Weight and Health
I agree with what Emme says about fatness being the “last acceptable prejudice.� They make a good point when they talk about how if the movie was about race, it would entirely different and people would be outraged. However, comparing race and body size is not entirely relevant because these have two very different histories and effects. For some reason, people think that physical attributes are okay to make fun of. People have a notion that if a person is obese than they are unhealthy, unattractive, and that its their fault because they eat too much. However, recent studies have shown that being overweight cannot always be attributed to how much a person eats, and a lot of it is genetic. Who cares anyways?! Just as people have deconstructed notions of race, gender, class and sex, people should deconstruct notions of body size. I think the fat-positivity movement is doing this, but it
needs to be more mainstreamed. Women need to resist notions of the ideal body, but it is extremely difficult. Our society is made for a certain type of person to succeed, and there is much discrimination towards overweight people, especially women. I think that rather than pitting marginalities against each other, we must deconstruct how certain notions have come to be and who is benefiting from these people being oppressed. I think the discussion of fatness is different than discussions of race, gender or class, because when a woman who is known for being overweight speaks she is not given the credibility she deserves. People would rather listen to a doctor or a health expert. I think that people really need to learn how weight is not necessarily related to health, and that there are many factors that contribute to body size.