Yeah. I can't go silent about this one.

[karihan]

One of my flisters (thank you sjwashere) made a thought-provoking post about a controversy that recently happened concerning an Australian show about advertising called The Gruen Transfer. One segment of the show, called "The Pitch", challenges two different advertising agencies to come up with an ad based on a "difficult sell" concept. Donating money to

Comments

[zombiequeens]

I have had issues with weight all of my life and if I saw that first ad on television, I would be extremely offended. You don't end discrimination with more joking at the party's expense - you end it by showing the world how ugly it really is.

The second ad was a clearer view of the issue, it showed people just how awful it can be. Just because I'm fat doesn't mean it's okay to make fun of me just like it's not okay to make fun of skinny people, people that you think aren't attractive, people of another race, creed, sexuality - anything.

This probably doesn't make sense but I'm sleepy, drugged and angry. o_o

[karihan]

*huggles* Ragey posts seem to be all the ... rage. (sorry) And you made perfect sense to me, hon.

[zombiequeens]

Haha, so they do. :) And good!

[hinkydoodle]

I personally think the concept of Fat Pride is as ridiculous as being Pro-Anorexia, it's a condition the severely affects your health in a number of ways. It's something to be controlled and dealt with compassionately.

The above, is of course, a gross over-simplification of the problem.

So basically, I agree with you that it was absurd and insulting to include "Fat Pride" on the show in the first place. (The whole show sounds fairly insulting to begin with)What's next? Vacation destinations in Darfur?

[fey_spirit]

First it is possible to be overweight and still be healthy... though it is rare

[hinkydoodle]

Personal responsibility also comes into play. Own your problems and own the solution. But that, I think, is getting into hair-spitting territory.

You are, in short, preaching to the choir.

[karihan]

It's a condition that can affect your health in a number of ways. That does not automatically mean it does. I for one am looking to lose weight to keep my joints healthy. There has so far been no indication that my weight is affecting my cardiovascular system or causing any of the other problems that people (particularly doctors) assume that I must have the moment they look at the width of my ass. In addition to being walking embodiments of two of the seven deadly sins, fat people now get automatically slapped with the label "unhealthy".

I do not take any particular pride in what I weigh, but neither do I think it deserving of disgust, derision, nasty humor or any of the like. I'm probably doing my own share of choir-preaching with that statement, but there you go. My weight is what it is, and I'll do what I'll do about it for my reasons, not to make the rest of society comfortable. Not that I'm ever likely to get down to a weight that the rest of our thin-obsessed culture finds acceptable.

[trialia]

Right now I'm really wishing I didn't lose half my words when I am in a raging fury, because I'm sure if I didn't I would find SO MUCH to say about this fuckery. Instead I fume, quietly and hotly, and deliver you a hug.

Seriously, this is bullshit. How do people still think like that in the 21st century?

[whetherwoman]

I haven't been able to watch the ads yet since I'm at work, but I absolutely agree that bigotry and offensive "humor" is not okay, no matter what group it's directed towards, and it's absurd that fat people are somehow "okay" to make fun of when other groups are not

[fey_spirit]

First, the assumption that everyone can change their weight conposition overlooks the reality of medical conditions that sometimes make weight loss impossible, and weight gain inevitable.

Second, for those who can make that change it's not as simple as saying "just do it", if it was then more people would do it, and more then 5% of those who do it, would keep it off. Most people don't get fat by choice, and as long as we focus on the physical aspects and ignore the mental and emotional reality of how they got that way it's not going to get better.

I see obesity (at least the variety not created by medical illness) as being an outward manifestation of a mental dis-ease. Is it ok to make fun of those with other mental diseases just because it's "in their head"?

All of that said - I hate the attempt to compare obesity with chain smoking... the last time I looked I couldn't kill you by standing next to you eating a cheeseburger.

[whetherwoman]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that a pretty small percentage of obese people were obese due to medical conditions. I haven't looked at specific statistics or anything, though, so I apologize if I was mistaken about that.

I do feel unsure about the statement, "Most people don't get fat by choice." Could you elaborate what you mean by this?

"I see obesity (at least the variety not created by medical illness) as being an outward manifestation of a mental disease."
Thanks for this analogy, it makes a lot of sense to me, and is a lot better than my smoking analogy! I don't tend to stand next to smokers, but I see your point that that analogy was totally not correct. Thanks.

[whetherwoman]

Errr... I just realized I may be totally hijacking this discussion. karihan, let me know if you'd like me to move this over to my own journal. :)

[solonia]

Interesting.

Took me a while to understand exactly what they were supposed to be doing--to end discrimination or to promote "Fat Pride," and given that I hadn't seen the show before, I wasn't sure if the ads were supposed to be taken seriously or not. So it took me a few minutes to process this. Then I realized that the task was supposed to be difficult, as they want to "sell the unsellable," and remembering that made me appreciate the difficulty of the task.

At any rate, I'm not offended by these ads or the task that was given, because I had a little epiphany. Before I even watched the ads, as I read the info you posted and linked to, the thought came to me that attitudes toward body weight differ across the world and throughout time. And in that moment, I began to make peace with it. So for that little epiphany, I thank you. :)

[karihan]

attitudes toward body weight differ across the world and throughout time.

Oh yes. I would have been considered sex on legs during the Renaissance Period. Whereas even Marilyn Monroe would likely get told to go lose some weight if she tried to break into showbiz nowadays.

That the concept of it's not right to deride or demean someone based on nothing more than their outside appearance could actually be considered unsellable ... that is what made me grind my teeth the hardest.

*sigh*

[solonia]

I would have been considered sex on legs during the Renaissance Period.

Sex on legs! I like that. I need to make that phrase part of my vocabulary (er, whatever the equivalent word is for the list of phrases I tend to use--but clearly I need to expand my vocabulary as well). lol

That the concept of it's not right to deride or demean someone based on nothing more than their outside appearance could actually be considered unsellable ... that is what made me grind my teeth the hardest.

Indeed. But people don't like to "buy" the idea that they're doing something wrong. ;)