I am very overweight. It is a fact that I have to live with every second of every day, and as one of this unfortunate group of individuals, it sucks. In a society that values slim, healthy bodies to a point of glorification in all forms of media, “big” people face a lot of ostracism in everyday life.
Recently, society has begun calling for an end to body shaming. Unfortunately, this creates a situation that does almost as much harm as it does good.
The effort to include big people in the public eye’s definition of beauty has spurned countless “plus-size” models and many plus-size positive Instagram posts accompanied by heartwarming, inspirational paragraphs about the daily weight-related struggles of the person.
Sure, there is something to be said about being inclusive of overweight people. It does my heart good to hear someone tell me, “Oh, you’re not fat. You’re just fluffy!”
It makes me feel a little better about my weight—which is one of of my biggest insecurities. I imagine plus-sized models like Tess Holiday feel empowered when they are able to showcase their bodies without fear of mass-bullying by everyone who sees them.
There is an issue though. While I do believe needless bullying of overweight individuals is cruel and incredibly ignorant, the idea that even addressing the fact someone is fat is “mean” does not do anyone any favors.
Dr. Sarah Burnett from The Telegraph states: “The harsh truth is these people are simply not going to reach old age. Complications associated with their obesity will get them first—after costing the rest of us a fortune along the way in treating them just because they eat too much, and noone seems prepared to tell them. To tell them that they need to stop, that it will be hard but they can—with help —do something about it.”
Being overweight comes with a wealth of problems. According to the Center for Disease Control, these anthems include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, sleep apnea, general breathing problems, mental illness, and low quality of life.
I myself can attest to this. I cannot run with my friends. Climbing around at my favorite hometown outdoor location, Red Bluff, is almost impossible. I can not even climb up my stairs in my condo without getting winded.
Playing around with being overweight can lead to a short life full of hardships, and the direction of the anti-body shaming movement only enables those who suffer from obesity another excuse not to change.
I know people who look up to the aforementioned Tess Holiday, and not just as a rolemodel for confidence, but as a role model for a career. In no situation should anyone want to be an overweight model, as being overweight is an unhealthy requirement for the career.
Again, as someone who is indeed fat (not fluffy), I feel making excuses needs to stop. We should not glorify life-threatening conditions. This is not about being nice to people or trying to let everyone know they are beautiful in their own way, even though both of those things are admirable in their own right.
This is about peoples’ lives. If you are friends with someone who happens to be overweight, glossing over the fact that they are might make them feel a bit better every once in a while, but that small ego boost means nothing compared to the benefits of encouraging that friend to drop a few pounds. Do not be harsh about it, but do not pretend the weight problem does not exist.
