Fat Phobia

The news media loves to take video clips of the obese walking around on the streets just to boost the image that we are a nation of fatties…that we are eating ourselves to an early grave…and that if we don’t do X, Y or Z, we will all die from obesity related causes. And we are all eating up that nonsense, pun intended. But what is really going on here? Why all the press about people’s weight issues? Shouldn’t these weight issues, if they are really issues, be left to the discretion of the person who is dealing with this? But there is another issue that just really bugs me, and that is the reactions of the “skinny” people towards these so-called “fatties” as the skinny like to say. I call it Fat Phobia, and it is a disease that is permeating the very heart of our society. It also is what is fueling those video clips the media loves to show–over, and over, and over again.

Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines

So I got the idea for this article after reading the story about the fiasco between Southwest airlines and Kevin Smith. (He played Silent Bob on the Clerks movies and other Jay and Silent Bob movies…) What happened was that Kevin had bought two tickets, because that is the rule for people of “girth” to do. They say it’s for safety purposes that they make people do this. (My opinion on this is below…) But when he got to the airport, he had requested to be put on standby so he could get an earlier flight. The airline accommodated him, and put him on an earlier flight–but with only one seat. When he boarded the plane, and went to go sit down, the pilot told him that he couldn’t be on the flight because of the size restriction and he was only in one seat. A big chaotic scene was played out, and they “escorted” Kevin off the plane.

What happened next could be considered a salt rub into an open wound. The airline offered to pay him a $100 voucher for the mess, but only after Kevin put this entire incident on Twitter and other such social sites. In my opinion, he is not that big that the airline would have to be this rude to him:

Of course, airlines just don’t have to be rude period…maybe that’s why they are really losing business. 🙂

Fallout Reactions

There are many reactions to this story, not the least of which includes a lot of fat phobia comments. Many people praised Southwest for making him get off the plane so that others wouldn’t have to be squeezed up next to him. Others criticized Southwest for being so rude and messing up in the first place. A lot of people just related their own stories about having to sit next to someone whose “fat rolls are in their space”, etc. Very harsh. So many others were just grossed out about fat people in general. Stereotypes such as smell came up a lot…I’ve been around fat and thin people, and one does not smell worse than the other. Also, that fat people are lazy…this is so not true! My grandmother was overweight for as long as I can remember her. She was always doing something when we came to see her–whether it was laundry, cooking, cleaning, or anything else. She was definitely NOT lazy!

Airlines and Money

It seems that the airlines are very greedy…it used to be that the rule for overweight people to buy an extra seat ticket was non-existent. If an overweight person bought a ticket, they would just have to squeeze into a seat just like everyone else. If there were the safety issues, why haven’t the planes been modified to accommodate larger people? There was a comment that the seats are the same size as they always have been…it’s just that people have been getting bigger. Well, my question then becomes: Why can’t they make the seats larger and have only two seats per side, making it four seats per row? Is it really that they are concerned about safety, or is it because they can exploit large people and get twice the amount of money per person?? There are ways to balance out the plane to conserve fuel, as well as make it safe for all people. Why single out the fat person?

Fat Phobia in Full Swing

While I understand that weight gain is largely because of what a person eats, and that their diet may not be the right one for their body, a large section of the population is also gaining weight because of medications or other issues like that. Is being fat really a condition of eating too much and not exercising enough? I hardly think so, and it is ridiculous that so many people are “afraid” almost of being around fat people. Heaven forbid that these people ever get fat themselves…they may end up being afraid of themselves!! 🙂 Being big is not always a case of eating too much and exercising too little. Yet, a lot of people are criticized and judged harshly because of being large.

Fat phobia is rampant in every media source today. “You must lose weight to be popular!” “Being fat makes you socially unacceptable.” “You are going to die if you don’t lose weight.” And every other thing you have ever heard about being overweight…of course I get that being overweight can help bring on other diseases that you may have been prone to getting anyway. But generally, it seems that if a person is overweight, this should be the first clue that they are not experiencing whole/balanced health. And it is one of the most simple things to put back into balance. But no one really focuses on that, and instead tries treating the symptoms of being unbalanced. I am not saying that someone who is thin has balanced health…or that a larger person has unbalanced health. If you feel that you are at the correct weight for you, then that is your business and no one else’s.

Forget the Media

There is nothing worse than succumbing to all the messages the media portrays about being fat. It can make you feel inadequate, unlovable and unworthy. I’ve been there…of course it didn’t help being in an unhealthy relationship for so many years, but that is another post for another day. The media loves zeroing in on diets and obesity, because they get sponsorship from the diet industry. It makes the media companies money…after all, the diet industry is a multi-billion dollar company. They love to make people feel worse about themselves so they can make money off of your insecurities. Don’t give into them! If you want to lose weight, do it sensibly and what feels right to your body and mind. Forget the media!!