Erstellt am: 11. 11. 2010 - 13:09 Uhr
Today's Webtip: Fat Activism
As someone who has had various types of weight issues throughout my life, I've always had a bit of trouble with the whole "accept yourself" thing.
No trouble with the basic idea, just trouble actually implementing it. The fact of the matter is that I am overweight and not happy about it. I have been fat, skinny, and everything in between, and my personal experience has made it hard find a way to come to terms with the fat. Skinny people really DO have it better, and it's hard to let up on the internal pressure which can lead to a teufelskreis of fail.
It's a situation any social outcast can recognize.
I know that my life as a teenager was much better once I stopped trying to fit in to someone elses idea of cool. Rejecting the mainstream and declaring "cool" to be whatever I liked made it easier to develop a healthier self-esteem. That made my life better. The teasing and physical assaults became less frequent, and my "bad attitude" served as a foundation for positive changes that made school a lot more fun.
So I can understand, respect and admire fat activists.
But it's still hard to wrap my head around it. I can't help thinking of the whole thing as another way of "faking it til you make it". Easing the internal pressure and negative attitudes that can set you up for failure and make life hell, in order to find a healthier mental space that (and here it comes) would make it easier to actually lose weight (here comes some more) and improve your health.
I guess that conditioning sits pretty deep.
rebel bellies
I still enjoy reading attitude though, and two blogs that bristle with it are blog.twowholecakes.com and obesitytimebomb.blogspot.com Fat activism, gender, politics, class issues and much much more.
Just seeing Chubster tags and posters for Rebel Bellies (that's soooo tempting) makes my inner skinny boy chuckle (something that IS more fun when fat. You need a belly for a belly laugh).
As an added bonus, they helped me stumble over Gaga Stigmata .THE site for peeps who like their Pop overintellectualized.