Fighting Fat Stigma
You cannot turn on the television, read a newspaper or listen to the radio without hearing something about so-called "obesity," a medicalization of fat bodies. The current rhetoric, fueled by a number of economic interests, has become increasingly mean-spirited towards fat people.
The time has come to tell the truth about fat bodies. The time has come to demand our space in the world. The time has come to fight for fat acceptance.
People come in all shapes and sizes. All people have health problems. All people struggle with physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs. All people want to be loved, to be accepted, to be honored as human beings.
Fat people are people, too.
There are many wonderful warriors who are fighting this battle on many fronts:
Laws protecting people from discrimination on the basis of their size have been enacted in several cities and one state.
Protests and demonstrations have been conducted to effectively bring fat acceptance to the attention of the media.
A number of so-called scientific studies that were funded by economic interests that make billions off of the dissatisfaction people are taught to feel about their bodies have been questioned and exposed.
Special annual events have been created to remind us that our bodies are okay and that health is more than a figure on a scale.
Dialogue and discussions in the media are continuing with vocal spokespersons crying out against the discrimination and stigma attached to fat bodies.
Books and films have been written and produced to tell a different story from the evening news and the so-called scientific press release.
Articles have been written to challenge the mainstream perspective on dieting, weight loss, health and death.
Blogs have been created, telling about life in the fat lane.
Please understand. This is not a new movement. There are many who have been fighting this stigma long before C Everett Koop declared war. But the past decade has seen an increase in the vilification and demonization of fat people.
Let us be clear. Fatness is not a question of health. It is a question of political economics, and specifically, it is a question of conformity and freedom. The more time you spend dieting and trying to make your body into something it is not, the less time you will spend thinking about policies and culture and the more money you will spend in the futile effort.
We prefer to be free. We prefer to be out in the world and to be ourselves. We believe that universal access is a clearer public issue than the so-called obesity epidemic. We believe that the only thing that is holding fat people back is the lack of freedom to be themselves.
Help us fight the good fight and create places in the world for fat people to be themselves.
Join Us in Fighting Fat Stigma!
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