Seriously, fandom?
Jun. 18th, 2009 03:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nilchanceChub!Jensen controversy and now a big-bang set in an obesity research center?
Trigger. Biiiiig trigger.
I am sore tired of catching this merry fat-hating bullshit every time I turn on the TV ("now on Dr. G, Medical Examiner: OBESITY CRISIS OBESITY FATTY FATTY FAT FAT DEAAAAATH!"), but fandom too, for serious?
Argh.
ETA: Also, okay. I understand that the underlying message is that Jensen has to come to love himself. HOWEVER. It comes with the understanding that Jensen is expressing his love for himself by losing the weight "for Jared", to go find Jared and love and enlightenment and that.
Here's the thing. Very rarely do fat people actually get that way by cramming fast food and abusing their bodies. They get there through genetics, or thyroid issues, or antidepressants (hi there!), or a history of yo-yo dieting that resets their resting point of ideal weight. A history of eating disorders. So forcing one's body into a thinner shape by exercising to exhaustion (thus making exercise an unpleasant chore that one HAS to do to BEAT OBESITY), or limiting calories to deprivation, is a shock to one's system. It's not necessarily self-love, though it may be motivated by the desire to be lovable or to live longer (because of fear of obesity killing them) or because they can't be happy until they're thin.
Self-love is unrelated to a number on a scale. It's recognizing one's worth, unconnected to one's weight. The beauty of your body as it is, flaws and all, not as it could be. Pursuing health is an awesome thing, and a great way to love yourself, but pursuing thinness is not the same thing.
Trigger. Biiiiig trigger.
I am sore tired of catching this merry fat-hating bullshit every time I turn on the TV ("now on Dr. G, Medical Examiner: OBESITY CRISIS OBESITY FATTY FATTY FAT FAT DEAAAAATH!"), but fandom too, for serious?
Argh.
ETA: Also, okay. I understand that the underlying message is that Jensen has to come to love himself. HOWEVER. It comes with the understanding that Jensen is expressing his love for himself by losing the weight "for Jared", to go find Jared and love and enlightenment and that.
Here's the thing. Very rarely do fat people actually get that way by cramming fast food and abusing their bodies. They get there through genetics, or thyroid issues, or antidepressants (hi there!), or a history of yo-yo dieting that resets their resting point of ideal weight. A history of eating disorders. So forcing one's body into a thinner shape by exercising to exhaustion (thus making exercise an unpleasant chore that one HAS to do to BEAT OBESITY), or limiting calories to deprivation, is a shock to one's system. It's not necessarily self-love, though it may be motivated by the desire to be lovable or to live longer (because of fear of obesity killing them) or because they can't be happy until they're thin.
Self-love is unrelated to a number on a scale. It's recognizing one's worth, unconnected to one's weight. The beauty of your body as it is, flaws and all, not as it could be. Pursuing health is an awesome thing, and a great way to love yourself, but pursuing thinness is not the same thing.
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no subject
Date: 2009-06-18 09:34 pm (UTC)It's attitudes and perceptions like that that make me not take anti-fat rhetoric seriously. I'm not fat because I hate myself I'm fat because I'm fat and while societal impressions can be a factor in how I feel about myself on any given day I know that I won't love myself more if I lose weight. That's just facts.
Strangely enough, most of the overweight people I know are extremely healthy. They eat well, they don't have excessive amounts of cholesterol or other worrisome factors and when they do have health problems they're generally unrelated to their weight.
There's so much bad information that's just generally accepted as wisdom in the healthcare community, about this topic in particular, and, of course, if a doctor says it it has to be true. Whatever, people. Just, whatever.
I didn't read the story because, well, I don't read every Big Bang and it didn't sound like something I'd enjoy. And now I'm really glad I didn't. Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-18 11:10 pm (UTC)THIS.
You completely summed up what I have been trying to figure out how to say since I saw that story pop up on my flist.
Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-23 04:57 pm (UTC)