Diet & Weight Magazine

Before You Call A Fat Person at the Gym “Brave”

By Danceswithfat @danceswithfat
Before You Call A Fat Person at the Gym “Brave”

Before You Call A Fat Person at the Gym “Brave”There is a concept in Fat Activism called the "Good Fatty Bad Fatty Dichotomy." coined by Kate Harding. Basically, it's the idea that fat people should be treated differently based on health status or performance of "health" (foods eaten, exercise undertaken etc.)

There is a more complete discussion here. The end result of this is to create hoops that fat people have to jump through in order to be treated with basic human respect by the person who is creating the hoops and judging how well fat people are jumping through them. It's bullshit, of course, but it's ingrained in our culture and it comes out often in memes that are well meaning, but messed up. Here are some that I've corrected:

Before You Call A Fat Person at the Gym “Brave”

And while we're on the subject - fat people's bodies are not "problems" to be "fixed." Extra shame on the person who created this for besmirching the good named of Captain Picard.

Before You Call A Fat Person at the Gym “Brave”

Another version of this compares fat people in the gym to sick people at the hospital, which is ridiculous since it pathologizes fat bodies and suggests that they have some special need to go to the gym to "fix" themselves that thinner people don't. Super extra shame on the person who created this for using homeless people as a tool in their bullshit good fatty argument.

Before You Call A Fat Person at the Gym “Brave”

This person took the popular meme "confession bear" and turned him into "stereotyping, patronizing bear." As Fat Activists and Health at Every Size practitioners who have been asked intrusive and clueless questions by perfect strangers at the gym (like "how much weight have you lost?") can attest, this is crap. Don't make assumptions about people based on their size - not at the gym, not anywhere else.

Before You Call A Fat Person at the Gym “Brave”

Ugh. People who are running are not morally better than people who are sitting on the couch. People who run faster are not morally better than people who run more slowly. We do not have to be "better" than someone else in order to be happy with ourselves. I blogged more about this one here.

Or maybe you've seen the letter written to a fat person who was, one might assume, just trying to run around a track and not trying to be a muse for someone who wants a medal for not being as shitty and fatphobic as they possibly could.

As always, think before you meme and when you see memes that put some people down as a way to prop other people up you can remind the people who post it that it's not necessary and, in fact, it's extremely harmful. No more good fatty bad fatty BS please.

Did you like this post? If you appreciate the work I do, you can support my ability to do more of it with a one-time contribution or by becoming a member.

Like this blog? Here's more cool stuff:

The New Year Sale is on! - Give the gift of body love and/or get your own year off to a Size Acceptance and Health at Every Size start with discounts on books, online programs, and DVDs to get your year (or the year of the people you're gifting them to) off to a great start, and save you some money! (Dances With Fat Members get even bigger discounts, so make sure to use your link on the member page.)

Wellness for All Bodies Program: A simple, step-by-step, super efficient guide to setting and reaching your health goals from a weight-neutral perspective. This program can be used by individuals, or by groups, including as a workplace wellness program!
Price: $25.00 ($10 for DancesWithFat members - register on the member page)

Non-Members click here for all the details and to register!

Book and Dance Class Sale! I'm on a journey to complete an IRONMAN triathlon, and I'm having a sale on all my books, DVDs, and digital downloads to help pay for it. You get books and dance classes, I get spandex clothes and bike parts. Everybody wins! If you want, you can check it out here!

Book Me! I'd love to speak to your organization. You can get more information here or just e-mail me at ragen at danceswithfat dot org!

I'm (still!) training for an IRONMAN! You can follow my journey at www.IronFat.com or on Instagram.

If you are uncomfortable with my offering things for sale on this site, you are invited to check out this post.

Before You Call A Fat Person at the Gym “Brave”

Hi, I'm Ragen Chastain. Speaker, Writer, Dancer, Choreographer, Marathoner, Soon to be IRONMAN, Activist, Fat Person. View all posts by danceswithfat


Back to Featured Articles on Logo Paperblog