"I reject your ewwwww"
Dan Savage apparently was being an asshole about how fat people are lazy/stupid/poor whatever AGAIN, which really boils down to "I find fat people gross."
Lindy West has had enough of his bullshit:
I get that you think you're actually helping people and society by contributing to the fucking Alp of shame that crushes every fat person every day of their lives-the same shame that makes it a radical act for me to post a picture of my body and tell you how much it weighs. But you're not helping. Shame doesn't work. Diets don't work. Shame is a tool of oppression, not change.
Fat people already are ashamed. It's taken care of. No further manpower needed on the shame front, thx.
[...]
1. "Rolls of exposed flesh are unsightly" is in no way a "tame statement of fact." It is not a fact at all-it is an incredibly cruel, subjective opinion that reinforces destructive, paternalistic, oppressive beauty ideals. I am not unsightly. No one deserves to be told that they're unsightly. But this is what's behind this entire thing-it's not about "health," it's about "eeeewwwww." You think fat people are icky. Eeeewww, a fat person might touch you on a plane. With their fat! Eeeeewww! Coincidentally, that's the same feeling that drives anti-gay bigots, no matter what excuses they drum up about "family values" and, yes, "health." It's all "eeeewwwww." And sorry, I reject your eeeeeewwww.
Honestly, the "ewwwww" really underlies anyone who gets in your face about your body, whether it's people giving me looks for being in McDonalds or people telling my thin friends to "go eat a sandwich." It translates at a basic level to "I find your body unappealing and since our worth as humans is to be appealing to each other, you just failed**."
And yes, no matter how much "but I'm worried about your health!!!" it's wrapped in, that's largely (heh) what that judgment is about. "Ewwwww." I reject Dan Savage's ewww. Fuck the ewwww, seriously.
** - pressure to look appealing at all times is particularly a problem for women, of course, but men are not immune to this issue either.
This entry was originally posted to http://miera-c.dreamwidth.org/647811.html: Please comment there if you are willing
Lindy West has had enough of his bullshit:
I get that you think you're actually helping people and society by contributing to the fucking Alp of shame that crushes every fat person every day of their lives-the same shame that makes it a radical act for me to post a picture of my body and tell you how much it weighs. But you're not helping. Shame doesn't work. Diets don't work. Shame is a tool of oppression, not change.
Fat people already are ashamed. It's taken care of. No further manpower needed on the shame front, thx.
[...]
1. "Rolls of exposed flesh are unsightly" is in no way a "tame statement of fact." It is not a fact at all-it is an incredibly cruel, subjective opinion that reinforces destructive, paternalistic, oppressive beauty ideals. I am not unsightly. No one deserves to be told that they're unsightly. But this is what's behind this entire thing-it's not about "health," it's about "eeeewwwww." You think fat people are icky. Eeeewww, a fat person might touch you on a plane. With their fat! Eeeeewww! Coincidentally, that's the same feeling that drives anti-gay bigots, no matter what excuses they drum up about "family values" and, yes, "health." It's all "eeeewwwww." And sorry, I reject your eeeeeewwww.
Honestly, the "ewwwww" really underlies anyone who gets in your face about your body, whether it's people giving me looks for being in McDonalds or people telling my thin friends to "go eat a sandwich." It translates at a basic level to "I find your body unappealing and since our worth as humans is to be appealing to each other, you just failed**."
And yes, no matter how much "but I'm worried about your health!!!" it's wrapped in, that's largely (heh) what that judgment is about. "Ewwwww." I reject Dan Savage's ewww. Fuck the ewwww, seriously.
** - pressure to look appealing at all times is particularly a problem for women, of course, but men are not immune to this issue either.
This entry was originally posted to http://miera-c.dreamwidth.org/647811.html: Please comment there if you are willing