This meme is making the rounds and we need to talk about it:
As activists one of the things that we always have to be careful about is that we don’t add to the marginalization of other groups with our activism. In this case, the person who created this meme is trying to fight nazis through the use of fat shaming. And that’s just crap.
Even if you are someone who purposefully engages in fatshaming (aka: an asshole) this is still a terrible idea – nazis are legitimately horrible, dangerous, and need to be stopped, and making this about how he looks massively minimizes the issue. What would the makers and sharers of this meme do when presented with someone who did fit the current stereotype of attractiveness – say “Well, I guess he has a point”?
In order to fight nazis and white supremacists we must reject the entire ridiculous premise of their argument. Making it about whether or not each individual meets some definition of “genetically superior” accepts the premise which means that the argument has already been lost. Fat shaming is wrong no matter how horrible the subject is, because the subject’s body size has nothing to do with it.
So let’s take another stab at this:
Fight nazis without fat shaming by learning more about Intersectional Fat Activism! Register for the Fat Activism Conference and get tools, skills, and community:
Click Here to Register! Earlybird registration ends June 15th!
If you enjoy this blog, consider becoming a member or making a contribution.
Like this blog? Here’s more cool stuff:
Become a Member! For ten bucks a month you can support fat activism and get deals from size positive businesses as a thank you. Click here for details
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!
In training for an IRONMAN triathlon. If you’re interested, you can find my training blog here
If you are uncomfortable with my selling things on this site, you are invited to check out this post.