I think I’ve recovered now so let’s have some Fat Acceptance 101
Thanks to everyone who commented regarding the article in The Age. I have had nothing but positive feedback so far and it is awesome. Seriously, not a single troll. Maybe troll types don’t read newspapers like The Age? Oh well, I am sure they will show their teeth sooner or later and when they do, they will get the same response they always get – NONE. Instant deletion. End of story.
There is possibly some more media exposure coming the way of Australian Fat Acceptance but until it is a definite goer, I will keep that one under my hat. But if it happens, you will be the first to know!
I thought that there might be some readers out there (thanks to the article!) who are new to the concept of Fat Acceptance and seeing as I haven’t got my act together and put together a FA 101 page, I will post some of what I see as the basic tenets of Fat Acceptance right here…
- Fat Acceptance is not about encouraging people to gain weight. It is about learning to accept and love who you are at this present moment and working with what you have to have a happy and fulfilling life.
- Diets are not the answer to long term weight loss. There is currently no guaranteed answer to long term weight loss.
- Fat does not equate with ill health, just as thin does not equate with good health.
- Fat people are not all lazy, gluttonous slobs who spend all day sitting on the sofa eating donuts. Just as not all thin people are out exercising daily and eating nothing but leafy greens.
- You cannot believe everything reported in the media regarding the so called ‘obesity epidemic’.
- You cannot believe everything you read in Results section of studies – you need to learn how to analyse such studies and consider things such as the sample, the methodology and who is sponsoring the research.
- Fat people deserve to be treated with the same dignity and respect that average weight people do.
- The BMI is a flawed measure and not appropriate for categorising body weight.
- There is such a thing as ‘thin privilege’ and it pervades Western society (and probably other societies as well).
- People are fat for a variety of reasons. Some people are fat because of medication, some are fat because of genetics, some are fat because they eat a lot. It doesn’t matter why someone is fat. It is irrelevant why someone is fat. Every fatty deserves to be treated with respect regardless of WHY they are fat.
- Correlation does not equal causation. In other words it has not been proved that fat actually causes diabetes, heart attacks and all the rest. There is a correlation between fat and those conditions but it has not been shown how actual body fat could cause these illnesses and until it has, that is correlation which does not equal causation.
There are plenty more where those come from but that is just off the top of my head, I will be adding to the list as I think of more (feel free to remind me of some!). And I will be getting that FA 101 page up and running once I finish the final paper I have to submit for my Masters in Counselling (due in 2 and a bit weeks).
And just for fun, a cute cartoon from Natalie Dee…
Good list. You should say something about how the headless fatties used in news casts about the obesity “epidemic” aren’t even close to being representative of the fat people in general. It would be like if every story about the failure of schools was accompanied by an interview with the “I Like Turtles” kid.
Peace,
Shannon
Ha – I literally did the LOL at my desk for that cartoon x
Dear Miss Celebrity,
This is an excellent idea and will be so so so useful as the movement gets more attention.
hi there
i am fat and new to fat acceptance
(thanks the age)
please don’t think i’m a troll (!) when i ask –
please can i have some more information on your point about fat/thin and health?
So Bri, do you reckon we should treat overweight people with the same respect that fellow overweight people Magda Szubanksi & Julia Morris treat cyclists? Or do you reckon we should be encouraging people to get out and exercise and use healthy transport?
Cheers, nice blog by the way.
Shannon: Great idea! I shall add that to the FA 101 page!
Alice: Hi and welcome! Please feel free to ask any genuine questions at all! My point about fat/thin and health is that not all fat people are unhealthy, just as not all thin people are healthy. However unhealthy thin people are not ostracized like fat people simply because they look ‘acceptable’ to society. It is assumed fat people are unhealthy simply because they are fat. And really, health is not a moral imperative. That means that whether you choose to eat a certain way or do particular amounts of exercise (or not) is entirely up to you and if you don’t do it you are not a bad person. It is your choice.
Rob: I have no idea what you are referring to in regards to Magda and Julia. I think exercise is great if people can find a movement they enjoy doing and that it (exercise) isn’t viewed as a punishment or a means for trying to lose weight/burn calories.
thanks bri
i’m finding this all very interesting and exciting as i have always believed that i am unhealthy just because i am fat! (i don’t feel unhealthy though!)
am i wrong? if so, this will be a huge change in thinking for me!
but i think very very thin people ARE ostracized by society(except models lol)… just the same way we hear people comment negatively behind a fat person’s back “gee, he/she is fat/has put on weight” we also hear (negatively) “gee, he/she is skinny/has lost weight”
i guess this is different to what you’re saying though -am i right in assuming you are talking about unhealthy people who are a “normal” or “healthy” weight?
Hi Alice
Well there are many studies that show that having extra weight can be an advantage when it comes to some illnesses and it has not been proven how exactly fat ’causes’ illnesses so until then, well I think there are a myriad of other ways of looking at the correlation between weight and supposed ill health.
