05-04-2023, 10:02 PM
(05-04-2023, 09:51 PM)Nately120 Wrote: This made me think about weight and bodies in a general sense. Being in shape now is desirable because most people aren't, but back in the old days when being overweight was a sign of wealth people would buy false bums and bellies to look less like the emaciated peasants they were. I think gout was even seen as a disease of the wonderfully opulent.
And as far as being fat being acceptable goes, there is apparently a big ol' over the top and toxic and controversial "fat acceptance" thing going on in the pop culture world now. Of course, they're way behind black women who seemed to just get together and agree decades ago that being thin was a pain in the ass, so they should all just agree being fat as hell was sexy and they stuck with it.
We could all learn a thing about working together from those sassy ones.
I believe being overweight is often not as much of a choice as people assume. People's bodies are all different. I used to say that fat people were they last group in the US that you could make fun of and get away with it. The stigma is significant and very much visual. Still, it's an assumption to presume that all overweight people are fat because they are lazy or because they overeat. Some conditions outside of mere lifestyle choice have a major impact. Maybe we should be more conscious of that.
That said, being overweight is also very likely to cause major health consequences and potentially even death. I really don't think it's something we should make a point to encourage. Smoking is frowned upon because it's a choice that we all know kills. People still do it, but we don't defend them as a protected class.
Maybe we should all just mind our own business.
