Shaming the Non-Perfect?

If one lives in a developed country, they have probably witnessed, or have experienced fat shaming. The prevalence of judging one’s worth on his or her appearance has been an issue for decades. With brands such as Brandy Mellville, who only supplying a “one size fits all” option that only satisfies customers that are a size 4 of below, there are few places left in society where larger people can be treated equally. There has always been an ideal body shape for both men and women. In recent years, there has also been a big push, especially in the United States, for individuals to become healthier.  However, many people seem to be more concerned with the appearance of the person rather than their health. 

            Carolyn Hall, a journalist, argues that the United States is actually very accepting of overweight and obese people. She claims that the low priority for exercise in schools, the abundance of fast food chains and the “healthy at every size” campaign proves the tolerance of overweight people in our society. Although she does make some valid points, because unhealthy behavior should never be seen as okay or encouraged; she seems to lack a certain understanding of everyone’s situation. In fact, obesity is just as political as it is scientific. There is no doubt that unhealthy foods are much cheaper than their healthy counterparts. Those who struggle financially are more likely to spend their money on cheap food than not be able to pay their bills. In addition, the prevalence of food desserts, few places to exercise, and lock of education in low socioeconomic environments make it hard for poorer people to know how to live a healthy lifestyle or have accesses to the proper recourses of effectively do so.  An unhealthy lifestyle should never be encouraged, but there still needs to be a certain level of understanding of the factors that contribute to obesity in order to defeat it.

            In addition, it has also been proven that fat shaming can actually cause people to gain more weight. Markus Shafer, a doctoral student at Purdue, claims that obesity is a psychological issue, and receiving negative feedback from society about the body image has shown to cause decline in healthy. Society loves to tell overweight and obese people to simply exercise and eat right, while judging them in the process. Little do they realize that doing this is actually counter productive. Not only does fat shaming psychologically hurt a person, it also has the potential to physically hurt them.

            There is no doubt that we live in a judgmental society, but to what extinct is feeding into the hypercritical norm acceptable.  Is okay that kids barely old enough to drive, or well-established and successful adults cry themselves to sleep at night because society tells them they are worth less because of the way the look? I certainly don’t think so. Fat shaming is societies way of abusing to a certain group of individuals, and abuse is never okay, no matter what the circumstances are.

Questions for reflection:

Do you think people have the right to tell an obese person to change their lifestyle?

How do you think we can change society in ways that allows bigger people to feel more accepted?