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FAT GIRL FLOW

“Guys, should I write about this? Or will I be eternally bombarded with hate mail? Will I get people holding pitchforks at my door?” I asked my fellow editors yesterday. “I have a pretty strong opinion about this, but I’m not sure whether this is a view that really needs sharing with the whole world”, I continued. After some deliberation I decided to write it anyway, so here we go.

Yesterday I came across a site called FatGirlFlow and it spurred opinions within me that bubbled over from all sides. So much so that I could no longer keep them to myself. In short, this site calls for a more diverse image of plus-size models in the media. So just to point out, not a more diverse picture of models in general (a trend that has been going on for a while now), but only within the genre of plus-size models. “Why do I keep seeing the exact same bodies being celebrated in the plus-size community?”, writes initiator Corissa Enneking. “White, under 30, on the smaller side of fat, able bodied and evenly proportioned.” Enneking would like to see differently. She has been busy with this issue for over 5 years, saying that she is a part of the ‘fat community’ and that this community is ‘awesome’. “Being fat is not exclusive to one gender, sexual orientation, or race and it doesn’t discriminate based on your physical or mental capacities.”

So this is where I get a little prickly, because the body image that they want to promote is just simply unhealthy. A few months ago I wrote a piece for Amayzine about the fact that I found it very hypocritical that people are ‘allowed’ to berate the skinny model, but not the plus-size model (that piece you can read here). The article caused quite a stir and I understand that it is a very sensitive subject, but now we’re just taking it too far that whole ‘love your body’-concept.

“The article caused quite a stir and I understand that it is a very sensitive subject, but now we’re just taking it too far that whole ‘love your body’-concept.”

Yes. Women should love themselves. And no, the bodies of the average underwear model are not the standard. But obesity is a serious disease and the women who go along with Corissa are potentially very dangerously unhealthy. For now it all seems fun and games, but within a few years when all the overweight health problems start to arise, the fun is over. She even said that their fatness was an advantage because it helps people to connect with each other and the idea that ‘everyone can be fat’ is something that also goes completely over my head. She characterizes obesity as a kind of victory, as a way not to be left out. “Whatever your skin color or gender or religion, everyone can be fat! So join in!”

The piece in which Corissa explains what her movement is all about can be read here, and do take a moment to look at the pictures below of the women participating. An example of the type of comments to be found are: ‘all bodies are good bodies’ and ’thank you for your voice, it’s needed.’ I’m sorry to say it, but no, not all bodies are good bodies. How is a website that glorifies obesity any different to a site that glorifies anorexia. For years now people have been screaming bloody murder about the pro-ana sites (websites where extremely thin bodies are promoted and tips are shared on how you can be just as thin) because they are dangerous for young, impressionable girls and they promote an unhealthy body image. There are fiery debates in the French parliament to enforce laws to ensure that fashion houses don’t use models that are too thin in their campaigns and shows, and if a girl with a low BMI is booked it comes with a fine of $83,000 and a prison sentence for up to half a year. So why not for women with a high BMI?

“You can keep saying that ‘women should love their bodies, fat or thin’, but that does not explain why only fat women may actually do so.”

You can keep saying that ‘women should love their bodies, fat or thin’ but that does not explain why only fat women may actually do so. And this now also includes women with morbid obesity. This FatGirlFlow site keeps you informed on the ins and outs of how to dress presentably or goes into what sort of bikinis you should wear, but nowhere does it mention the health risks. Corissa says that fat people do not have to justify their health to anyone. “Nobody owes you healthiness. Fat people do not owe anything to anyone.” She takes it even further by stating: ‘You cannot tell a person’s health by looking at them. You just can’t. Don’t judge people’s worth by their health! Because unhealthy people exist, and are worthy of love and respect.’

Take a look here at the pictures of these women who join Corissa and please tell me again that you can not tell whether they are healthy or unhealthy. Secondly, I can’t help but think that unhealthy people who have brought this on themselves need to take responsibility for their own health. I’m a lot less right winged than I may sound at the moment, but with the increase in foreseeable health issues putting pressure on the social care system the responsibility really lies with them. Unhealthy people of course exist and they naturally need ‘love and respect’, but if there are measures that you can take to help yourself and you deliberately choose not to, well then, in my opinion, you are on the wrong path.

