Fat And Happy: In Defense Of Fat Acceptance

The Fat Acceptance Movement, formerly known as Fat Pride, Fat Power, or Fat Liberation, is an attempt at exterminating bias, criticism, and otherwise discrimination against people who are overweight or whose bodies do not fit the social norm. The movement got its face in 1967 during a protest of 500 people in New York’s Central Park, and has now spread all over the country and more recently has popped up in various areas in the UK. The Fat Acceptance Movement has made clear its goals by promoting plus sized models, adding a diversity of shape and size of actors, actresses, and characters in entertainment and arts, and pushing for laws and protections in favor of the overweight community. While the movement has benefitted both men and women, it ties in closely to feminism, and huge contributions of

When it comes to the topic of obesity, most will readily agree that it is a growing dilemma. This argument has many writers bringing different responses. Two explanations are debated in What You Eat is Your Business by Radley Balko and Don’t Blame the Eater by David Zinczenko. Both pieces create a good stance on the topic of obesity. Balko’s piece, however, has a better all around flow, organization and consistency.

They believe in “goofing off” because the day is too long in their opinion. Jordan also compares the mental attributes of heavy and thin when she talks about happiness; in “That Lean and Hungry Look”, the thin person portrays a bothersome trait, believing logic and 2,000-point plans lead to happiness, while the fat person is already aware that happiness is indefinable. Jordan uses these kinds of comparisons and contrast between fat and thin in the article to demonstrate the advantages of being fat that are not seen by most people, for they are under the impression that fat is always unattractive or unhappy.

In the American culture, obesity is seen as a bodily abnormality and deviance that should be corrected. Obesity has indeed become one of the most stigmatizing bodily characteristics in our culture (Brink, 1994). In the Western culture, thinness does not just mean the size of the

Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It published by Gary Taubes is a controversial 217 page look at the obesity epidemic plaguing the world. Taubes spends the entirety of the report analyzing the common myths of weight gain and weight loss. Taubes himself is a correspondent to Science magazine, has had works published in the New York Times, and is an investigator of health policy research at the University of California’s School of Public Health.

Obesity has become an epidemic across the United States. Americans have continued to gain weight, increasing the amount of people that are considered obese by millions every few years. More and more experts have come to a consensus: weight needs to be addressed and changed in America. Many experts, however, have not found a way to completely solve this problem at large. In the article, “Rethinking Weight”, senior writer Amanda Spake directs attention to the barriers our society has built for obesity treatment. Through this attention, it becomes evident these barriers have developed from the changing ideals in our society. Roberta Seid, a lecturer at the University of Southern California, argues in “Too “Close to the Bone”: The Historical Context for Women’s Obsession with Slenderness” how our body ideals have changed the way our society views obesity. Both authors emphasize the problem our society faces with obesity becoming an epidemic, and how that needs to be changed so our society can live happier and healthier lives. Although both authors are achieving the same point, Spake concludes that obesity has stemmed from pharmaceutical problems and biological factors, while Seid holds that obesity has come from the changing fashion and body ideals in our society. By reading both articles in conjunction, it becomes clear that the root of this problem is our societal issues, obesity has become an epidemic because of the way our society neglects obesity from all aspects.

America, like any other country, has its assortment of problems: immigration, debt, or foreign affairs but one issue that is rather hard to overlook, literally, its obesity epidemic. The extra pounds have become a sight all too common in America’s society, “men are now on average seventeen pounds heavier than they were in the late seventies, and for women that figure is even higher: nineteen pounds.” (Kolbert). Obesity does not just affect adults in this way either, the kid population has been getting bigger, according to the numbers on a scale “the proportion of overweight children, age six to eleven, has more than doubled, while the proportion of overweight adolescents, age twelve to nineteen, has more than tripled.” (Kolbert). This issue has been a major concern to doctors and scientists for decades and in recent years, has even has the American Medical Association recognizing obesity to be a disease (Pollack). That is a highly debatable statement because obesity itself is a preventable lifestyle. Obesity is avoidable and curable to all (or at least most) of its sufferers. For some citizens, obesity is not a choice, rather genetics, but for the majority of the population, obesity is caused by an unhealthy diet and lazy lifestyle, and for these certain individuals, through a lot of work and discipline, the return to a healthy lifestyle is not as impossible as it may appear.

