Sarah Gone Wild

Posts Tagged ‘fuck that’

I interrupt my regularly scheduled blogging with a message from the Emergency Bitching System. This is only a test. In the event of an actual emergency, I wouldn’t be posting because my head would have already exploded.

What brought on this emergency rant? A couple of Perez postings, which I will be quoting in the following bitchfest. A summary of the first for the click-shy: The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) released a statement that Precious star Gabourey Sidibe doesn’t need to lose weight because SHE IS HEALTHY AS SHE IS NOW.

First of all, WTF? The NAAFA, REALLY? The NAAFA is a real entity? Why? We do NOT need to encourage people to be fat. I understand wanting to lessen the discrimination against heavy people (I know how it feels all to well to be judged based on appearance alone), but it’s not necessary to advance FAT acceptance. Advance the acceptance of diversity, of nontraditional beauty…it’s the word fat that just doesn’t fly.

Second, how the fuck do these people with NAAFA know she’s healthy? They don’t, and from what I read, they don’t even claim to. Here’s the quote from the organization’s rep:

You cannot tell by looking at a person if they [sic] are healthy. Fat does not equal disease and thin does not equal healthy…Achievements come in all sizes.

Without the full quote, it seems like the fools at Perez are stretching a bit as the quote doesn’t say directly that GS is healthy. So that inaccuracy makes me mad (thus the all caps above). By the same token, I expect nothing more from a crap site like that (to which I am sadly addicted).

And beyond that, I do agree with every sentence of that statement. However, the thing that makes me mad is the continued focus on the idea of fat. There’s fat fat and skinny fat, neither of which are healthy. Being what is considered overweight can absolutely be healthy if the person eats decently and works out regularly. However, being at Gabourey’s size just absolutely CANNOT be healthy. She is a beautiful girl and should absolutely embrace having a full figure – once her weight puts her out of risk for heart disease, diabetes, stroke, etc.

Now the second post. Summary – there’s a video link to a news story on a woman who is BEING PAID to get fat. The kicker? She’s already 550 pounds and wants to DOUBLE that weight. She is on some sort of fat woman porn site, and her “fans” are sending her food and paying her to heft up even more. She has a 3 year old that she can barely keep up with already (and that kid is going to be harassed to no end when she enters the public school system), and she says she “doesn’t buy into” all the research and facts about the diseases associated with obesity. Really? You don’t believe in the scientific studies, and statistics on how many people die each year just from being FAT? Let me know how your daughter feels about that after you leave her with no mother.

I think the whole obesity trend has gotten out of hand. Not just the number of obese people – that’s been ridiculous for a long time. No, the trend of embracing being unhealthily overweight. Granted, to each his or her own. It’s definitely your own prerogative if you want to be heavy and at risk of death. And I understand the struggle to find the motivation to start losing the weight once things have gotten out of hand. Hello, I weighed over 200 pounds for months and have struggled with weight my whole life. I get it.

But never once did I think it was healthy to eat junk food and sit on my ass. I finally came to the realization that it wasn’t fair to me or my loved ones to unnecessarily put my life at risk. I deserved a chance at having a happy, healthy life. By the same notion, however, I also believe in ENJOYING that life. So if I want pizza, I have pizza. If I want a greasy burger, I have a greasy burger. If I need a week off from working out, I take it. There’s balance in everything, and simply saying, “I’m fat and that’s okay with me, so everyone else should agree” is just bullshit.

I’ll always have big thighs and broad shoulders. My knees will always be ugly. I’ll never be at 8% body fat. But I will make a conscious effort to live as healthy a life as I can. And THAT’S what we should be promoting. The acceptance of a new standard of beauty, not a fat one. Too thin is unhealthy, so that shouldn’t be our standard. Too heavy is unhealthy, so THAT shouldn’t be the standard. Look at Beyonce. She’s in great shape and doesn’t try to be stick thin. Her curves are just that – CURVES. Not unhealthy fat, but natural, beautiful, womanly curves. In my opinion, she could set the new standard of beauty.

I honestly think that my own journey and continued struggle with my weight is what fuels this anger. I am working so damn hard to be healthy, while others prefer not to do the work. And then they call those like me who think they are lazy discriminatory. Nope, been there, done that. I was fat, and when I was, I was lazy. Depressed, yes. But I got help for that. Dealing with a lot, yes. But wake up – that’s called life.

This completes the test of the Emergency Bitching System. I now return my regularly scheduled blogging.