Circus Fat Men 100 Years Ago page 8

[magnolia1973]

I just think that part of their goal is going to consistently fail, as you can't reason someone into thinking something is attractive or not.

I don't think their goal is to make people find fat to be hot. Hell, I don't find fat guys attractive. But I don't go moo when they walk by. It's about being respectful. I mean, we don't make movies about guys that fall in love with the ugly anorexic chick that he thinks looks like Heidi Klum. We don't joke about what heroin junkies look like, nor do we make fun of meth addicts.

[JoanieL]

For some reason, there is a certain kind of person that needs to put others down for something they do better than that/those person/people. I was one of those little smarty pants in school, and I remember my mother teaching me not to brag about my grades because the kids that didn't do as well might feel bad. Perhaps what's really missing is good old parenting lessons about civility. If I would have made fun of a fat or ugly person when I was a kid, I'd have been punished.

If you're whole within yourself, you don't need to put others down for their weaknesses.

As to the whole medical thing, as soon as my premiums don't include breeders, their kids, and young men who drive their vehicles too fast and often too drunk, you can keep your premiums from covering me because I'm old and have at times in my life been fat.

[PrimalClay]

I would take a girl from the Dove Ad any day over a VS girl.

In the words of one my older coworkers when I was 16 years old (and I still remember 15 years later) : "Man what you messing with those skinny girls fo? you might as well go grab and F* a broom"

:-)

[AmyMac703]

We don't joke about what heroin junkies look like, nor do we make fun of meth addicts.

I don't know that "make fun of" is the right word, but I think they sure as hell get stared/gawked at. My aunt who smokes was visiting us one time and while we were walking around downtown (she was having a cigarette while walking), some random kid on the street told her that smoking was bad for her. So it's not like fat people are the only ones who get judged by society.

However, the fat acceptance movement seems to be more about embracing actual obesity than simply just body types outside the mainstream ... They need to realize too that obesity (actual obesity, not just being curvy or pleasantly plump) is simply just not attractive to the vast majority of people, and no amount of acceptance movements and enlightenment and awareness raising is going to change that.

Exactly. There's a difference between acknowledging that not everyone is wired to be a size 0 and saying that being size 16 is totally fine and normal and healthy.
I don't find fat people attractive. At all. So I don't date/have sex with them. It's the individual's right to be unhealthy and not conscious of what they put into their body if they want to. But it's also my right not to associate with them if I don't want to.

[PrimalClay]

In life I have found the best you can do is lead by example and realize some people just really don’t care about what you might be passionate about.

I think a lot of the fat acceptance you see lately stems from the fact that the average weight in the U.S. continues to rise.

Humans single out someone who is different from them, I would be curious to see if in 50 years (assuming the same trend holds) that you will see groups of what was once chubby kids (who now are the social norm) making fun and teasing the "thin" kids.

Just a thought.

[driver8]

Yum.... self-righteousness is a tasty dish. But is it primal?

[Uncephalized]

In my personal world, the Dove ladies are more sexually attractive than the VS ladies, but the ideal would generally be somewhat intermediate between the two--a little leaner/smaller than the Dove ladies but not starved-looking either. Pretty much like my wife. Lucky me.

That said, I would totally do several of the Dove ladies (not all of them are my type/preference), were I single and they were offering, with gusto and relish. Not so much for the VS girls.

[AmyMac703]

In life I have found the best you can do is lead by example and realize some people just really don’t care about what you might be passionate about.

I think a lot of the fat acceptance you see lately stems from the fact that the average weight in the U.S. continues to rise.

Humans single out someone who is different from them, I would be curious to see if in 50 years (assuming the same trend holds) that you will see groups of what was once chubby kids (who now are the social norm) making fun and teasing the "thin" kids.

Just a thought.

My roommate last year was a morbidly obese vegan (and a crazy psycho-bitch, but that's another story), and most of her friends were overweight to some degree. People tend to socialize with people similar to themselves -- that's human nature and not the point of this anecdote. Anyway, there were a couple times when I was made fun of (not in a mean-spirited way, but still singled out) for my healthy habits -- turning down a sugary cocktail, eating a salad instead of chocolate cake, having a jar of whey protein isolate sitting on the counter, etc.
Don't get me wrong, I wasn't the least bit offended or hurt by their comments -- just pointing out that your dystopian vision of the future may be closer than you think.

[Graycat]

I think a lot of the fat acceptance you see lately stems from the fact that the average weight in the U.S. continues to rise.

What is fat acceptance today will be obesity acceptance tomorrow.

[JoanieL]

What is fat acceptance today will be obesity acceptance tomorrow.

Ah yes, the slippery slope rationale. If homos marry today, people will want to marry their pets tomorrow. If we let blacks in the military, we'll have to let Martians in tomorrow.