Seriously, fandom?

[nilchance]

Chub!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.

Comments

[siubhlach.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely right. And I, for one, would quite happily see the entire dieting industy crash and burn in a fiery ball of cartoon death. I hate the way they peddle what are often at best dubious quick-fix remedies that are likely to do more harm than good to desperate people. I tend to equate them to somewhere around the same level as drug pushers in my head.

Very much so. I like to find ways to make my life fulfilling and interesting; I find that makes me feel so much better about myself than being 2lb lighter on weighing day does (and I've tried it).

Happened to you too, huh? I ended up going home and talking to my mother, who's a qualified nurse, about it. Her response is actually not repeatable in polite company (and my mother is a classy lady; she never swears!). My current favourite BMI factlet is that the entire England rugby team - professional sportsmen, no less - would register as morbidly obese on the BMI. Moronic really is the best word for it.

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

The thing that always baffled me was the fact that I had visible muscle in my arms and legs - like, some adult men would be jealous of the muscle definition that I had - and you just don't get that degree of definition if you're at a super-high body fat percentage, which I would've had to be to need to lose 60 lb, right?

Like, does common sense not kick in and some point and say 'wait, this makes no sense?'

[siubhlach.livejournal.com]

Didn't you know? It isn't why you weigh, it's what you weigh that is important *eyeroll*

Common sense? I always liked the line from Men In Black for that: "A person is intelligent; people are stupid, panicky animals and you know it"