Obesity is a growing problem and concern in American households today. However it cannot be narrowed down to one main problem. The most prominent underlying issues are psychological and environmental. These issues in turn create deteriorating health and economic problems degrading one’s self-esteem.

Intended audience: In the end, once people finished reading my paper, i hope they understand the idea of Fat acceptance/liberation and how epidemic obesity correlates, and the solution they created won't be able to fix the concept of obesity. Turning it into a social norm will just increase the concept of obesity and will hurt people lifestyle due to the unhealthy lifestyle and regime.

This essay discusses how social constructions have an effect on obesity and what combination of causes and contributing factors it includes can lead to obesity. `Obesity is the term used to describe someone who is overweight and unhealthy. Obesity shortens life by an average of 10 years. It is very common in the UK and results from a study back in 2014 showed that a whopping 65.3% of men and 58.1% of women are obese here. (UniversityOfBirmingham,2016) Being over weight is generally associated with being lazy and unpleasant. There are a lot of media groups that have influenced our society’s perception on obesity and many factors that lead to the disease. Obesity can be life threatening and can be the start of lethal conditions such as diabetes,

Laura Bogart’s “I Choose to be fat” is a blog post that seems to be against conforming to “everybody” in society’s ideal image. She tries to connect with the audience using emotional appeals. When reading this essay, I have a hard time figuring out who the audience she is writing to is. She could be writing to those who are in the same boat as her or she could be writing to those who think that she should lose weight. She could be writing to the doctors that she has had throughout her life that have said she needs to lose weight. Obesity is an issue that is heavily talked about today, like all the health issues that go along with is and what is does to the human body. In this blog post, she tries to provide justification of her “choice” to be fat by saying that she is happy and powerful, but in the blog post she is constantly contradicting herself throughout by giving negative examples about herself and others perceptions of her. In regards to her essay, she makes a compelling argument by appealing to the audience’s emotions; but the constant contradiction to her being happy, the lack of facts, and

In the article “Fat and Happy?”, Hillel Schwartz questions why society views fat people as pathetic and unacceptable. He argues that if it were not for “fellow citizens” (179) mocking and scorning them for being fat, they would be perfectly content with themselves. As well as stating that many people discriminate toward fat people, Schwartz also points out that physicians are giving facts about obesity that are deceptive. Although Schwartz has a strong claim regarding acceptance of the overweight, the absence of support and the lack of writing techniques used in his article defeat the purpose of his argument.

In “What’s Wrong with Fat-Shaming?” by Lesley Kinzel and “Solve America’s Obesity Problem with Shame,” by Chris Friend share two different ideas about shaming against obesity. Body-shaming happens to everyone at some point in their lifetime, it sometimes includes inappropriate negative statements and attitudes towards a person weight or size. Fat-shaming is a term made by obese people to avoid their responsibility in taking care of their body. These people make themselves victims in society by pretending they are being discriminating like an ethnic group.

Obesity has become an epidemic in our over indulgent North American society. In addition to body image issues, obesity causes significant health issues. Society often views obesity to be a disease when it is actually a sign of a disorder, genetic or environmental. The percentage of our population that is growing overweight is increasing every year, and can become a very serious issue if it is not dealt with urgently. Problems relating to self-confidence, self-consciousness, and isolation can occur as a result.

Author of “Fat and Happy: In the Defense of Fat Acceptance”, Mary Ray Worley, displays a sarcastic, whimsical, point of view towards the world and how the public addresses the freedom of confidence among those who are overweight. Contrasting Worley’s approach, author of “Fat and Happy?”, Hillel Schwartz, uses an almost vengeful, cynical approach to address the ever-increasing problem of the fat acceptance and self confidence among those who are considered overweight. Worley and Schwartz both possess contrasting approaches to impair and eliminate the stereotypes placed on them and their community, but both Worley and Schwartz engage and agree with the absolute idea of self confidence and thorough elimination of fat-shaming.