems about |
| Not just a river in Egypt |
“”Your body ain't Pamela Anderson; it's a struggle just to get you in the caravan
But listen, baby girl: before I let you lose a pound I'll buy a bigger car |
| —Sebastian, "The Way I Are"[1] |
Fat activism or the fat acceptance movement is a social movement that works to change societal attitudes towards fat people, both those people who are simply larger than the "model thin standard" of society, as well as those who are obese. The two goals are quite different, though they are often seen in a less than accepting society, as one and the same.
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, not accounting for muscle mass, or a normal healthy body that happens to be overweight. This is fairly sensible.
The second group of fat activists, those who attempt to present a view that it is ok to be obese, aren't sensible. While they are correct in their assertions that it is a medical condition, so should be accepted as such, rather than ridiculed or labeled "lazy", these activists sometimes engage in a form of denialism, claiming that being obese is just a lifestyle while arguing against the medical evidence that being overweight has serious health effects. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance made an appearance on Penn and Teller's Bullshit, where they tried to convince the world that Penn's girth obesity wasn't a problem. Remember: drug abuse is also treated as a medical condition, yet many of those who wish to liberalize America's drug laws still feel that mandatory detox and rehab should exist in place of prison sentences for non-violent drug users.
[edit] See also
- Persecution complex: The proposition that one's doctor is part of a vast conspiracy to make them miserable and force them to eat tasteless food.
- Pro-ana
[edit] External links
- The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance: Not to be confused with the National Association for the Advancement of Fat People (NAAFP), a fictitious organisation.