Anyway, my reason for commenting was that this post is a really good way to introduce someone to fat activisim and a new way of thinking. My coworker just this morning announced that she had gone to an orthopaedic surgeon for follow up on surgery she had a few years ago, she commented that some of her pain had returned. He told her it was because she had gotten fat and if she lost 30 lb she would be fine. This woman is new to our department and not used to me and my…assertiveness, so I tried to treat the subject gingerly. After spending time on this site I felt I had the tools necessary to help her change some of her thinking. This is what I said:

“Please don’t take this the wrong way, I am a person who likes to help and share information. but your doctor telling you to lose 30 lb in order for him to help you is inappropriate. this website http://fathealth.wordpress.com/about/ has information on discrimination by health professionals against people who are overweight, and even those of normal weight that a doctor ‘decides’ still needs to lose a few pounds. I am not calling you fat per se, but there is an activist movement toward acceptance of people of all shapes and sizes that fights many kinds of discrimination, including medical. this link sort of sums up the argument in the least confrontational way, I think http://kateharding.net/2007/04/02/the-dog-theory-of-fatness/. but you need to find a doctor that will treat you as you are, and not this idealized version of who he would like you to be. it’s not fair or appropriate”

I felt so good, even if she thinks I’m a nut who needs to mind her own business. Thank you for your site, and especially this post which can really be a gateway to new understanding.

So now I’m consciously working on seeing people in the same way. Well, not the taking-them-home way.

A healthy dog gets exercise and eats well. An unhealthy dog doesn’t (either not enough food, too much food or too little exercise, I’m sure there’s a such thing as too much exercise, like I once knew dogs who would chase sticks until they fell over and that wasn’t good, but usually not the case) same with people.

Know what the best part is? People have a fat dog and instead of exercising him more and feeding him less they just put him on diet dog food. Your dog is on Jenny Craig! Ack.

And, reading that it might sound judgmental…but it’s not meant to be. My point is, people have really unhealthy relationships with food and it’s contaminating their pets. That’s pretty sad.

I really like your idea that people could vary just like dog breeds do, yet still be perfectly acceptable and lovable and worthwhile. That’s a wonderful perspective! Thanks for a great post.

(PS: Loved the two photos with caption. Hilarious!)

Similarly, I keep finding myself with thin-to-skinny cats…I offer free/endless feeding and they spend about half their time outside, just like pretty much everyone else I know with cats, but mine are always skinny while theirs are always fat. (My cats tend to be on the shorter statured/smaller frame size, too, and since I pick ‘em out at kittendom where it’s all the same I have no idea how this keeps happening.)

Right now, I even have neighbors feeding my cat because they think I neglect her.

If my cat were a person, she would be Doing Something Right even though she naps way too much to actually be active. :)

“Likewise, there’s no hand-wringing over a skinny Whippet, no speculating about how much he eats, whether he’s healthy, whether he’s logging into Pro-Ana communities when his parents aren’t around.”

Howling.

“How does that kid, when she becomes an adult, even begin to conceptualize being in her body and happy with it?”

You become a ninja radical, since, apparently, appreciating your body for what it can do rather than what it looks like is one of the most radical things a woman can do in this society. But you don’t discuss it much outside of like-minded company, because too many people want to argue the point with you, and if you have a life, there are waaaaaaaay better things you could be doing with every nanosecond of your time they are all too willing to waste.

Next question?

(Thank you.)

when kids have a support system — especially parents — who identify with, understand, and can help them cope with their afflictions (or whatever you want to call it), the world is less cruel.

you are wise, compassionate, generous, loving. your kids will be happy, any way they are.