FAT PRIDE

[Kathy Barron]

I just want to say briefly what FAT PRIDE means to me. Someone asked recently why would anyone be proud of being fat? Well, true. There is no reason to be proud of being any size (fat, thin, average, tall, short, etc.). But, lots of people are clearly proud of being thin. And lots of people seem to think that fat people should be ashamed of being fat. FAT PRIDE is simply saying, for me, that I refuse to be ashamed of my body or to accept shame as a fat person. I do NOT acknowledge any size as being better than another. ALL people have equal value. FAT PRIDE is declaring my world to be a weight-neutral zone, a safe space for all sizes of people. That's what FAT PRIDE means to me. I'd love to hear what FAT PRIDE means to you!

[Kathy Barron]

Thanks, Plant Walks. I think you make a really good point about pride at the expense of others versus pride that is simply refusal to be ashamed and/or simple joy in being yourself (a non-comparative, non-aggressive, or as you put it, egalitarian pride). :))

Plant Walks said:

Thinking about what you wrote, about how lots of people are proud of being thin, it seems to me that their pride comes from
- feeling superior or more beautiful precisely because they are not fat
- feeling attractive because society embraces their bodies as beautiful, with or without their being entirely conscious that that approval rests on their being slim.

I remember feeling attractive when I was young and slim. Part of it was definitely that I felt attractive because I was slim, and had a body others wished they could have, themselves, or wished they could "possess" as their lover/partner because of my slim, socially approved of body. Something I haven't really thought about since.

I would not want that kind of pride again if I were to ever somehow (magically) become thin again, because now I see that it was pride at the expense of feeling better than others, and being valued more than others for my size and shape, which I would not want or feel good about now, knowing the rejection, disapproval, and heartache that comes with being plus-sized in a fat-phobic society.

It's telling that your own pride is about simply *not* wanting to be ashamed as a fat person, rather than feeling superior to anyone. That's a very different and egalitarian type of pride compared to the thin pride I once had.

Good post. Thank you, Kathy.

[Barbara]

Rock On, Kathy. Oh for a world where petit people don't get trampled, and fat people are accepted. Bias due to Race, Age, Socioeconomic status and sexual orientation are all in the category of PRIDE. To me, it means not being ashamed. I am not there, yet. But I do BELIEVE!

[Kathy Barron]

Yay! :)) I think it all starts with willingness and belief ....

Barbara said:

Rock On, Kathy. Oh for a world where petit people don't get trampled, and fat people are accepted. Bias due to Race, Age, Socioeconomic status and sexual orientation are all in the category of PRIDE. To me, it means not being ashamed. I am not there, yet. But I do BELIEVE!