I saw this post by @ fatphobiabusters but they blocked me so I can't reblog it. Anyway, if you want to talk about eating cake...
Are 30% of Americans overweight and another 40% obese (including the president), or are you an oppressed minority? Can't have it both ways.
Actually, let's talk about that.
Topics brought up in the post include fashion brands making plus sizes, med students practicing on fat cadavers, chairs being big enough, and medical equipment being big enough.
The thing about all of those is that the people who are so obese that these topics become relevant are a smaller portion of the population. 70% of the population is overweight or obese, but only 9% have severe or "morbid" obesity. Those are going to be the people who deal with these problems and I assume are the people fatphobiabusters is talking about. In that way, sure, those obese people are so rare that accommodating them requires a lot of research and funding. Clothing brands, especially small businesses, can't all carry up to a 5XL and beyond because there aren't enough people buying >2XL to make it financially worth it. You don't see many 2XS options either. Standard chairs in public spaces are designed to be comfortable for most people while maximizing the use of space. I would not be comfortable in a booth that a 600lb person would be comfortable in, and that restaurant would lose half its table space. Medical equipment is similar, but making a brand new MRI machine is a $millions+ endeavor that not every hospital can take on. Regular overweight and obese people don't often have such issues.
So, we can say the morbidly obese population is small, but the total overweight and obese population is the vast majority. The reason it can be both is that those statements are about different groups of people. 9% morbidly obese can be something industries struggle to keep up with as the population gets fatter so quickly, AND 70% overweight or obese can indicate a public health concern. What makes it an epidemic is the increase in BMI across the population in recent decades, which has come hand-in-hand with obesity-linked illness, and how people who are overweight tend to become obese with time. No matter what you think causes obesity, the correlation of obesity with various disease states and social factors means that these things go together. An increase in obesity in a population comes with an increase in heart disease, diabetes, cancer, joint disease, and others, which should be concerning. Chicken or egg - separate issue. Fat activists like to point out that it is hard to say "obesity is increasingly common" when the cutoff for an obese or overweight BMI was lowered in the early 2000s, but it doesn't have to be about the cutoff. We could just say "the average BMI is increasing" without labeling it or using cutoffs, and the statement would be the same as far as relationship with disease. Or "obesity-associated health concerns are increasing" works too. Pick your poison, it's the same picture.
Is it activism to talk about the health risks of being underweight, or is it fascism to talk about the health risks of being overweight?
Is it impossible to find clothes in your size, or are you wearing clothing right now?
Is the market there, or do clothing brands that attempt inclusive sizing scale back their larger sizes because people don't buy them?
Is the rich, fat influencer right to harass retail staff and rip clothes in the changing room for views or could she use her wealth and platform to make her own plus-sized clothing brand?
Are the ex-fats so super annoying, or do ex-fats not exist because weight loss is impossible?
Is it dangerous to starve yourself into being underweight, or is weight loss impossible?
Do dangerous surgeries and medications that limit how much you can or want to eat cause weight loss, or does diet have no bearing on weight loss (which is impossible)?
Is all food equally valuable fuel for you body, or are you fat because you can't afford healthier options or weren't taught nutrition?
Are you fat because you can't afford healthier options, or can you afford to eat 4,000+ calories/day and get take-out multiple times a week?
Are you fat because you're depressed and have BED, or is being fat a joyous experience?
Are you fat because of genetics only, or do socioeconomic status and mental health make a difference?
Is it a problem that the US weight loss industry is valued at $90 million, or is it fine that the fast food industry is valued in the area of $400 million?
Is being fat an act of resistance against fascism, or do you buy from fast food companies that fund atrocities worldwide and donated to the Trump campaigns?
Is being fat an act of resistance against fascism, or are you sad the sweatshop slop only goes up to an XL?
Do fascists want a fit population that can run and fight back, or do they want a poor, depressed, malnourished population trapped in a vicious cycle?
Is fat acceptance unrelated to fat fetishes and founded by fat, Black, disabled, queer women, or was it founded by a straight, normal-sized, white man with fat fetish?
Did the fan artist not draw that "fat" character fat enough, or is that character "not really fat, just average"? Is the average American fat?
You can't have it both ways either, but enjoy your cake. Don't let Vergie hear you asking for a smaller slice!
