Fat people exist. Fat people have always existed. Fatness is partly genetic, partly not, and not anyone else’s business.
Yes, there is persistent societal pressure to change body weight. Still, body weight is not easy to change and changes are often not long-lasting. Fatness, like height, can be a measure of overall population health but is not easy to change individually. Societal stigma is not necessarily a useful measure of “right” or “wrong”.
Fat isn’t necessarily a choice. Not apologizing? Is a choice. Standing up for yourself is a choice. Going swimming for fun is a choice. Getting on with your life, without weight loss, can be a choice. Enhancing your own health, without making weight loss the measure, can be a choice too.
Good one! I think, though, that blanket permission to people who eyeroll and say, “Just eat less and exercise more” should have blanket permission to kick the speaker in the shins.
I have an exact idea of how much I eat as well as how much I exercise. And I ain’t exactly automagically thin!
I’ve considered handing out cards that say, “I DO eat right. I DO exercise. This is how I’m supposed to look.” :)
Go tell it on the mountain, sister! Also, thanks for the linkback! I was kind of proud of that one.
You’re welcome. :)
Yup, that was a good one! I made a small contribution to “examples of historical fat people” here.
Love the entry, and all the lovely links.
Yes! It is a marvelous collection of links—thanks, Living.
Thank you for posting!
I say, let THEM (you know who THEY are) apologize first. And inform THEM of that at opportune moments.
I like the photo essay about “no fat ppl in the past”. I recently looked into buying a corset (you won’t believe how many styles there are), and they can go up to size 60, so obviously fatness has been around.
Keep up the good work.
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Beautiful! Just what I needed to read today- thank you for your encouragement.