Why does society hate fat people

Have you read any of this? Because:

”What troubles this historical narrative, however, are the many warnings against body fat throughout the nineteenth century. Physicians and laypeople alike wrote regularly about the unhealthy state of “corpulence,” illustrated by Banting's (Reference Banting1864) popular pamphlet, Letter on Corpulence. Such texts existed alongside numerous physician reports and medical essays praising plumpness. But, given that doctors did not regularly weigh patients or measure bodily fat in this time periodFootnote 1 (Czerniawski Reference Czerniawski2007), there is little evidence as to what these different states may have looked like. In some cases, people were proclaimed to be healthy and vibrant because they were fat, and in other cases they were proclaimed to be unhealthy and debilitated because they were fat. How these two seemingly disparate diagnoses sat side by side in the same era constitutes an interesting historical question.

Basically because so many people see anyone who is overweight as being lazy,greedy,weak willed and not caring about their appearance. Which as a formerly very overweight person,I know is untrue. I am still a bit overweight, I've lost 7 stone with another 2.5 - 3 stone to go, and the difference in peoples' attitude towards me is remarkable. Overweight people seem to get a level of opprobrium that those with addictions such as drugs and alcohol don't get. I think it's probably because being overweight is immediately noticeable whereas as a drink or drugs problem,not so much.

I think plenty of people do feel that some anorexics look 'disgusting' (while also feeling very sorry for them).

There are quite a few reports on here of people's overweight relatives being really disparaging of obese people.

I don't buy that.

I am not aware of a hatred for fat people although I am around an average weight for my height. The only thing I don't like which could be linked to physical size is when I am on a train and a large/obese/whatever person sits next to me and I am compressed into half of my former space, but that is not so much physical size, that is more thoughtlessness.

@Wickedlittledancer @bonnnn

Fine, you don't have to believe me, that is totally up to you, but perhaps you'll believe some research?

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/social-science-history/article/plump-or-corpulent-lean-or-gaunt-historical-categories-of-bodily-health-in-nineteenthcentury-thought/A82E7DB8DDD1BBAF279BD56C37769172

I remember what my teacher taught me, I also remember my own Grandma who used to feed her son (my dad) to excess, not letting go of the old Victorian way she was brought up.

Cheers anyway.

I don't but I must admit that it annoys me a lot when an overweight person sits next to me in an airplane. In case of emergency, they are potentially blocking my way out if they get stuck in their seats.
There should be an especial section in the plane for them, with wider seats.

This is exactly it.

It really is.

I've never been underweight but on the low average bracket. Regular comments consisted of:
-You make me sick all what you eat (while eating normal meal deals)
-Your too skinny
-I'll pick that up, you'll snap hahaha
-You want to eat some burgers (saw this comment many of times also online aimed at any slim person)
-you want to get some meat on your bones
-you look anorexic
Mainly by people who act like they are being innocent and no one says a thing. Only once in my last work place did someone call them out for constantly commenting on what I eat. It is seen as fare game.

Imagine if I had turned around and said to a fat college 'you make me sick watching you eat. You want to loose some weight on your bones, your too fat, you want to eat some salads.' I would rightfully be flamed. Only bullying strangers are likely to say stuff like that to a fat person, but slim there seems no barriers.

How many of the larger ladies complaining about their treatment on this thread have said those things to / about a slim person? Most I imagine

Then there are general comments people make to defend larger ladies by putting down slimmer girls. Such as real women have curves, and as 1 poster put on this thread 'no one wants to look like a ruler'. Saw some horrible things about Taylor swift for example for being slim, many calling her an ironing board and saying her BF will look elsewhere for some curves. The iron board insult comes up a lot towards slimmer girls.

So yes they are treated just as bad but anyone not on the receiving end thinks it is perfectly fine. That is the only difference

This is just incorrect. Not looking emaciated was obviously the beauty standard, but that doesn’t mean being obese was admired!!

In Victorian times women wore restrictive corsets, to make themselves look even smaller. Being fat was not celebrated.

When I was a younger woman people would treat me differently when I didn’t wear makeup or straighten my hair. I’m now at an age where people have stopped looking at me altogether. It’s something of a relief to be able to go out in whatever state and be almost invisible. My 79 year old mother now gets more attention than I do; walking with a stick means most people are considerate and respectful when they encounter her.

It’s a bitter truth that you can’t prevent people from judging other people on appearance.

In Victorian times being fat was a sign of wealth, health and status and much admired.

Fat people tick off three of the seven deadly sins:

Greed
Gluttony
Sloth

Therefore, all those without sin can cast their own stone.

Ah, to have been brought up worshipping a loving God and walking amongst those respecting His word...

I had no idea there were so many human evolutionary and cultural anthropologists on MN!

I've found that it's men who exhibit the most outward hatred - men in vehicles or groups of teenage boys who think it's appropriate to call me a "fat bitch/cunt" as they're passing.

I suspect that it's made worse by the fact that I'm visibly disabled, and people assume that it's because of my weight.

(In fact I had an accident when I was a normal BMI that left me disabled, and it's been the meds etc since that caused the weight gain)

Because anorexia and bulimia are see as mental illnesses in a way food addiction is not, food addiction is seen as a moral failing.

Because the number of people that will be anorexic in their lifetime is less than one percent. The number of obese people (obese, not just overweight) is 29 percent. Anorexia is a very dangerous condition, but obesity affects far more people and costs far more money

But people with anorexia and bulimia also cost the NHS a lot in time and money. Why are they not hated and shown disgust. I just don’t get the hate of fat people.

Every time I've been bullied as an adult it's been by an overweight woman. One of them drunkenly admitted that it was because I was thinner and conveniently more attractive. Bullies don't care about beauty standards.

What you say carries more weight (sorry) when you're slim too

Suddenly everything I say is gospel

When I'm 14+ stone, not so much.

I'm the same person, saying the same thing

😶

Maybe the skinny people are just hangry...

I have no objection to people’s weight. I do find it tiresome when I’m at the theatre or on public transport and someone who is rather broad in the beam takes up their own seat and half of mine, though.

At one time fat was seen as good, it was a sign of wealth, it has toggled between fat and skinny being seen as good throughout human history.

People get angry now because they think us who are heavy laden might die younger - so what!! why does it bother them, I sympathise and too can't really explain it.

For decades, being fat has been associated with greed and laziness. Neither of these are attractive personality traits. Particularly on a social level. Humans have traditionally lived in groups, which have been dependent on everyone pulling their weight and not taking more than their fair share.