In a recent article for Odyssey, Vianka Cotton
re-made tons of common mistakes that happen when people try to talk about body positivity and health. It’s
no surprise that the article got plenty of traction since fatphobia and
healthism are practically national pastimes. There is certainly no shortage of
articles like this. But the prevalence of oppression doesn’t make it right, so
let’s talk about this.
- “The body positivity movement founded in 1996, has been one of the best movements to help women. The movement encourages women to accept their bodies while improving health and well-being. The movement, growing in popularity, has become an anthem to the plus-sized community.”
The author’s grasp of the history of the body positive movement is embarrassingly poor. The
movement has been going on since well before 1996. It
is a co-option of the much more militant Fat Rights movement that
started in earnest in the 1960s with groups like The Fat Underground. (For some
history lessons, check out Charlotte Cooper’s amazing work.) This piece is offensive
in its ignorance of the past and its assertions about body positivity
necessarily being about “improving health,” but I definitely appreciate the
acknowledgment that fat women (and, indeed, people of all sizes) are sexy and
can wear whatever the hell they want. Let’s move on:
- “People have killed to be thin. Bigger women are embracing their bodies, wearing whatever they want. These attitudes are challenging the traditional standard of beauty. What had started out as radical love for one’s body has been diluted and reduced to shallowness adopting negative attitudes towards exercise. As a fitness advocate, the body positivity movement isn’t fighting for health or equality, it is fighting for the crown of attractiveness.”
People have killed to be thin? How does that work? No, wait,
don’t tell me lest others die needlessly. Also, while people are certainly allowed
to love their bodies and have negative attitudes towards exercise, I have often been
called a leader in this movement and I’ve never heard that considered one of
the tenets.
Maybe what she meant to say was that people have died to be
thin, and fat people have been killed by the diet industry and a medical system
that confuses thinness with health. It’s a whole system that is far too often
willing to risk the lives (and quality of life) of fat people in the hopes that
they can make us look different.
That happens every day and it is precisely why body
positivity must be removed from the idea of the obligation to “health” or
“healthy behaviors” that she is suggesting.
- “What is the end message? Shouldn’t self-love correlate to health? Where is the line between body confidence and obesity? “
I’m glad she asked. Self-love should be completely separate
from health — health is not an obligation, a barometer of worthiness, entirely
within our control, or guaranteed under any circumstances.
Health is a complicated and multi-faceted concept, and it
can change at any time. That’s why it’s important that we have the chance to
love and appreciate our bodies regardless of health status. (Understand too
that the concept of body positivity can be made vastly more complicated by
things like chronic illness because of healthism, as well other marginalized
identities because of racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and more.)
People of all sizes and health statuses have every right to love and appreciate
our bodies, and photograph them in any, or few, or no clothes, and post them to
Instagram for whatever our reasons might be.
There is no line between body confidence and obesity because
they aren’t related — except that living in a fatphobic culture like the one
this article attempts to perpetuate makes it more difficult for fat people to
have body confidence. Body confidence is how we feel about our bodies.
“Obesity” is the end result of a math equation, wherein weight in pounds times
703 divided by height in inches squared is greater than or equal to 30. I’m
“class three Super Obese” or, as I like to call it, fat AF, and I have
tremendous body confidence. There is no line, nor should there be.
Since she asked, the end message is that other people’s
health is not your business. If people care about your opinions regarding their
health or habits, I’m sure they’ll let you know. Suggesting that there is some
weight at which we are no longer allowed to love our bodies is fat-shaming and
oppressive. Suggesting that you should have to achieve some level of “health”
to love yourself is healthist and oppressive.
- “Normalizing obesity is a problem! Are advocates of this movement in denial? Are they too focused on people’s opinions? The messages we are sending to young women and girls are radical. The pressure to be thin has been replaced with it is okay to be obese. Neither one is correct. When can healthy be sexy? When will we normalize health?”
Size-based oppression is a problem, healthism is a problem
(including the idea of making “healthy” by any definition “sexy” or suggesting
that people who don’t meet her definition of health are not “normal”), not
understanding the difference between correlation and causation is a problem, a
world where her piece gets published is a problem.
Normalizing obesity is not a problem.
We are not in denial, we are in empowerment. We are done
being lectured at by any “fitness enthusiast” who can type out an
article. As I’ve written before, the only outcome of such a culture
is that fat people aren’t allowed to do anything with our lives except try to
lose weight, and that’s unacceptable. Not just because almost nobody loses
weight long term, but because people shouldn’t be required to look a certain
way or have a certain level of health as a prerequisite to live our lives and
pursue our dreams.
If you see a fat person being happy, achieving something,
being talented in public or on television and that makes you
uncomfortable/angry/disgusted etc., then you know that you are dealing with
size bigotry. If you believe that your feelings of discomfort/anger/disgust are
due to this person’s health status, then you know that you are dealing with
size bigotry as well as healthism. Regardless, this is your problem.
Her final paragraph comes so close to getting it, but then
falls off a cliff.
- “What I would like to see is the body positive movement be accessible to everyone having a struggle. Diversify the movent to include women of color, men, burned victims, trans women. After all, the goal is intersectionality. I want to see full-figured women wearing bikinis in commercials playing sports. I want to see big women on BuzzFeed being active and eating healthy. I want to see clothing stores have clothes for those who are awkward and in between small and plus-sized. Can we normalize health please! I want to see positive body positive images. Our bodies are strong and healthy. The message is you can achieve confidence while striving for your health.”
I am absolutely behind the fact that we need to do better
when it comes to intersectionality. Body Positivity inherited the issues that
the Fat Rights movement always had including a lack of inclusion and
representation of People of Color, Trans folks, disabled people/people with
disabilities, and other intersectional identities. I want to see clothing
stores that carry clothes for everyone, including those above a size 26.
The solution to that is to make the movement more inclusive,
for each of us to understand our privilege, and relative privilege, and use
it to dismantle systems of oppression and demean inclusion.
The solution is not to engage in rampant healthism. The
solution is not to suggest that if fat people want to be seen in public, we
must be performing health to someone else’s satisfaction. Many people’s
bodies are not “strong and healthy” for lots of reasons, and that’s absolutely
normal. Using body positivity to marginalize people as this article attempts to
do — whether it’s fat people, “unhealthy” people, or anyone else, is a load of
bullshit that I will not abide.
It is absolutely OK to be whatever size you are, including
hella fat. It is absolutely fine to not be “healthy” or “strong” by whatever
definition.
Body positivity/body confidence/loving our bodies is not a
requirement, but it is always an option and nobody — “fitness enthusiasts” or
otherwise — can take it from us.
This article originally appeared on Ravishly.com and can be
accessed at https://ravishly.com/we-must-stop-making-these-mistakes-about-health-body-positivity
Posted by:
Ragen Chastain
Speaker, Writer, Activist
Website: www.sizedforsuccess.com
Blog: www.danceswithfat.org
IRONMAN: www.IronFat.com
Co-founder: www.fitfatties.com
Co-founder: www.fatactivismconference.com
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