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A brief, personal anecdote.
This
afternoon, for the first time since 2002, I spoke to The Media about
Being Fat, specifically about this website, and its origins in the
Fatshionista Livejournal community. It was a brief interview. Some
things I wish I'd been clearer on. Some things I wish I'd said
differently. I spoke more honestly than I used to in these situations,
with less reluctance. When asked how much I weigh, I spoke the number
without thinking. When asked if I am healthy, I said yes, because I am indeed
fortunate in that regard. When asked if I was married, I said yes,
because it's true. But then I realized, these are things that make me
more palatable. I can say I weigh 300 pounds, and seen in print that number will make some people gasp, but if I can also testify that I am healthy and happily married, that
gives my argument more weight [the puns round here never stop!]. It was only then that it occurred to me
a better response would have been to question the need for these
qualifiers at all.
Mostly, this experience reminded me of how difficult it is,
talking in broad generalizations about a movement that really resists
orthodoxy in its details. We mostly agree that folks of all sizes should not hate
their bodies, nor hate themselves for being fat. We mostly agree
that the hysteria around the obesity epidemic [sic] is way overblown
and encourages the stigmatizing of all fat people under one big "Doomed
Forever!" banner. We mostly agree that "fat" is the preferred term over
more euphemistic ways of negotiating the myriad assortment of sizes and
shapes in which the human body is rendered.
But even a cursory glance over the various posts by the bloggers on this website, and on
the Fatshionista community on Livejournal - posts made by extremely
different people often at extremely different points on the acceptance
spectrum - reveals that there is a great deal we don't agree about at
all. I am not the authority. None of us are. We are the sum total of
all of our work, our feelings, our opinions and our experiences. What
we share is our willingness to criticize and subvert a culture that all
too often tells us our bodies are disgusting, diseased, and/or
laughable. Our health, our habits are ultimately not up for
discussion. As human beings, we all deserve basic respect and
dignity. And really outstanding high-quality clothing at a reasonable
price.
That's what I would have said, if I'd had the time to
assemble a response beforehand. But possibly my honesty and
off-the-cuff remarks are valuable too. Either way I'll have to wait
and see.
Edit: And here it is - "Bloggers Preach 'Fat Acceptance'"
Tags: metafatshionista the media the movement Readers have left 4 comments. No.1 Untitled
Oh boy, the comments that follow the piece are just as illiterate and depressing as they usually are. I believe I won about 75 games of Fat Bingo just reading the first couple of pages. Eventually I had to give up. Onward and upward, I guess. No.2 Untitled
I have resisted the urge to read the comments thus far! Never let it be said that fat folks aren't disciplined. No.3 Untitled
Well, just thank you for starting this community (LJ and otherwise) and for speaking from the heart! I don't know where I would have been the last year or so without the LJ Fatshionistas and bloggers like you and OnceUpon and Kate Harding, etc...Just thank you! No.4 Untitled
Thank you! But the credit for originally founding the LJ community belongs to the fabulous and brilliant Amanda Piasecki, not to me. I've just helped to pick up the reins. :) |
