Fat Pagan Pride

[pt_tangles]

I know I shouldn't have, but I have been reading the blow-up about the 'Pagan Obesity Problem' and the equally hyperbolic responses that claim that any mention of obesity causing health problems is body shaming and that obesity isn't really a health problem, it's a discrimination problem and if everyone would 'mind your business', then everything would be magical and puppies would shoot out of rainbow unicorn asses.

Uh, yeah.  Calling absolute bullshit on that one.  You are never going to convince me (no matter how many interwebz links you find) that being morbidly obese is healthy.  Your skeleton was not meant to carry 400+ lbs for 70+ years.  There have been multiple studies that show that things like cholesterol aren't weight related, they are gene and diet related.  That's old news.  But that isn't the only measure that decides if a person is healthy.

Also, if I read one more Fat Pride article that says, "I tried starving myself on an 800 calorie a day diet and exercise around the clock, and I didn't lose any weight', I think I will scream.  How can you live in such a tiny bubble that you don't know that starvation diets cause you to gain weight rather than lose it.  Your body is programmed to store fat to save your life in the case that food sources become scarce.  The minimum daily caloric intake for women is about 1200 calories a day (I know this because my journalling app kept yelling at me when I was too sick to eat much of anything for about a week - also, I looked it up).

And you know what?  Assuming that everyone who thinks that obesity is unhealthy is trying to shame you is not Fat Pride.  It's not any kind of pride.  It's a defence mechanism built upon years of hurt feelings.  Spitting venom at the 'norms' or whatever you want to call the 'others who aren't your kind of other', is not the way to deal with hurts.  It's not activism.  It's not pride.  

I'd say that it's about time that both extremes of this issue 'get over themselves'.

Comments

[elf]

I have hit a point of both "I am not happy with my shape, because the clothes I like don't fit and clothes that fit aren't available in the styles I like" and "I am not happy with my size, because I get tired too easily and my feet hurt all the time."

I am not worried about cholesterol, blood pressure, sugar/insulin balance, or vitamin deficiencies, although I assume all of those could be improved. I don't have health problems per se related to my weight... but I do have quality-of-life problems.

And dammit, it's *hard* to find a lose-weight-and-size plan that doesn't have a goal of "become a Size 4 Athlete in six months!!!" or isn't related to specific health issues. There isn't a plan for "I want to fit into my renfaire costume comfortably." There's a whole lot of "if you're not planning on becoming a toothpick, you're a failure as a woman" and, on the other side, "how DARE you not CELEBRATE YOUR BEAUTY as you are now!!! No self-shaming!"

Um. I am not ashamed of my size & shape; I'm just not happy with them. I know how I got this way--I got a desk job, and I stopped going dancing once a week and didn't replace it with anything else. I can't just reverse that; my schedule doesn't allow it anymore. Which is not the same as "this is my natural shape." This is not my natural shape; this is my lazy-and-reclusive shape. The fact that there are other people of my height and weight who are comfortable with that, doesn't make my situation less unhealthy.

[serpentrose]

It's hard not to be prickly when you frequently deal with people treating you like crap because you don't fit their narrow view of what you ought to be. With weight it's made worse because most people don't have a reasonable idea of what being in good shape really means. Sometimes doctors will refuse to accept that a large person's health problems might not be related to her weight.

There needs to be, in my reasoned opinion, less focus on weight (which is more about appearance than health most of the time) and more focus on being healthier overall.

I've lost a significant amount of weight simply by making a point of eating healthier and getting off my ass more.

[pj]

While I agree with all of your points I do agree with Star Foster that the "debate" is bogus when it comes to "what should we do about fat Pagans?" It really is none of the community's business if someone is fat.