8 Reasons It’s Wrong To Abuse Fat People…But I Only Need One
Today I want to talk about the reasons it’s wrong to abuse fat people. As a campaigner for body liberation, it’s my mission to fight for equality for all. I will support your right to be female, male, trans, non-binary, queer, gay, lesbian, pansexual, or asexual. I will fight for you to be treated equally regardless of your skin colour, ethnicity, your mental health, ifyou’re differently abled, or your religion. Finally, I will fight for you if you’re fat. Of all the things I listed above, fatphobia is not only seen as acceptable but often to be encouraged!
This is so wrong. It makes me so sad I could start crying and so angry I want to punch something. Discrimination and bias are never ok. It’s that simple.
Reasons It’s Wrong To Abuse Fat People
1) We’re People. I said in the title that I’d only need one of the reasons it’s wrong to abuse fat people, and this is it. Fat people are people! We have feelings, good points, bad points and most importantly, we have done nothing whatsoever to hurt you! Why would you judge or be cruel to someone who is doing nothing but living their life?
If said fat person has slept with your spouse, hit your car, or fired you, then, fair enough, hate them. But hate them for that. Do not be mean just because they’re fat. There is no reason to be mean to someone for being fat other than you being a dick. It’s that simple.
2) Our Bodies Are None Of Your Business. Nothing about another person’s body is any of your business. As I said in previous articles, that includes your spouse, child, sibling, parent or best friend. If you believe you’ve spotted a potentially life-threatening health condition, tell them. If they have a piece of toilet paper hanging out of their pants or an unnoticed stain on their clothes, go nuts.
If you believe they are too fat, too thin (unless you genuinely fear an eating disorder), don’t like their hair, piercings, tattoos, or anything else about their body, then keep it zipped.
3) Our Health Is None Of Your Business. Unfortunately, many people now try to dress up fatphobia by saying they’re just concerned for the person’s health. Firstly, I believe that most people do not care a jot about our health; they just want a legitimate reason to bash us.
Secondly, even if you do care, no one owes you good health. We live in our bodies and are aware of how they are doing. Good health will never be possible for some people, so making an issue of it can be very upsetting.
4) You Don’t Know The Cause Of Our Fatness. Yes, I agree, the majority of the time, it will be due to our diet. Not always, though. There are health conditions that cause people to gain weight, some medications, hormonal shifts and even mental health problems. You have no idea what they’re dealing with, so why make their lives and their mental health worse? It’s not worth the risk so that’s another of the reasons it’s wrong to abuse fat people.
5) Stress And Misery Cause Weight Gain. Scientific studies have proven that fat-shaming does not help people lose weight. In fact, if you shame us, it’s likely to have the opposite effect. Cortisol rises, self-control drops, and binge eating is substantially more likely.
6) Fatphobia Is Rooted In Anti-Blackness. You might consider yourself broad-minded and absolutely not a racist, but if you believe fat people are shameful, disgusting, lazy, greedy, etc., you are being affected by racist ideology.
As Sabrina Strings explains in her book Fearing The Black Body, in the generations of slavery in America, the white slave owners looked for ways to clearly identify if a person was a slave. As interbreeding occurred and a significant portion of society was biracial, their skin colour was no longer enough.
That’s when they decided to demonise larger, curvier bodies as this was the type black people, and black women, in particular, tended to have. Unless you believe it’s good to buy into racist ideology this is one of the reasons it’s wrong to abuse fat people.
7) A Person’s Body Is The Least Interesting Thing About Them. Why have we become a society that is so obsessed with physical appearance? Why is it considered ok to pour hate on a person for how they look and ignore all the wonderful things about them?
That fat person you patronisingly told to “eat a salad” might:
- Have a PhD
- Be extremely intelligent
- Might care for sick family members
- Be an exceptional cook
- Have a wicked sense of humour
- Have tremendous empathy and kindness
- Volunteer at local charities
How they look should be literally the last thing we notice or are interested in.
8) Discrimination For Any Reason Is Wrong. There really is no more to say here. If you discriminate, you are not a nice person, so don’t do it. Please.
