As the public narrative against obesity has shifted away from aesthetic contempt, and toward a discourse on “health” offered out of some misplaced sense of duty, I am seeing more and more unsolicited opinions that forego the once popular “EW, GROSS” model of body commentary in favor of a more insidious, “Of course no one should be shamed for their body, and it doesn’t matter how you look, but you just can’t be healthy at that size.” This was the tenor of the Instagram conversation that got me so irritated. I’ve heard it often enough myself. The common justification for that line of analysis is, Oh, but its not about appearance -- because that would be superficial and cruel, I guess? -- its about health! Except IT IS about appearance. The people who make these assertions are also making assumptions based on the appearance of the person they’re targeting. It is completely about appearance. Heaven knows theyre not making these observations with firsthand knowledge of said persons medical history because -- as many have observed before me -- you cant actually read a person’s medical history simply by looking at them. And hell, even if you could make such comments in full grasp of the facts, WHY WOULD YOU DO SO? It would be incredibly rude. And none of your business anyway. ~LA xojane/issues/on-rudeness-looking-unhealthy-and-being-called-a-fatass-at-the-beach
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 06:42:28 +0000
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