Comments on: Bad Fatty Revolutionary

By: bigliberty

bigliberty — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 02:38:01 +0000

Hi Lisa, welcome to BigLiberty!

When I began talking about fat acceptance here (wow, I missed my one year anniversary of this blog! I should put a post up), I was in “myth-busting” mode because of how appalled I was with the misuse of science to cordon off and persecute an entire class of people (i.e., it wasn’t science at all). Being a mathematician and scientist, I sought to lend a rational voice to the discourse.

However, after a while – perhaps seven months or so – I began to realize that, as you said, it isn’t about health at all. Health is being used as a club to silence those who swim against the stream of the latest moral crusade, the moral imperative of health. Moral crusades are ways to tease out the “good” people from the “bad” — here the “healthy” are being teased out from the “unhealthy” in the form of an easy, visual indicator of being “unhealthy” – fat.

So that you can walk down any street and know where you fit into the hierarchical structure.

Again, thanks for reading.

By: lisarutland

lisarutland — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 02:19:58 +0000

I love this post! You’ve just managed to clarify things for me perfectly.

I started reading about fat acceptance through studying intuitive eating, which led to the fatosphere. Now I’m hyper-aware of how people who are fat are constantly vilified with “science” being the tool of choice to excuse the bigotry. I’m very angry about that and want to add my voice to those who’re objecting. I’ve resisted though because … well, I’m a bad fatty and I feel quite ambivalent about that. After so many years it’s difficult to let go of the desire to be ‘healthy’ aka thin. But, as you say, the question is not now, nor has it ever been, about health. It’s wrong to treat any group as less, for any reason.

I think a lot of people confuse the two issues – fat acceptance and self acceptance. The first is about our rights as an oppressed minority (huh, that’s ironic!) and the second about our own personal demons.

By: Creating Community « Naturally Curvy

Creating Community « Naturally Curvy — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:16:30 +0000

[...] was also a post by Big Liberty concerning being a Bad Fatty Revoluntary. I like this. I see a lot of posts on the Fat-o-sphere feed, and The Fat Liberation, about being [...]

By: The Civil Libertarian

The Civil Libertarian — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:00:53 +0000

Perfect sense, L!

And vesta, you’re right. It just boils down to privacy and busybodies. You choose your mate, and that’s who you care about being attractive to. I think a trap many people (esp women) fall into is this trap of trying to be everything to everyone, which we know is impossible. It’s also harmful, since it puts the focus on everyone else and minimizes the self. And what happens as a result? We lose our identities and self-esteem, and become vulnerable to attacks by manipulators and bigots.

I think it does take some experience to realize this.

By: the Lindsay of Babble-on

the Lindsay of Babble-on — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:53:09 +0000

I imagine some folks would think i fall into one category, and other folks think i fall into the other. I probably fall somewhere in between the two, but i think trying to figure out which one i am, or which one i have been at various points in my life? Isn’t helpful: i’m not interested in figuring out what i Have Been. Rather, i’m interested in figuring out who i Am Right Now, and who i want to be In The Then.

(Hope that made sense out of my head.)

By: vesta44

vesta44 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:37:46 +0000

Oh, and for the record, I’m probably one of the “bad” fatties too. So what? Who cares? I don’t.

By: vesta44

vesta44 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:36:08 +0000

For me, it’s not about health, it’s about giving all fat people the basic human respect and dignity we all deserve, simply because we are human beings. That means all fat people, no matter what their health or intelligence or physical state happens to be. It means not discriminating against them just because they are fat. Why our bodies are the way they are is no one’s business and no one should have to try to change any part of themselves to meet someone else’s expectations.
I have decided that my health is not up for discussion with anyone but my doctor. My appearance is not up for discussion with anyone, either. If it satisfies me and DH, then to hell with the rest of the world. What I eat or don’t eat, how much, when, and where is not up for discussion either, unless someone is passing along a good recipe for tasty food (and not a “lite” version of it either). Anyone who tries to ridicule me for any reason gets a hearty “Fuck You!” and is ignored from then on, unless they decide to learn how to treat me with respect. Maybe it’s part of getting older, but I just don’t feel like dealing with that kind of bullshit anymore. I have more important things to do with my time and energy than dealing with bigots of any stripe, no matter what group they happen to belong to.