: unpopular opinion, I know, but why does tumblr seem to be SO...
unpopular opinion, I know, but why does tumblr seem to be SO protective of (mainly) girls who are dangerously overweight?
I’m all for being body confident and stuff, but I just saw some picture of this girl who was definitely on the large side, yet it had 14 thousand reblogs of people saying how…
Awwwh dude I like your blog so much, this bums me out. But I want to ask—why do you care? You’re not a fat girl, no one is forcing you to date a fat girl and so on…so who gives a shit if a some fat chick on Tumblr wants to feel good about herself? Why do you think your opinion is valid on this?
And the concern for diabetes/heart issues—that’s just a shitty way of hating. You’re not a doctor, I’m not a doctor, so let’s not make assumptions on other people (especially strangers on the interwebz) and their health, okay?
I never said it was wrong, and I fully understand that some people couldn’t give less of a shit and are perfectly happy the way they are, which I suppose is the ultimate goat in life, but I do disagree with people who think that promoting what is widely accepted as an unhealthy lifestyle. I mean, I drink and smoke, but I do it to moderation and I look after my body enough to “counteract” the effects of said abuse.
Like I said, I don’t have a problem if someone is happy the way they are, but if they want to improve themselves then even better. My main problem is the way that anyone who is overweight and still wants to expose themselves to the world, is instantly treated like some kind of martyr for the feminist cause by the tumblr community and ends up with X amount of notes and asks saying how brave they are for doing something they obviously didn’t think was out of the norm to do in the first place.
If you think this is bad just wait untill I go off on one about pro-anorexia, because that shit can leave people dead in a matter of weeks never mind the long term effects from the other end of the scale.
I do agree with you on your original statement about the normalization of fat chicks vs. the overcoddling of them—I think it’s that way because outside of Tumblr, fat chicks aren’t treated like that, they’re usually treated as being outsiders to what is considered beautiful and acceptable or whatnot. Tumblr is a really interesting micro-hub of really promoting the acceptance of fat as beautiful, and I’m all for that, but it’s more important to me that every body is seen as beautiful, regardless of size.
But whether being fat is “widely acceptable as an unhealthy lifestyle” —that’s something that the diet culture (which is a huuuge business here) has perpetuated. You can’t look at a fat person and know immediately what their health issues are or aren’t, same with a thinner person.
I would just like to say that I very much agree with the original statement. While I’m on the curvier side myself, and technically am considered overweight by about 20 lbs for a gal my height, I hate the fact that so many Tumblr blogs and posts go around praising a dangerous ‘lifestyle’ [I don’t really know if that’s the word I want to use, but for convenience, I’ll stick with it] of obesity. Really, TRUST ME when I say that I like a woman with a good amount of meat on her bones, and I think that every person should love themselves whole-heartedly and unabashedly, but that doesn’t mean that I want to promote a diet or ‘lifestyle’ that will lead to diabetes, heart-attacks and so on and so forth. Yes, yes I am well-aware that you can’t simply look at a person and know what their health stats are, but being 5’2 and weighing in at 300 lbs isn’t healthy for ANYONE and WILL lead to serious health issues later on in life, if not immediately. Eating disorders are a two way street, it’s not just about stick-thin women who starve themselves. Comfort eating and addiction to food [usually stemming from serious mental and emotional trauma/dysfunction] are very unhealthy, unpleasant things to struggle with, and should not EVER be glamorized or even accepted, because they ARE extremely harmful and can have dangerous consequences. I hate that every time a person talks about obesity in a negative sense, or states facts about how unhealthy it can be, they get attacked and insulted by every ‘body-positive’ blogger on here… I just find that so hypocritical and ignorant. I’m sorry but I think that if you love yourself, you will want to be as healthy as possible, you will treat your body the way it deserves to be treated, and take it out on hikes and feed it good, fresh food and make a decent effort to keep it in great shape for as long as you can. Sure, if people want to smoke, they smoke. If people want to drink, they drink. That doesn’t mean that you should sit there and praise them for having the courage to be open about it. I feel like that’s what happens with obesity, and that’s wrong. I mean you don’t see a FUCKYEAHPEOPLEPOISONINGTHEIRBODIESWITHALCOHOL Tumblr, do you?
I find this subject so difficult, because I am NOT a thin girl myself, and I completely understand what it’s like to feel vilified because of your weight… BUT, I think it’s just as unethical to say that being obese is A)something you can’t change [like you were born that way or something? No, I don’t think so.] OR B)a good lifestyle choice for young women [or men]. It isn’t. I think a lot of this body-positive blogging is great, we do need SOMETHING to counteract the ridiculous airbrush stereotype that the media puts out of what women should look like, but I definitely think that some of it contributes to the problem as well, putting ‘fat-positive’ propaganda out there that [in my opinion] allows young girls to take the ‘easy way out’ instead of making a change and trying to get healthy. Please keep in mind that I didn’t say ‘trying to get thin’, I said ‘trying to get HEALTHY’. You can argue all you want, but obesity is a negative thing, and should be seen as such. Just like malnourishment and starvation and Anorexia or Bulimia. I’m sure I’ll lose a couple followers for this, but it’s my honest opinion. I’ve watched my sister struggle with thyroid issues and borderline diabetes all of her young life [not to mention my own weight issues] and it is nothing to be scoffed at. These things should be considered hefty health risks, nothing less. A healthy woman, is a beautiful woman. She may not look like the 110 pound model in the magazines, and she may have a little tummy chub or thick thighs/hips, but she is still beautiful. A healthy woman, is a beautiful woman. She might have great genes and a metabolism that works well without needing a lot of exercise, she may eat whatever she likes and never gain a pound. She might have small breasts, or a naturally slim, athletic body… She is still a beautiful woman.
