To think Prejudice against fat people is NOT as bad as racism.

[goodnessgracious]

To think the article in the Times today claiming that prejudice against fat people is as bad as racism and that it is one of the last socially acceptable forms of prejudice is ridiculous.

Firstly, obesity is normally caused by an addiction and has health implications for the obese person and further implications on society as whole. How can this be compared to racism in any way?

Also, it is not the last socially acceptable form of prejudice because I believe society is just as (if not more) prejudiced against smokers, alcoholics and gamblers and all people with addictions which have costs toward society.

AIBU to think that although it is not right to be prejudice against obese people it is ridiculous to compare it to racism.

Copied article extract below...

"Prejudice against fat people as bad as racism, say scientists "Dr Jackson said that prejudice against overweight people pervaded society and needed to be challenged. “People think it’s one of the last socially acceptable forms of prejudice. You just have to look at the comments section on media reports on obesity to see that obese people are subjected to labelling and even abuse and attack.”

"You who think that is ok to bully and make rude, hurtful comments"... Who?!
Nobody on this thread has said it is ok to bully people or make cruel, rude or hurtful comments to them regarding their size. Not one person.

"The point of the research is that fat-shaming, insults and negative pressure actually make obesity worse. A stress response causes more over-eating."

I think eating makes it worse. eating and eating alone.

Fat - it's a simple case of cause and effect . . .

I've always had 'prejudice' against the fact I'm naturally slim (skinny when in my teens, 20s and 30s).

Never seen people jumping to my defence.

You know why? Jealousy. People feel sorry for fat people (or they're fat themselves) so they cushion them from the truth . . .

Body shaming is WRONG FULL STOP no matter what size a person is.

well Mitchey thanks for clearing the whole argument up - it must be so hard having everyone being jealous of gorgeous you are . You may have well posted - 'all you overweight people - just stop fucking eating!' - simple! Have you thought about writing a book?

i know you did Trouble is though with this kind of prejudice as insidious as it is people who see me with my clothes on will assume its weight because as proven by this thread that is what people want to think.

I have loose skin myself, mainly, due to having a mahoosive bump during pregnancy and giving birth to a 10lb baby. There is a world of difference between loose skin and fat.

well Mitchey thanks for clearing the whole argument up - it must be so hard having everyone being jealous of gorgeous you are

Where did Mitchey say she was gorgeous. Saying she has snide comments due to being slim / skinny and nobody jumping to her defence is not the same as saying she is gorgeous.
Talk about twisting somebody's words....

Any abuse is wrong I have not noticed that many saying different but using words such as racist could harm the future generation with fear of not being able to discuss obesity with out being labelled as someone as bad as a racist. We need to be able to help those who want help and let children have the choice of their future which is always going to be difficult if they are already obese in primary school. Personally I would like to see more cognitive therapy, hypnosis etc. fat shaming does not work, but we need to find what does.

The equality laws mean that employers are not allowed to discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability etc. They don't prevent employers from discriminating against the obese and smokers, because these are things people can change.

Prejudice is prejudice. It's all wrong. There aren't levels of wrongness. It's just wrong.

Where did Mitchey say she was gorgeous. Saying she has snide comments due to being slim / skinny and nobody jumping to her defence is not the same as saying she is gorgeous.
Talk about twisting somebody's words....

Thanks Thomyorke!

Also, Missunreasonable has inadvertently illustrated perfectly that in peoples minds:

slim = beautiful, fat = . . .

Not sure why you are thanking me I do not agree with your comments.

I think you insinuated thin=beautiful when you attributed 'prejudice' towards your slim figure as 'jealousy' Mitchey...the fact people are jealous suggests they want what you have, that is is 'gorgeous'

No, you're wrong Sleepwhenide. You're projecting your ideas onto my words again. Jealous that I am slim for many reasons, ie:

They lack willpower to become or stay slim
They weren't born slim
They know its healthier to be a 'healthy' weight
The fact I can eat what I want and remain slim
Clothes look better on slim bodies (not mane fat models etc)

Yes, I thought 'jealous' was a strange word to use about how people feel towards her.

I don't want what you've got Mitchey, I'm perfectly happy with who I am thanks - whatever my size is or isn't.

Yeah, right ScarletlovesRhett

The prejudice you've experience has clearly scarred you and damaged your body confidence Mitchey , sorry if I can't muster much sympathy for you.

No worries SleepWhenidie

Lol, school's out

I'm 41

Yeah, right Mitchey

I think you insinuated thin=beautiful when you attributed 'prejudice' towards your slim figure as 'jealousy'

You see I read the jealousy aspect totally differently. I was thinking of it in terms of comments such as: "it's all right for you being skinny and all" or "well you can eat what you want because you don't have to worry about anything" or "it must be awful looking like an ironing board / coat hanger/ other derogatory comment" and people not defending those comments as possibly hurtful from Mitcheys point of view.
I didn't see any of those types of comments as Mitchey thinking she is gorgeous or even better looking than the next person.
Whether people make such comments to thin / slim people or equally warped comments to fat / chubby people it is not right. Mitchey has the right to point out that nobody leaps to the defence of thin people on the end of comments about their weight but are more ready to jump to the defence of fat people.
Are fat people jealous of then people? I think some are and some aren't. Some fat people seem to think that thin people magically stay slim and gorge all day and they can't understand why they are unable to do the same and I think from that aspect there is some jealousy. They too want to be able to eat as much as they please without gaining weight. The reality is very few thin people consume an enormous amount of net calories.

I personally don't think that skinny is desirable. I have been skinny and hated the way my collar bones jutted out. I hated having to shop in the teenager sections at clothes shops. I hated having no breasts. I was average height and was 7 stone. That might even be within the bottom end of normal BMI (not sure) but it didn't make me feel good and certainly not gorgeous.
I think I would equally hate to be fat.

Why would someone feel jealous of something they didn't consider desirable ?

Criticising anyone's body is wrong, I agree. But 'thin shaming' simply isn't, in my view, the same thing or as prevalent as fat shaming. Call someone a skinny bitch and it can be interpreted as - and frequently is - envy, jealousy, a compliment - IMO it typically has no implied judgement of the person's character (or perhaps they may be considered lucky, or as having strong willpower, neither are negative associations). Many people - such as Mitchey can easily shrug it off, confident in the knowledge that they have what society has decided is the 'right' shape. It can be hurtful, yes, we should protest about it and stop it yes, no question. On the other hand, call someone a fat bitch and there is no positive spin you can put on it whatsoever and the contempt that is often carried in the comment is palpable. In this particular instance, Mitchey complaining about the prejudice she has suffered when it doesn't appear to have done her any harm just sounds like stealth boasting.

Criticising anyone's body is wrong, I agree. But 'thin shaming' simply isn't, in my view, the same thing or as prevalent as fat shaming.

It is just as bad. It isn't right to ridicule anybody for their size. Thin shaming is far more in line with fat shaming than it is with racism (as per the original point of the thread).

How do you know that skinny bitch comments are easily shrugged off? Have you ever had to put up with those types of comments and genuinely been thinner than is perhaps healthy or is this a wild assumption based on what you perceive?