Israeli Fatosphere Article: I'm Average!

I always find it funny when people are surprised that (relatively) non-fat people are interested in fat rights. I mean, aren't there men interested in women's rights and majority raced people interested in minority rights? In the end, the issues are the same: People should be treated equally regardless of their appearance, gender, background, etc. Fat rights benefit everyone, even 'relatively average looking' men.

I think this goes back to that whole in-betweenie/sort-of-fat/passing-for-thin conversation. Despite the Thin World Order's attempts to make fat an objective, rigidly quantifiable thing (you know, that thing that has nothing to do with height and weight), for most people I think it remains stubbornly (maybe morbidly?) subjective (hello, anorexia). Fat's in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

For what it's worth, Paul, I totally think you're fat.

I found it an interesting write-up, that's for sure, although it did seem to characterize "the movement" as just a few bloggers....which I think doesn't quite capture the breadth of support out there, nor the diversity of groups engaged in the, uh, battle. But then, I don't know how much of that comes from translation.

Yeah, I'm also "class II obese," although just barely so, and I get the "but you're not OBESE" thing all the time. Which is absolutely bizarre. Those numbers ARE supposed to cover two-thirds of the population which is allegedly choking on their fat and dying, right? So why would Paul and I not be included? Or do we have to be spotted eating a whole bag of baby donuts first?

This is why I brought up in the M & J show that obese isn't always the 500 pound house-bound man. Sometimes it is, and those people are no less deserving of our respect, but I think people often don't have a realistic idea of who is fat and what fat is.

After the show, I received several comments amounting to "But you're not fat" which really means, "But you're not that fat." And even the doctor on the show said that she wasn't speaking about Mo and I, but of people with a BMI of over 30. Guess what? My BMI is 32.

Glorification of obesity, whatever. If anything, we have a glorification of ultra-thinness (evidence by the fact that a woman's U.S. size 8 is now considered plus-sized), which has served to distort our perceptions of what constitutes average, overweight and obese.

Seems like a pretty positive article. They're popping up here and there now everywhere - it's like it took the acknowledgment of the popular/authority kid (NYT) to get it started. There was a a mention of the Fatosphere by a columnist in the local paper here that was positive and negative - it supported the idea that fat people should be encouraged to have good self esteem, etc, but still couldn't let go of the idea that 'obese' people are unhealthy and need to lose weight. The columnist had looked at the pictures of Kate and Rachel and co on their websites, and decided that they "weren't that fat" (they obviously didn't find Kate's entry pointing out that she is in fact 'clinically obese'), so the sites were OK because they were just for "mildly overweight" people and not for real fatties.

And hell, I estimate my BMI to be something like 53-55, and people consistently guess it's only something like 35. Because 35 = business class obesity or something. And BMI > 50 is unpressurised cargo deck instant death obesity, apparently. The Rotund's Guess My Weight post is pretty revealing that nobody has much idea what anyone else weighs.

People are usually shocked when I tell them that I weigh almost 400 lbs (they usually guess me at 300 or less). So yeah, a lot of people don't have a clue what "overweight" or "obese" look like according to the BMI tables.

it's all right to be crazy, just don't let it drive ya nuts!

Sometimes I think it can be helpful to have some so-called 'thin' people fighting our corner, since in many quarters it seems to be given more credence (no doubt by those who dismiss anything a fat person has to say out of hand unless it's about dieting or how much they hate themselves). It shouldn't be that way, but hey, at the moment whatever works is good.

And Paul, I've had the 'but you're not really fat' comments myself, despite the fact I'm around 6'1" at 230# (that's a guess mind, haven't set foot on a scale in three years!). Despite the increasing glorification of the emaciated Pete Docherty look, we guys undoubtedly get an easier ride as there's a pervading notion that men are supposed to be physically bigger.

Well, whatever. My BMI is still no doubt far enough over 30 to see me banned from the confectionary aisle or the all-you-can-eat buffet were certain Mississippi senators ever to get their way. This is a civil rights (and increasingly, a civil liberties) issue with implications for everyone.

Yep. Me too. My BMI is 34 or 35, right around the cutoff for "type 2 obesity" (boogabooga), and I get "you're not fat" all the time, too. And, the fact is that no, I don't look shockingly large, and I'm healthy and pleasant looking. That alone confuses people, since "fat" is supposed to mean "ugly and unhealthy."

But, does it really matter whether they've set the cutoff for "obesity" only slightly off to the side of the body size bell curve? It's just a case of the medical establishment aligning with cultural fascists to create a new group of scapegoats. It's throws everyone off balance - even thin people - because the media's beauty ideal (particularly for women) is so thin that people in the "healthy" BMI range are considered too heavy, and nobody in Hollywood even knows what an attractive woman with a medium to large build looks like anymore. It's having an incredibly destructive psychological effect on everyone, not just people who are very fat, and not just people who are classified as "obese."

Good point, DeeLeigh...people expect us all to be "stereotypical fat people" so they're confused when we're not dirty, smelly, lazy, stupid, slovenly, desperate, ugly, unhealthy with painfully low self-esteem and self-respect. An attractive, intelligent, confident, friendly, well-presented fat person just blows their minds.

So maybe we should be working towards getting our images out there? The more we can be seen as real people and not just this stereotype, the better for the movement, I think.

Why should that blow their minds Carrie? Fat people of any kind are far from invisible, people know us, have grown up with us, what you are describing is delusion. To say that all fat people are ______ (fill in negative streotype), is already to pretend something that most people know to be untrue.