Still desire weight loss? You’re fatphobic! Body positivity flaws part 3.
Hi! Thanks for returning for the final post in my series on my concerns about the body positivity movement. If you haven’t read part 1 or part 2 yet I’d encourage you to go back and do that first. My intention is for each post to stand on it’s own but they are supposed to tell a story too. You wouldn’t skip to the last chapter in a book after all. Actually some people do do this. Seriously that is so wrong! Sorry, I digress. Let’s get back to what you came for…part 3 – weight loss in the movement.
The final nail in the coffin for me is the small but militant section of body positivity believers who are rabidly anti-diet , anti fatphobia and totally against intentional weight loss.
Isn’t that a good thing?
As with everything in life yes but not when you take it to extremes. One of the things I love about body positivity is that you are encouraged to love your body just as it is and give up on dieting forever. I wholeheartedly agree with this and I can’t tell you my relief when I find made my peace with my body and stopped trying to starve it into submission. A small group however think you are only truly body positive if you are not interested in your weight at all and never, ever try to diet. In fact, they tend to create posts that imply being fat is a badge of honour. If anyone mentions trying to intentionally lose weight for any reason they are shouted down and told they have internalised fatphobia. While there is likely a little truth to this I don’t completely agree
It’s not that simple
I’ve said in my body positivity post that I found it an immense relief to stop dieting. It’s been hugely beneficial for me. I’m not going to ostracise someone struggling with their self-worth just because they still want to lose weight. Most have us have been told for our entire lives that being thin is the most important thing we can strive for. It is something we must never give up on. Our bodies are ugly or unacceptable with extra weight. It is not easy to change that mindset at all and it certainly doesn’t happen overnight. It took me years to do it.
I do hope for the sake of these people’s mental health they can reach the same level of acceptance I have. I’m not going to refuse to engage with them if weight loss is still a goal at the moment though. I appreciate one of the key points of the body positivity movement is dismantling the culture that forces women to live a life of oppression. I know in part one I said all genders should be included and they should but I say women as they were the original target. Intentional weight loss is participating in the systemic oppression of people, and particularly women, of a larger size.
Health
The militant group are also ignoring those who may be trying to lose weight for health reasons. Let me start by saying that in Health At Every Size Linda Bacon quite clearly demonstrates evidence that extra fat, in general, does not lead to health problems such as high blood pressure, heart attacks or strokes. She further refers to studies showing that in cases where weight is found to be a factor it is the up/down of weight cycling that causes the problem, not the weight itself.
Are you saying there are no benefits to health if a person loses weight?
No, not all. I’m saying it doesn’t fix as many things as we’ve been told but there are conditions it will help. I have osteoarthritis in my knees. This is a family curse. All the women on my mother’s side of the family have it, including two of my aunts who are very slim and exercise religiously. I feel fairly confident that regardless of my weight or lifestyle my knees would still sound like someone has poured milk on a bowl of Rice Krispies…Snap, Crackle and Pop! Do I think that weighing less and therefore putting less strain on my knees may help? Yes, probably. I’ve weighed up the pros and cons and decided for my mental health not to try to lose weight but again that might not be the choice someone else makes. That is ok.
Weight loss to reclaim an ability
Similarly, some people choose to intentionally lose weight because they find their current size prevents them doing things that are important to them. A few examples I’ve read are
- Playing with their kids
- Doing a sport/dance class they used to love
- Being able to fully take care of a chronically ill child, spouse or parent.
Feeling that you can’t do the things you want to isn’t an internalised fatphobia it’s a physical fact. Yes they want to intentionally lose weight but to allow them to live their lives more fully and not because they hate themselves. I’m ok with this and certainly would not shout people down for it. I am all for solidarity in dismantling the oppressive system that keeps women locked in an unending and soul-destroying battle with their bodies. I think it has been far too long in coming. Who knows how many eating disorders and other mental health problems could have been prevented if it had just happened sooner. How much more we women could have achieved if we hadn’t been so laser-focused on getting thin. I’m not going to tell someone they have to live a less full or active life to get us there though.
Where does that leave us?
I don’t know. That is the £64,000 question. I don’t know if we have to fight for change from inside the movement or switch to body acceptance or love for all bodies or whatever else we could call it. The message is too important to be silenced though so together we need to find a way.
Thanks so much for stopping by to read my blog. You have no idea how much it means to me! I’d love you to stay in touch so please subscribe at the right of the page. You’ll get a Muser reward of resources and tips to ditch diet culture and my super secret lemon muffins recipe. I want to hear what you personally think about body positivity too so please pop it in the comments section below.
