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I did this blog post as part of a class I am taking on advertising. I thought that it would be a useful addition to the discussion of fat shaming. Because the platform we use for school blogging (othree.ca) is closed to outside readers I am reposting what I’ve put on there (hence the reference to essay Q). I definitely would love this to spark conversation so please do not hesitate to leave comments or email me directly. In addition, I would like to take a moment to gush over a blog that I really love and that inspired me to take on this particular topic of discussion. That would be The Nearsighted Owl, Richele’s infectious self-love philosophy and writings on the fat acceptance movement have definitely made an impact on my own body image and for that I say thinks for having a blog! Now on with the show.
Fat shaming is the (un)intended outcome of our culture’s obsession with the thin, white, impossibly beautiful model. Bias’ related to weight only become apparent when contrasted with societal ‘norms’ and are so pervasive that they affect every aspect of a fat person’s life, from work and social relationships, to getting sound medial advice. The fat acceptance movement hopes to educate people to change their preconceived notions of what being fat means.
I have chosen to do essay Q. Part of the suggested resources for this essay is “killing us softly 3″, I went ahead and watched it (here), and found that Jean Kilbourne had updated her talk once again (titled “Killing us softly 4), which you can watch here. Done watching the videos? Good, lets move on. I would like to draw the connection between the topics discussed in “Killing us softly 4″ (KUS4) and the Fat Acceptance Movement (also called fat liberation, fat activism, or fat power).
In KUS4 Jean Kilbourne highlights the systemic sexualization, infantilization, dehumanization, shaming, of women and how that culturally produced hate leads to violence towards women, self hate in the form of eating disorders, depression and low self esteem. Kilbourne urges us to fight against this overwhelmingly misogynistic portrayal of women and I feel the Fat acceptance movement does just that.
Fat acceptance is a social movement to change culturally accepted misinformation as it relates to body image, health, and notions of beauty- especially in women. It argues that fat people are constantly dehumanized, demonized and discriminated against (a fact that is proven in KUS4, through the collection of advertisements Kilbourne shows). Fat acceptance draws attention to the cultural acceptance of this dehumanization of fat people- that makes them a source of ridicule, humour, or pity. The movement essentially fights for equality, equality in the way fat people are treated societally, equality in their representations in the media, and in the medical field (it is interesting to note that even doctors are biased by media’s presumption that thin automatically equals healthy. A falsity which studies have, time and time again, proven to be false. You can read more about that here).
The fat acceptance movement has grown exponentially with the proliferation of the Internet as a means to connect activists. This increased connection combined with a greater public voice (through blogs, social networks, and viral ad campaigns) has induced change, however small it may be. . This culturally created bias that paints fat people as lazy, unhealthy, and pitiful can only change if everyone learns to accept himself or herself and fight for equality for all body sizes and types. Many women have decided to stop hating and embrace the body they have. This is seen through the fat acceptance movement, the fuck flattering movement, and the growing number of this activists taking on the movement in solidarity. Progression is slow (which I have talked about in previous blog posts on moodle) however, and people are still reluctant recognize this as a cultural problem and speak out against this destructive discrimination.
I have compiled a few examples of the difference between fat women in advertisements and thin. An overwhelming theme is that of fat shaming (which is taken to egregious heights in the Georgia school board ad campaign (seen above)- truly disgusting if you ask me).
Another theme I encountered was with fat, female musicians. Female artists such as Beth Ditto and Adele are constantly asked about and forced to justify their weight. There seems to be an incredoulous “what do you mean you don’t care, but YOU’RE FAT!?” air that follows their confidence. It is interesting to note that fat male artists rare have to justify their weight, think of Reuban Studdard, or Jonah Hill. The message this sends is obvious, women cannot be fat as well as healthy, happy, and confident, but men can.
Another outcome of our society’s obsession with the thin, beautiful, and white model as the pinnacle of beauty is addressed in the videos below. The doll test is over 40 years old, but still produces similar results as it did so many years ago- white is best, black is bad.
I think we can all agree that this is truly heartbreakingly sad. That women continue to be treated as objects whose only purpose is that of beauty makes it impossible for us to attain equality. We spend so much time, energy, and money trying to live up to standards that are impossible (without laxatives and photoshop anyway) that it takes that same energy away from being citizens. If we as women (big and small, black white and everything in-between, abled and disabled) say “fuck it!” and divert our energy to becoming equal citizens (this means becoming members of parliament, activists, teachers, and healthy informed people) instead of bikini models, then and only then will society be better off as a whole. *note this last paragraph was added just for you guys, and not included on my original school post. How lucky are you!?