I agree that underweight people can be ostracised but I think there is a lot more emphasis on fat hatred than on super-thin hatred and the ‘oh you have lost weight’ phrase is more often heard as praise than as criticism – in my experience anyway. But yeah, I am talking about people who are considered to be a ‘normal’ or ‘average’ weight rather than those with illnesses such as eating disorders or those that are genetically very small.
Anyone at any weight can be unhealthy, there’s no point in stating anything about their health based only on their weight, make stupid comments about it behind their backs or to their faces and ridicule and shame them for that reason. “Under”/”over”weight and anything in between
Here’s a great piece on that subject with many additional links, really eye-opening
http://kateharding.net/but-dont-you-realize-fat-is-unhealthy/
Pauli: I agree and that is something I still need to remind myself of (when it comes to extremely thin people)! You cannot judge health by weight, no matter what the weight.
Sorry, perhaps you should read this then. http://ozsoapbox.com/cycling/magda-szubanski-encourages-violence-against-cyclists/
I came across your blog through an article that mentioned how great Magda is, as well as mentioning discrimination against overweight people.
Something tells me that fat people would not like to be discriminated against and disrespected in the same manner that Julia & Magda(both ambassadors for weight related business) have discriminated against, disrespected and incited violence towards cyclists.
Rob: I don’t condone violence against anyone. Full stop, end of story. No one likes to be discriminated against and disrespected, be they fat or be they cyclists. Just because Julia and Magda are fat doesnt mean I agree with everything that comes out of their mouths.
May fat people are even cyclists themselves
So Bri, do you reckon we should treat overweight people with the same respect that fellow overweight people Magda Szubanksi & Julia Morris treat cyclists?
We are not ‘overweight’ any more than slim people are ‘underfat’.
Who’s we? Fat people are part of ‘we’.
So why not have a go at Magda, in the same way that you had a go at Kyle Sandilands for abusing Magda?
Hey Rob,
Lighten up. I don’t know what the point of the show was from that clip you submitted, but clearly there is some kind of venting element involved. And it seems to be a humorous show. It did not strike me that Julie and Magda were seriously advocating violence against cyclists, and if you think that was their intention, then you’re a little thin-skinned for comedy, which often relies on exaggeration for effect.
The difference between this episode and the radio host that I read about is that his comment was offensive generally to the human race. Using the holocaust to make a “humorous” point about how fat someone is would be no less offensive if directed at any other group. If Magda suggested sending cyclists to Dacchau, then it would be outrageous, but as it stands, I think you’re stretching this a bit too far to hold.
Peace,
Shannon
interesting that your telling me you think I’m stretching it a bit too far, yet your stretching the Kyle thing your self – He didn’t mention the Holocaust.
It’s also interesting how you suggest that I’m a little thin skinned for comedy – some how I doubt you or anyone on this blog would find a joke about fat people funny. It happens regularly, and people complain about it regularly, especially in the media.
I don’t see how you can be offended by Kyles comments if your not offended by comments by Julia & Magda suggesting drivers run over or door cyclists – (that is suggesting murder), it happens regularly to fathers, sons, mothers & daughters & joking about their deaths is not funny, certainly no more humourous than Kyles comments.
I love comedy, I got a laugh out of Magdas comments about ‘tippy tap shoes’ (despite it being a pretty stupid comment – would she prefer the stench of a cyclists foot in cafes? and the sound is no worse than some high heels) as well as the general hypocrisy from her about the way people look when exercising, and hypocrisy is a funny thing.
But saying “Don’t fine them, just RUN THEM OVER” & “Nah, just open your door onto them instead” is not funny, it does encourage poor behaviour that already occurs every day. I know cyclists that have been hit on purpose, one of thems is in a wheelchair and that is not funny. The biggest indication that those comments were not funny was the look on the face of fellow comedian on GNW Ed Kavalee – he was truly shocked (I’m led to believe he is a regular cyclist)
Rob, I agree that Magda and Julia were out of line re: cyclists. I truly hate the way some drivers treat cyclists and, as many of my friends cycle, I get worried.
That said, this is a fat blog and not a cycling blog. We discuss fat issues, not cycling issues. Just because Magda and Julia are also fat does not mean that we are responsible for what they say. Christ, if we responded to every dumb thing that a fat person said we’d get nothing done. This does not mean we disagree with you, it means that this is not the forum to talk about these issues.
While we’re on the topic of disrespect, perhaps you’d like to take ozsoapbox to town on their anti-fat sentiments: “Australia has had to put up with Szubanski’s monstrous 110kg frame for decades”, “If the general public can stomach staring at Queen of the cupcakes and not throw up…”, “Remember what flab rolls used to smell like?”, “I didn’t have a problem with Sandilands’ comment about getting thin in a concentration camp. Isn’t that a common thing to say about fat people and diets? I know I’ve said it before – and it’s true enough!”
