Are you 'fatphobic'

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According to this definition it seems I am.

Aibu to think that actually that's completely reasonable?

Teen Vogue writer Catherine Mhloyi said: "In having the word 'fat' appear on the scale, she made a choice to explicitly name her demon, the fear of being called fat, which is fatphobia in its most literal sense."

news.sky.com/story/taylor-swift-video-for-anti-hero-edited-to-remove-the-word-fat-12731618

@AssumingDirectControl

Exactly.

The idea that someone random cares about the health of some other randoms health.

I wonder why people can't just own their judgement

To me 'fatphobic' means assigning negative traits to a fat person based on their appearance alone, which is obviously very simplistic. There are far, far worse things a person can be than overweight.
However I don't agree with glorifying obesity in the name of body positivity and apparently that is synonymous now with fat phobia?
Disabilities and sicknesses that are misfortune or the way you're born can't be helped but giving them to yourself by overeating might be the clincher with this.
I won't go near overweight to date as I find it physically repulsive, but I also wouldn't go near a heavy drinker, addict or even a smoker. Maybe it's to do with a childish lack of self-control there? Admittedly that's influenced by two obese men in my extended family life who also both overspend to the point of debt. It's like they don't understand consequences and then need others to sort them out.

I think, when someone feels the need to share their size on here or pretend that they're concerned about the negative effects on a person's health, that they are (consciously or subconsciously) saying 'I'm better because I'm not fat.' I think there is a lot of 'fatphobia' on mn.

I think it’s a complex topic

being extremely overweight is bad for your health (as is being severely under weight). It’s not something which should be normalised or celebrated. But making people feel ashamed about their weight helps solve the problem in no way whatsoever. I don’t think weight says anything about your character or ability.

equally, I don’t think people should be subjected to adversity because of other people’s weight - think aeroplane seats. I don’t think it makes me fat phobic to want full use of my small seat and not want to be continuously touched, however unintentionally.

I've been very skinny, average and very overweight. When I'm overweight (which I am now) it's usually because I am feeling unhappy, out of control, and stressed. When I see friends or family gain weight I wonder if there is something else going on for them. It's ok to notice weight gain. It's ok to notice what people look like, and sometimes (depending on the kind of relationship you have) it's ok to ask them if something is going on for them. There's never any need to say "you've put on weight what's going on" but it is ok to say "do you fancy a walk and a chat".

There are slender drug addicts, slender alcoholics, slender people who can't control their spending. There are overweight people who have brilliant control over their finances, who don't drink who have never smoked. There are fat people who are brilliant parents and thin people who are lousy parents. If you dispute this I would suggest you get to know more fat people.

Yeah I think that’s it

although I’m fat I had no issue with the video I feel as if people like to pile on TS

The media are terrible for making snide weight comments about mostly female stars.

Amy Winehouse I think was a very sad unfortunate casualty of that. She was constantly called fat when she was a rising star. I've always wondered if her drug addiction was linked to curbing her appetite.

I also wonder if Taylor Swift would have had a better reaction if instead of standing on the scales and it reading 'fat' - she had done it through a newspaper/magazine article which made out she was fatter than she should be and then her on the scales without the word fat. It would have conveyed the message that I think she was trying to get across.

Or maybe I have too much time on my hands to think for an hour!

I've been fat and I don't want to be fat again. Am I fatphobic?

I find it weird how people conflate fat with morbidly obese. Is fat not having a 6 pack, not having an underweight BMI if you're a celeb. It's very confusing.

The media are terrible for making snide weight comments about mostly female stars.

I often see articles about overweight female celebrities with headlines like 'OMG LOOK HOW SKINNY SHE LOOKS NOW' but the celebrity in question never looks any different. It's literally just clickbait for trolls.

Yeah. No matter what happens with your weight as famous person, it's a negative.

And then when they talk about it and their own MH issues, they get shot down.

According to a lot of people on tiktok, yes.

Agree. But I feel like it ingrained in the human psyche because it's to do with being attractive yada yada yada

Agree. But I feel like it ingrained in the human psyche because it's to do with being attractive yada yada yada

This is the bit I struggle with though. Yes being slim, well groomed & well dressed can make someone more attractive but being slim doesn't make your face beautiful if it's not. I think Ashley Graham & Barbie Ferriera have beautiful faces even though they are "fat".

@runjy yes, but you are also limiting their beauty to their faces

is their body not beautiful? Because they are bigger?

I guess that’s what lots of people mean with fat phobia?

FWIW I think a fat person can be attractive, just as much as anyone else, but I myself would not want to be overweight (I guess I am then also fatphobic?!)

I think a bigger body can be more attractive than a slimmer one. A lot depends on shape & proportions imo. Personally I'd rather be overweight with a pretty face than very slim with an average face.

They're the outliers though. Plus people are attracted to health

That's why I asked what people were classing as fat though. Plenty of celebs who put on a bit of weight & are called fat in the tabloids aren't actually fat & are still healthy.

I would say a lot of people are fatphobic, especially if they’re slim themselves.

I lost about 4 stone during lockdown. The difference in the way people treated me when l met them when lockdown ended was marked. That’s both people who new me previously as well as just the general treatment from other when I’m out.

I do take issue with young overweight 'bo-po' influencers telling their impressionable followers that it is possible to be healthy at any size, and that its just not true that being obese causes health problems. It happened quite a lot during Covid, I remember reading one account which was saying that the claim that being very overweight puts you in a higher risk category for becoming very ill from Covid was just 'scaremongering' and that there was no evidence for it.

It's just total bullshit misinformation, and I do think they should be held to account for spreading it.

That's a different issue.

My aibu was saying it's reasonable to be scared of being fat.

I also believe it's ok to not find obesity attractive.

Calling average sized people fat isn't reasonable.

Because you did an amazing thing that required a lot of work and will power. Those virtues should be respected.

Or are you saying you were treated worse after losing the weight?

My aibu was saying it's reasonable to be scared of being fat.

I also believe it's ok to not find obesity attractive.

That's my point though. Does fat = obesity? Plenty of woman are know think they are fat if they are at the higher end of their healthy BMI, they are far from obese though.

All these fake modern "phobias"! When will people wake up and realise what nonsense it all is?

No-one should be mocked for being fat (or thin), but it's not "fatphobic" to not wish to be overweight. Anyone who isn't completely delusional would rather not be face the discomfort and health problems associated with an unhealthy weight.