OH MY FUCKING GOOOOOOOOD

[loveotter]

"Congrats on the role of a lifetime, Gabourey Sidibe [star of upcoming Precious]. Self-esteem is a beautiful thing. But we should celebrate your performance, not your size. Obesity is a national epidemic."You should feel proud, Gabourey Sidibe, but not too proud, because you're FAT. Remember being FAT? Being FAT is TERRIBLE and it should MAKE YOU

Comments

[lynxgriffin]

Fuck the fucking what

[veedub]

come on, be fair. the article also condemned the idea that being anorexically skinny is a good thing. they are talking about health, not looks. and it can't be denied that morbidly obese people are much more at risk for various health problems than those in the normal-to-lightly overweight (that's why it's called "morbid"). actually, if you look at standard BMI charts you will see a wide range of optimal weight-to-height ratios which are considered healthy. an extra 20 or 30 pounds is no big deal. but 300 pounds on a five-foot frame is just plain dangerous, all esthetic or political considerations aside.

[loveotter]

In other words, Alicia Villarosa gets to decide what a healthy weight is and condemn (your word) those who don't fit it despite having absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of Sibide's mental and physical health, what she eats, how much or how little she exercises, etc. Is that fair?

This is my only comment on the matter. I will not argue the "danger" of being fat on my journal. This is not a space for fatphobia and judgement, so future comments along that line will be deleted.

[ormery]

SELF ESTEEM IS A BEAUTIFUL THING

BUT ONLY IF I THINK YOU DESERVE IT

[fairytaledreams]

BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES ALREADY

/gags

also that icon and the text to go with it are amazing jsyk XD

[scientivity]

Ehhh. I'm sorry, I'm siding with veedub a little here. The quote is undoubtedly patronizing and rude, and I think it's awesome that we have an actress who feels so comfortable with herself, because God knows we need more role models like that.

But I don't see what's phobic about acknowledging that it's unhealthy. Because, well, it is unhealthy to be that overweight, just as it's unhealthy to be that underweight.

[loveotter]

So that said, then what? Where are the movements to make healthy food more affordable and easily-accessible? To offer shorter hours, better childcare, etc so that people have more time to focus on their health? To offer useful nutritional and exercise aid at low costs? To offer low-cost healthcare? This is not a space to condemn people for their lifestyles. And that's ultimately what this kind of concern trolling does.

And if there are people who have access to all that, but just don't CARE about their weights, who the hell are we to judge them? Again, this is not a space for that.

[scientivity]

First of all, I'm not condemning anyone. You posted something, and I'm giving you my opinion.

And there are movements like that -- maybe not national ones (except, like, Obama's health care reform), but they're definitely around. My high school had a movement sophomore year to pull everything except diet soda from the lunch rooms/vending machines, to give us healthier food choices, to label said healthier food choices, and to put up signs about how we could balance better. Obviously it's there, and it's possible, but I also understand that there are a lot of people who just can't afford it/don't have the time for it/etc. A lot of people.

I'm not saying that they're bad people who should feel bad for having priorities. And if they're in that kind of situation, and can still feel good about themselves? That's awesome. But that doesn't change the fact that it's unhealthy. I'm not saying it as a judgment, I'm saying it as an observation.

The idea is to get people who have all the access and don't care to start caring about their health

[loveotter]

You say you think being overweight is unhealthy, and leave it at that. Fair enough. But Alicia Villarosa says she thinks being overweight is unhealthy, and shames Gabourey Sidibe for feeling good about her body image and speculates on her mental and physical health. Somebody else says they think being overweight is unhealthy, and that if people just cared more, and weren't so lazy and gluttonous and uneducated, they wouldn't have health problems--it's really for their benefit. Somebody else says that they think being overweight is unhealthy, and calls for removing all overweight people from the public eye, including TV shows, movies, fashion, etc, UNLESS their weight is portrayed in a negative light, lest kids think these are acceptable role models and become overweight themselves. Thus the argument that being overweight is unhealthy becomes as harmful and fatphobic as any blatant fat-hating. I'm not arguing that being overweight is healthy and I'm not arguing the opposite. I'm arguing that it's not our place to invade overweight

[maiiau]

I will decide how happy you may be about your body. B|