Fat "Creatures" Follow-Up

It seems the voices of the US version of "Creature Comforts" have had a number of premiere parties to watch the show. I always wondered how much the subjects know about the project as it enters production. They've been blogging the festivities and had one bit on the voices of the mother and daughter pigs I referenced yesterday complete with photos. If you're curious about the people behind the pigs, check it out.

Won't somebody think of the children?

I don't feel I have much to add to the discussion, but there has been a lot of discussion today about doctors clamoring for fat children to be criminalized. Its a horrific idea, but sadly not as unrealistic as one might hope. In the off chance this is your only stop on the fat-o-sphere, here are some articles to check out...

No Fat Children Allowed at Junkfood Science
The Children's Crusade at FatFu
Another Reason Not to Have Children at Shapely Prose
Incoherent at The Rotund

THIS is why we need fat acceptance. THIS is what we are up against. Don't try whining to me about the dangers to dieter's right from the hypothetical oppression of fat acceptance. Reality is

Fat "Creatures"

As a fan of Aardman Animation, I was very excited to hear that there would be an American version of their BBC series "Creature Comforts" where interviews of real people on a variety of subject are reset with claymation animals. Sounds like a really simple concept, but it really works and I was intrigued by an American take on the show. The first two episodes have aired (and are being shown again tonight on CBS) and I'm pretty impressed. Part of the charm, certainly, was the British accents and perspective of the BBC series, but I think the American version is finding its voice in more ways than one.

Of particular interest is that the US version covers some of the same topics as the UK version. The show has 3 acts, each of which has a theme that all of the interview segments touches upon. Like, art or lying. The second episode featured "self image" which was also done on the UK show. I watched both the US and UK segments last night and I found the differences quite striking and not a little discouraging while still very honest.

The thing I picked up on was how much more self-negative the US interviews were compared to the UK. Don't get me wrong, there was negativity in the UK, too, but it seemed to always be paired with a "eh, but its what I am" form of acceptance. In the US, the subjects are far more reflexively negative without much even grudging acceptance to temper it. There were exceptions, but in general the US interviewees were far more apologetic about their appearance. I imagine this tells a lot about our society and the ways we are expected to cower in the face of cultural standards. The power of our cultural ideal seems much greater in American society than it is elsewhere in the world.

As you might imagine, fat was certainly a subject of more than a few interviewees self-loathing. I actually don't recall anyone bringing up weight in the UK take on self-image. One pair of subjects, a mother and daughter, were animated by the pigs I posted above. Another woman who comments on weight was depicted by a Hippo. (to be fair, a shark describes herself as sexy and thick, so there are exceptions) While I'm tempted to see this as fat bashing, I'm not sure it really is. Indeed, in the context of the program, I think it really deconstructs the self-loathing and exposes it as absurd. We know that a pig is supposed to be a pig. We know that a hippo is supposed to be a hippo. Seeing those creatures be defensive about their weight creates a disconnect which ought to prompt us to question our certainty that those attitudes are valid at other times. Maybe I'm being too generous, but I think that interpretation is more in line with what the show does with creating visually absurd characterizations of the interviews than just a cheap fat joke. Of course, I suppose it could be both.

The "fat talk" ultimately seems more real than mean. The daughter pig (actually the one nursing) is just kind of sad in how she feels about her body. The mother tries to compliment her and the daughter is absolutely dreading it and is quick to negate anything positive the mom says. The same characters appeared in a segment on the first episode on health care. There, the mother pig tells a story of a extreme doctor who insisted that after breaking her leg, she'd never walk again unless she lost weight. The mother's response to her own story is a defiant, "Well, I'll show you! I'm walking, ain't I?"

Aside from the fat stuff, the show is really worth watching, but if anyone has seen it or watches the first two episodes tonight, I'd be curious how they take the fat talk. Am I grasping at a way to interpret it more positively, or does it seem genuinely nuanced in its approach to the subject?

The mirror says "You are Beautiful"

Saw an article about the "Dressing Room Project" from the Vermont-based Emerging Women's Projects founded by Mimi Kates. Basically, the idea is to leave body positive messages on cards on dressing rooms mirrors. Some are poetic, but I was rather drawn to the simplicity of "You Are Beautiful". Its so direct and in its way very subversive in a very positive way. I think there is a lot of power in being so direct, more than there is in celebrations of uniqueness and diversity. Don't mistake, though, I love both approaches and am I really impressed at this whole idea of dressing room mirror activism.

The project seems like a very intriguing as a grass roots response to body hatred. What are your thoughts?

Don't post diet spam here.

Really. Why do I even need to post that?

Why? Because the weight-loss industry is so fucking entitled that it doesn't think blogs like this should exist. Because every person with a diet scheme thinks that fat people have an obligation to give them their rapt attention and the money from their wallet. Because "good intentions" never seem to extend to respect other people yet always seem to involve getting rich exploiting fat people.

Because a handful of little sites talking about fat acceptance is just too fucking much for the fat-hate industry to accept. We're fat, after all. Why should they listen to anything we have to say?

Well, guess what? My house. My rules. Diet talk isn't welcome. Diet spam is sure as ALL HELL not FUCKING welcome at all.

Yeah, I'm angry and "intemperate". I should be.

The Ultimate Nullifier

No, we're not talking about the weapon that drove Galactus from Earth. We're talking about fat.