A healthy woman, is a beautiful woman. That’s it, that’s all there is to it. Call me what you will, but I refuse to ‘become the enemy’ and trash talk thin girls or put obesity on a pedestal. Healthy is healthy. Your bones shouldn’t be sticking out, but you should be able to walk a mile or do a few crunches without keeling over, as well.
Everyone is welcome to their opinion. I agree with some of the things you say but disagree with most of it. I try not to judge people and call them out on the state of their “health” because guess what, I’m not their doctor. Everyone is ultimately in charge of their own bodies. And what you’re leaving out in your argument that not everyone has access to health-related things, like organic food or gym memberships, or even the financial ability to see a doctor to talk about their body.
I’m really in the to-each-their-own school of thought regarding body issues. My body is awesome. It’s okay if someone think’s I’m unhealthy because I’m fat—if they want to waste their time worrying about me, that’s their prerogative, not mine.
reblogging for commentary because I’m too angry/fed up with all this talk and I don’t appreciate a lovely lady like casey here getting ganged up on because of her opinion
Let me know if anyone wants to start “fuckyeahpeoplepoisoningtheirbodies” because I will so be there
goddamnit. what nora said. also, eveyone in the world should read fat!so?
This is what I feel like saying every time Im bored to death by this same hateful “argument”:
So there is totally this guy I know. He goes skiing 6 MONTHS OF THE YEAR. Do you even realise just HOW BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH SKIING IS? Its seriously bad. You can brake bones, get caught in avalanches, twist ankles and all sorts of other junk. He has broken 8 bones in his body skiing, both his wrists man. You can also DIE when you get drunk and can’t find your way back to your cabin, fall in the snow and just die. It happened last year in Japan. A TRUE STORY.
Even travel insurance people know the dangers of skiing. They CHARGE MORE for skiers. They ask if you plan to go skiing. Because if you are, you might die, or most likely need medical assistance.
But the worst part? Get this. THEY MAKE VIDEOS OF THEMSELVES and people like them on facebook, and leave all these comments saying how they are jealous they can lead that lifestyle, and how much courage they have.
It’s just CANT WE START A CAMPAIGN. Cant we say HEY DUDES .. YOURE LIVING A DANGEROUS LIFESTYLE. They are going to get hurt. I just dont understand how we can sit here and allow this.
OH that’s right. They can live how they like, no matter how dangerous their lifestyle. BECAUSE ITS NOT OUR FUCKING BUSINESS.
I’VE BEEN WAITING SO LONG TO USE THIS GIF
I love - and by love I mean any number of other descriptive emotive words - how these arguments all boil down to “you know, I’m all for people feeling good about themselves but THOSE FAT FUCKS SHOULDN’T FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES.” I rarely engage with this kind of bullshit but I’m so goddamned tired of waking up to this kind of bullshit.
Here is my super quick well-reasoned argument against this crap: not everyone who is fat is fat because of binge eating disorder; not everyone is fat for known reasons; 95% of diets (and that’s actually being generous) end in people GAINING weight in the long-term so it turns into a destructive cycle; exercise is not a virtue; health is not a moral issue; bodies are not public property.
Here is what I really want to say: Come on and fuck off - “*I* do unhealthy thing but I do them in moderation and you can tell because I’m still relatively thin” is you being a self-righteous asshole. “*I* just care about people’s health because even though I’m overweight, I’m not DANGEROUSLY GROSSLY OVERWEIGHT LIKE THOSE FATTIES” is you being a self-righteous DELUSIONAL asshole because if you truly think other people are looking at fat folks and using you are the demarcation line for acceptable fat, you are living some kind of Charlie Sheen dream. If it seriously offends you to see so many people who have noncomforming bodies feeling good about themselves, you might want to sit the shit down and have a good long discussion about why you are such a negative, hateful person.
I am generally all benefit-of-the-doubtish and “oh, I’m sure so-and-so is a lovely person.” I AM NOT SURE YOU ARE A LOVELY PERSON IF YOU THINK I SHOULD FEEL LIKE SHIT ABOUT MYSELF FOR MY OWN GOOD.
Fuck that.
YES, LOOK HOW MANY FUCKS I GIVE. But not in the way you desire. Oh, noes, now you will feel oppressed and ganged up on because one mean fatty said you were a bad person for actively wishing harm on fat people - which is what you’re doing if you’ve never actually considered what it means to wish people would just, you know, stop being so happy with themselves despite the overwhelming societal messages we get nonstop about how loathsome we are. You’re so edgy for reinforcing the mainstream oppressive beauty standard! You’re such a goddamn punk rock star for holding up the patriarchal and kyriarchal structure that has shown itself to just, you know, be so genuinely caring about people who aren’t rich white men. (That’s sarcasm, in case you can’t tell.)
Thanks for making my life harder and for telling me I should feel like shit about myself. That’s PRECISELY why I come to the internet, y’all, so that all my INAPPROPRIATE SELF CONFIDENCE can be removed before I turn into a DANGER TO MYSELF AND OTHERS. Good fucking morning to me.
Rather, here is the Marianne Kirby post I fucked up with before. Yeah.
