A reader – who’s participation in this operation is appreciated – writes in response to another commenter:
And for those of us who don’t have an underlying metabolic issue, a poor diet, OR a sedentary lifestyle? Am I just supposed to accept that my body, my beautiful, healthy, strong, active body, is just inherently wrong, and punish it accordingly?
which highlights another curious facet of “fat acceptance.”
Why is a movement that claims to promote the acceptance of persons of size so obsessed with the idea of beauty?
Let’s consider for a moment that fat acceptance exists solely because it’s “leaders” have let their own body image disorders consume them. The phenomenon through which mentally ill people form self-reinforcing communities is well documented – see paranoid schizophrenia’s “gang stalking,” if the more obvious pro-ana communities weren’t evidence enough. “Gang stalking” is an experience shared mainly by paranoid schizophrenics who believe that some higher level of organization is targeting them specifically using radio waves directed towards them and “legal methods of harassment” such as walking behind them on the street and clapping. Entire communities have formed around this clearly paranoid delusion in which individuals share, support, and reinforce each other’s beliefs.
It isn’t difficult to draw parallels between “gang stalking” delusions and those of fat acceptance.
We already know that, ironically, no one cares about persons of size being fat more than fat acceptance. It’s an obsession. Every single negative experience is contributed to fat oppression or fat-shaming – completely ignoring that ALL body types face some form of oppression, some form of shaming, some form of criticism. If a fat person has a bad day, it’s because they are fat. Period. If a thin person has a bad day – well, thin people don’t have bad days, because they’re thin-privileged.
In addition to this obsession with their own bodies, fat acceptance is further fixated on being beautiful. Everyone, regardless of how they may appeal to others, MUST be identified as beautiful, and to hold an opinion contrary to that is decried as oppression.
Beauty, LITERALLY, has always been an individual preference. Some people will find fat people beautiful. Others will not. Whether or not others see fat people as beautiful has no bearing on their value as individuals. This is a life lesson that many of us learned – at latest – upon graduating high school.
It speaks volumes about the emotional maturity of many fat acceptance leaders like Ragen who, LITERALLY, demand to be seen only as “beautiful,” with no allowances made for personal interpretation. Ragen, a grown woman, completely ties her self-worth with the fact that others see her as beautiful.
Ragen LITERALLY is saying if you don’t think someone is beautiful – well, you’re wrong. Everyone is – FOR A FACT – beautiful to you, regardless of what your personal preferences may be.
Real talk, ultra conservative Muslims who force female circumcision and ban women from pursuing an education AREN’T beautiful. This agency shares that sentiment with at least the feminist portion of fat acceptance.
Something to consider – it’s okay to not be beautiful. There is more to being a person than being beautiful. Physical appearance, and being perceived as some grandiose concept of “beauty” by others, shouldn’t be the sole determinant in which you gauge your own self-worth.
Ragen and many others like her in fat acceptance, however, not only DEMAND this from the world, they encourage their emotionally vulnerable readers to fixate on “being beautiful” when they’re already suffering from severe, and in many cases untreated, body image disorders.
Shouldn’t a movement about acceptance (especially SELF acceptance) move away from the importance of “beauty?” What about other equally important ideas such as independent thinking, ambition, personal growth, finding what makes you passionate? What about accepting yourself – REGARDLESS of how others perceive your attractiveness – and being happy with all your strengths as well as your imperfections?
To answer the original question – Cat, you are who you are. This agency accepts you. We can only hope that one day you’ll be able to do the same. There’s nothing “wrong” with being fat, if that is what you choose to be. The agency supports the choices you make with your body, regardless if we disagree with the reasoning behind it or not.
