Recently a number of people sent me an internet meme. It shows a fat person, shot from the back on a machine at the gym with the caption “Making fun of a fat person at the gym is like making fun of a homeless person at a job fair.”
So obviously my first response was “WT Actual F?” That was not lessened when I saw the comment that came along with the post (by a thin person) which said “I hate the word fat, but I’m re-posting this because it’s important.”
Dude. So you’re concerned about the use of an adjective that accurately describes my body, but not concerned with the idea that we need to be specific about when you should make fun of fat (or homeless) people, as if there are times when it’s fine and dandy to make fun of them? No. Just no.
This smacks of “Good Fatty/Bad Fatty” thinking – the massively misinformed idea that fat people who participate in behaviors that are judged as “good” or “healthy” (by the person who is operating under the delusion that they have the right to judge us,) deserve to be treated better than those who aren’t doing the “good” or “healthy” thing.
Because I have been involved in athletics I am sometimes privileged by people who think this way and so I want to be crystal clear that the Good Fatty Bad Fatty Dichotomy is complete bullshit, and it needs to die. Nobody is obligated to participate in movement or the eat a certain way or to perform “health” by any definition, doing so does not make someone better or worse that people who don’t do so, and fat people deserve basic human respect because we are human.
The fact that a body is fat does not indicate that that body is public property, or that the fat people should be ready and willing to accept the stereotypes and preconceived notions of others, or that fat people should be appreciative of backhanded compliments. To help make this clear, I fixed that meme:
Like this blog? Here’s more cool stuff:
Like my work? Want to help me keep doing it? Become a Member! For ten bucks a month you can support size diversity activism, help keep the blog ad free, 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!
