Fat activism

[gendercritter]

The body positivity movement (which started as a really positive thing, I have no doubt) has increasingly started borrowing the language and tactics of the trans rights movement. I'm seeing evidence of that all over the internet and it's been causing me concern for a while.

I don't think it poses the same danger as the trans rights movement but it is harmful to mainly women because there is a difference between trying to respect oneself whatever one's size and encouraging a lot of vulnerable women to gain weight because that is a completely neutral thing and anyone who tells you otherwise is a white colonialist who is out to oppress you.

I'm attaching an image I saw online yesterday. I'm sure people will see it and realise where I'm coming from. The movement reeks of pomo and 'I will be whatever I want and you're committing violence against me if you disagree'

I know it's a lesser issue but it's still worth keeping an eye on. Some people are getting very wealthy off this movement and they quite often push the line 'twaw' on their (young, impressionable, female) followers

Academics are getting funding for this subject too. There is a real overlap between queer theory and fat activism.

I might be naive and I don’t know where that picture is from but I’d assume it’s a spoof.

I'm guessing the body positive movement has been co-opted by the same gang who believe that if anyone wants to have sex with you, you should learn to tolerate it.

In the name of the wee man, that can't possibly be real...can it...?

I honestly don't know anymore but I really hope it's satire - no one has the right to force/shame others into sex, no one.

That has to be a piss take surely?

Sounds like a piss take, but kinda scary statement of our times that one can't be sure.....

Having said that, I have seen other body positivity things that would seem to confirm that it's been influenced by the same PoMo wokeness as so much else has.

No it absolutely isn't a spoof. If that particular image is, there are plenty of other posts online in a similar vein which are genuine. And yes to the movement having been co-opted, I think.

The thing is, can we expect similar posters with the sexes reversed?

I.e. 'If a fat man wants to have sex with you - have sex with him?'

They're both somewhat rapey.

That looks like a 4chan spoof.

That looks like a 4chan spoof.

Again I can only say I am seeing a lot of similar messages within the community. It is genuinely an issue. There is a lot of aggression and pomo salad running all the way through the movement.

Again I can only say I am seeing a lot of similar messages within the community. It is genuinely an issue. There is a lot of aggression and pomo salad running all the way through the movement.

I can believe it. I've seen this kind of stuff. Why wouldn't people extend that logic?

Here are some people talking about this

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/whyweeareprouddofourrfatbodies

They just seem to be narcissistic and assume everyone is as interested in them as they are!

That reads like utter bullshit honestly.

I mean, claiming it's oppression or rape not to sleep with someone? The only people that come out with that bullshit are the incels.

This isn't an accepted or common belief within fat acceptance, nor is "encouraging a lot of vulnerable women to gain weight".

That's an enormous misrepresentation.

In my experience, fat acceptance is more similar to radical feminism in it's analysis. Body positivity is much more like liberal feminism.

It's not about making everyone fat, it's about allowing people with fat bodies to live a life free from abuse, and being aware of how biases in society can lead to poor treatment for fat people (eg. doctors prescribing weight loss no matter the health issue)

I know someone who is into body positivity who also has a child that's been referred to the gender identity clinic. I didn't see a connection between the two before other than being managing techniques for difficult situations, but I now see pomo thinking underlying both. Nothing against body positivity in general, but pomo just ends up in having no kind of compass for right or wrong, true or false, doesn't it? The extreme consequences being complete lack of responsibility to oneself or anyone else, and a lack of striving towards any goals, everything against the norm becomes celebrated.

Agree this is a piss-take, but I spent a lot of time in the fat-o-sphere as a young adult and can say that I have certainly seen a sprinkling of the attitude that not wanting to sleep with fat people is shallow and should be "worked on" if you want to be a good person.

The screenshot is over-the-top rapey, whereas usually when this crops up it's more of a "you don't HAVE TO sleep with anyone, of course, but if you never date fat people then you're probably shallow and mean and bully your partners into anorexia and just can't handle a REAL WO/MAN!" etc etc.

Not at all representative of the fat acceptance/bodypos movement as a whole, but it absolutely happens.

No woman, the kind with a vagina, ever said fuck me or it's rape.

Example - no call to force anyone to have sex with anyone else, but you should just come out and say that you're a superficial garbage person who only cares about being attracted to someone's body rather than their SOUL (sound familiar?)

As anyone who's met me can confirm, I am fat.

I've been sitting wondering what shaming men into sex would feel like, and I don't fancy the idea. So I'm going to make myself a hot chocolate. Sadly I have no

e been sitting wondering what shaming men into sex would feel like, and I don't fancy the idea.

One of the main reasons I see in the relationships section I see for women going off sex is that they feel undesirable.

Men don't care if the woman fancies them. that's why you see so many ugly celeb males with models. Or why men are happy to pay women to have sex with them.

Many men also don't care if they fancy a woman if they fancy a fuck. So messages like this - although I agree it's a spoof - are making women who might be insecure about their bodies anyway, vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by men who don't give a fuck who they put their dick into.

This isn't an accepted or common belief within fat acceptance, nor is "encouraging a lot of vulnerable women to gain weight".

That's an enormous misrepresentation.

Well respectfully I'm going to have a disagree. There is a lot in the movement that is very empowering and positive and I wouldn't argue otherwise. But every single time I go looking into it online, I find things which concern me. Masses of 'transwomen are women and if you think otherwise, you're a bigot' type messages. Lots of memes along the lines of 'being fat is neutral. If you're gaining weight, eat another slice if cake and get on with your day.' Lots of 'you are whatever you say you are' neoliberal rubbish with essays about cishet, white privilege being mean and men not wanting to sleep with you oppressing you.

The aggression is what made me stop and pause because fundamentally as a feminist I like the idea of women empowering other women to see themselves as something more than their body weight. I should be here embracing body positivity - I have struggled with my weight for years. The link with aggressive transactivism is very real. And telling people weight gain is to be embraced and has no negative consequences is anti-science although that's really a whole other debate.

I think it’s a spoof/parody. I’ve seen similar things about the internet making fun of the idiocy of Pomo. I suspect these are in response to the comedian? who was calling out cancer research for fat shaming. Sad really because I think body positivity has a lot of validity, unfortunately the few vocal nutters ruin it by taking things to extremes.

Is transfat a thing too?

you dont like the body positivity movement OP Fair enough.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3341302-To-think-the-body-positivity-movement-is-a-disgrace