Oh, okay, he didn’t mention the holocaust. He mentioned concentration camps. My bad, those are TOTALLY different.
Peace,
Shannon
Didn’t say they were totally different, but the holocaust is an extreme version of a concentration camp, compared to say the Concentration/internment camps that were in Australia. Saying that Kyle said Magda should spend time in the ‘holocaust’ is basically suggesting that she should die, that was not what his comments implied at all.
Frances, as I said earlier I came across this blog through an article that was defending Magda Szubanski and crowing about the poor fat people that are discriminated against. I have not said anything to suggest that you or anyone else is responsible for Magda & Julias comments. I’m simply having a bitch. This blog has been used to have a crack at Kyle Sandilands, as if he is responsible for all offense caused towards fat people and people that have experienced concentration camps or related to people who have.
I don’t approve of the nasty comments about Magda, but when she says the things she said about the way cyclists look she has to expect a retaliation – you get what you give. I’ve heard plenty of disgusting comments directed towards Kyle Sandilands, so are you taking those people to task, or do you reckon he deserves it?
As I said earlier, I like this blog and support your cause for various reasons, and I intend to promote this website. I’d just like to see some balance in the media – and it would seem the blog owner is doing a fair bit of media work at the moment. Why is it okay for fat people to complain about discrimination in the media, but no one wants a bar of cyclists complaining about discrimination?
Rob: You wouldn’t happen to be related to Kyle would you??? The last name and all… : )
I think it is fine for cyclists to complain about discrimination but it might get your further for you to take your issues to forums that can assist you in furthering your cause. I agree with you that the comments made regarding cyclists by the individuals you mentioned are unacceptable. As I said earlier, I don’t condone those sorts of comments in relation to ANYONE, no matter who says it.
Thanks for your input and I hope you will continue to read Fat Lot of Good!
LOL NO! but I was waiting for that.
I agree, this isn’t the place for it, but it does highlight the hypocrisy of some peoples arguments. I was just having a bitch to start with.
Rob,
So why not have a go at Magda, in the same way that you had a go at Kyle Sandilands for abusing Magda?
The point is there is no equivalency. As has already been pointed out to you, cyclists can be and are any weight. I’ve seen quite a few fat ones myself, you are clearly of the absolute conviction that they must be thin, presumably because they are active, and we all know, fat people aren’t.
Unless Magda Szubanski makes a comment specifically related to what might be relevant to FA- and even then, you can only ask what is Bri’s/our response to that- then ask Magda Szubanski about it. Bri is not her agent or her publicist.
As for making jokes about fat people, what you should have noticed by now is that it’s harder to make those in the know, laugh, than it is those who aren’t. Precisely because they know better, more cleverness, wit and subtlety is required, that’s why fat jokes are rarely amusing to fat people.
When people like you catch on, fat people will be rolling in the aisles.
Yes there is, as I said, I found this blog through an article defending Magda. I did not come here because it was a blog about fat acceptance or anything to do with being overweight. Why come out in her defence, but not have a go at her for disgracefull comments?
I haven’t said they can’t be? I’ve lost 20kg through regular cycling, I know alot of people in the same boat, as well as people who are happy with their weight who commute to work on a bicycle.
Ahh, I see, it’s okay to defend someone when your offended by comments made against them, but it’s not okay to condemn them for making disgusting comments.
I’m not excusing it, but do you realise that unfortunately Magda & Julias comments will result in a decreased tolerance of fat people? Do a search on twitter if you disagree. It’s not fair and it’s disgusting, but that is why this is specifically rated to FA. It would make Bri look very good to condemn Magda & Julia for their comments, given that she has defended Magda in the past, and is currently trying to get media attention.
I haven’t made any jokes about fat people, I sacked an employee last year for consistenly abusing/ putting down a fellow employee about their weight/looks, and I’ll do it again if the situation arises.
And what sort of person is that? As I said, I’ve been fat & I was happy that way for a long time. I’ve also stood up for fat people, and anyone that I feel has been discriminated against unfairly all life long.
Rob,
If Magda had picked on a specific thin celeb and said that she should be stuck in with the foie gras geese to fatten up, then your point might begin to make some sense.
As it is, you are talking about a specific quarrel cyclists have with vehicle drivers. You have to understand both sides get very excited about the respective merits of their cause, either way, it’s best left between you two as I am neither.
As for the twit’s on twitter, implying that hatred directed at fat people is in response to what fat people do, is nonsense. As you said, you sacked someone for bullying someone else, I’m sure you didn’t think the receipient ‘brought it on him or herself’
And my point about jokes was in response to this;
some how I doubt you or anyone on this blog would find a joke about fat people funny
‘People like you…’ refers to people who think that fat people don’t laugh at fat jokes because they are hypersensitive, I was explaining to you that it is the lack of wit and intelligence that makes them unfunny to all but the ignorant.
I have now got that cartoon as my desktop wallpaper on work PC. Thanks!
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