All in all: love yourself and love your imperfections, but let’s try to keep it healthy and realistic.

Amayzine

Being fat breaks more than you love

“Guys, should I write about this? Or will I be eternally bombarded with hate mail? Or will I get people with pitchforks at my door?” I asked the editorial team yesterday. “I actually have a very strong opinion about it, but I’m not sure if this is an opinion that should be shared with the world,” I continued. After some deliberation, I decided to write it anyway, so here we go.

Because yesterday I came across a site called FatGirlFlow, and then opinions bubbled up from all sides that I could no longer suppress. In short, this site advocates for a more diverse image of plus-size models in the media. So not a more diverse image of models in general (a trend that has been going on for much longer) but within the genre of plus-size models. “Why do I keep seeing the exact same bodies being celebrated in the plus-size community?”, writes initiator Corissa Enneking. “White, under 30, on the smaller side of fat, able-bodied and evenly proportioned.” And Enneking wants to see that differently. She has been part of a “fat community” for five years and says that this community is “awesome.” “Being fat is not exclusive to one gender, sexual orientation, or race, and it doesn’t discriminate based on your physical or mental capacities.”

Where I now get a bit prickly is that the body image they want to promote is simply very unhealthy. A few months ago I wrote about the fact that I found it very hypocritical that people are ‘allowed’ to insult someone for being skinny, but not for being extremely fat (you can read that piece here). There was a lot of fuss about that article and I understand that it is a very sensitive subject, but we are now going too far with that whole “love your body” concept.

There was a lot of fuss about that article and I understand that it is a very sensitive subject, but we are now going too far with that whole “love your body” concept.

Yes. Women should love themselves. And no, the bodies of the average underwear model are not the standard. But obesity is a serious condition and the women who join Corissa are dangerously unhealthy. For now, it all seems fun and games, but in a few years when all the physical complaints start to increase, it will be a lot less fun. That they also call being fat an advantage because it connects people and that “everyone can be fat” is something that completely goes over my head. She characterizes obesity as a kind of victory, as a way not to be excluded. “Whatever your skin color or gender or religion, everyone can be fat! So come join!”

The piece in which Corissa explains what her movement is all about you can read here, and do take a moment to look at the pictures below of the participating women. A comment on that piece is for example “all bodies are good bodies!” and “thank you for your voice, it’s needed.” I’m sorry to say it, but no, not all bodies are good bodies. How is a site that glorifies obesity any different from a site that glorifies anorexia? For years now, people have been screaming bloody murder about the pro-ana sites (sites where extremely thin bodies are promoted and tips are shared on how you can also become that thin) because they are life-threatening for young, impressionable girls and they promote an unhealthy body image. There are heated debates in the French parliament to create laws to ensure that fashion houses do not showcase models that are too thin in their campaigns and shows, and when they book a girl with a low BMI, there are fines of $83,000 and prison sentences of up to half a year hanging over their heads. So why not for women with a high BMI?

You can keep saying that “women should love their bodies, fat or thin,” but that does not explain why only fat women may actually do so.

You can keep saying that “women should love their bodies, fat or thin,” but that does not explain why only fat women may actually do so. And now this also includes women with morbid obesity. This FatGirlFlow site talks in detail about ways to dress nicely with such a body, or what kind of bikinis you can wear, but nowhere does it mention the health risks. Corissa says that fat people do not have to justify their health to anyone: “Nobody owes you healthiness. Fat people do not owe anything to anyone.” And, further on: “You cannot tell a person’s health by looking at them. You just can’t. Don’t judge people’s worth by their health! Because unhealthy people exist, and are worthy of love and respect.”

Take a look at the pictures of these women who join Corissa and tell me again that you cannot tell whether they are healthy or unhealthy. Secondly, yes, unhealthy people who have brought this upon themselves do have a responsibility to take care of their health. I am a lot less right-wing than I may sound right now, but with the upcoming health problems, they are putting pressure on the social care system and that responsibility really lies with them. Unhealthy people do exist, and they naturally need “love and respect,” but if there are measures you can take to help yourself and you deliberately choose not to, then, in my opinion, you are on the wrong path.

All in all: love yourself and love your imperfections, but let’s keep it healthy and livable.