Constantly in discussions online, you see fat being used as the "ultimate nullifier" to completely refute a position or a participant. Its most frequently used in political discussions, and I'm sad to say from both the right and the left. All facets of the political spectrum seem to have people who see little reason to respect a belief if it is expressed by a fat person. Well, a fat person they disagree with.

That's the thing with fat being used as an ultimate nullifier: its almost always brazenly hypocritical. Oh, sure. There are hard-core fat bigots of every stripe who despise Michael Moore just as much as they do Rush Limbaugh. But most only find time to fat bash those whose politics aren't their own. The conservative bashes a feminist for being a "fat cow" who only believes in feminism because she's too fat to get a man. The progressive belittles the conservative as an obvious sinner on account of being fat. The conservative mocks a fat political activist with crude gags about their size. The progressive insults the fat writer for being an unattractive loser.

The effect is always the same. "Why should I listen to anything you have to say when you're so fat?"

People are always going to think that being fat disqualifies you from having anything worthwhile to say. Heck, being a fat person is usually seen as disqualifying someone from having anything worthwhile to say about fat people. Fat is an easy and almost universal thing to hate. So what do we do?

We try to push back, and we start at home. When you see someone you're political aligned with mocking someone you disagree with for being fat, call them out. Some will actually admit they were being a fool, but most will probably be defensive. Just don't back off or be afraid of continuing to stand up for fat people. They'll say its just a joke. They'll say you're too sensitive. They'll say that there are more important things to talk about it. Some will even insist that the belittlement was out of sincere concern for their health. Don't take it.

"Its just a joke" is the true refuge of the scoundrel. Being a joke doesn't make it fair or right. "Concern for their health" is the last refuge of the scoundrel. They made their intentions transparent to start with and trying to cloak it in a veneer of appropriateness after the fact.

Calling you "too sensitive" is an expression of privilege. The oppressed are always "too sensitive". Whether it be gays or women or blacks, calling someone "too sensitive" is a means of preserving privilege. Don't stand for it. The claims of there being "more important things" is much the same. It means they don't care about your issues and they don't think you should either. Believing in fat acceptance isn't exclusionary from believing in fighting poverty, stopping global warming, or any other political issue that supposedly "trumps" the civil rights of fat people. If there were more important things that person wanted to discuss, they shouldn't have insulted fat people in the first place.

Fat may be used as an "ultimate nullifier", but there is no reason we should take it. Just remember that the problem isn't just when its used against those we agree with, but also when its used against those we don't.

Fat to the Future

Given how awful fatness is, you'd think forward looking science fiction would regularly imagine a future free from the blight of fat people. Flying cars, space travel, no fatties. You might think that, but its often not the case. I can think of any number of science fiction TV series that have imagined a future that does involve fat people. Even fat humans. From sillier shows like Futurama to weightier fare like Star Trek: The Next Generation it seems that many don't think fat people are going to be eradicated anytime soon.

Its hard to know what this is. In most instances of fat characters on Futurama, the creators clearly were not willing to give up the visual vocabulary of fatness, but not all. While live-action shows have to draw upon our present society for actors, its not like avoiding fat ones would be all that hard. Heck, plenty of shows imagine a PRESENT without fat people. I recall an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that featured and elderly fat doctor who was a guest star in one episode. I doubt much thought was put into these appearances, but it seems interesting all the same that no one stopped to conclude fat people won't exist in the future.

Does anyone else have any examples of fat people in the future? I know we may not get much

Unacceptable

Me!Me! Roth has claimed to have gotten death threats thanks to her belittlement of Jordan Sparks. I know the threat was probably not serious, but that doesn't matter. Its not acceptable to wish people dead or fantasize about them dying because you don't agree with them. Even really mean and stupid people like Me!Me! Roth. Its just not okay. Whatever instinct you may have to belittle her for complaining about people wishing her dead, don't. She's right. The problem are the people who wished her dead, not her receiving such threats.

Of course, Me!Me! getting death threats just gets her more press. When my death was publicly fantasized about by a fat-hate crusader, it got me banned from NAAFA who wanted to placate the bigots. Didn't work. NAAFA's public forums shut down a couple months later. It also got me mocked by Big Fat Blog's creator who later approvingly linked to an article written the guy who wished me dead while "reaching out" to the fat hate site where the threat was posted along with far worse death threats about actually productive fat activists. So wishing a fat-hate promoter dead gets her press coverage. Wishing a fat activist dead gets them shunned and you praised by "fat acceptance". If you want to be pissed off by Me!Me! Roth's announcement, that's a good place to start. Just don't be upset at her for this. Much as it pains me to say it, she's right in at least this narrow sense. Wishing her dead is completely unacceptable.

More on Me!Me!

I hate to give this nutcase any more attention that she deserves, but thanks to the friendly neighborhood lobbyists at the Center for Consumer Freedom we have some more info on Me!Me! Seems that Me!Me! is her stage name and she's actually Meredith Roth, a marketing and media relations professional. Which obviously qualifies her to comment on the unhealth of not-thin people.

The CFCF was outing Roth because she recently got the cops called on for a stunt where she tried to destroy an ice cream sundae table at a YMCA party.

Yeah. Seriously. She tried to destroy ice cream toppings at a party. We don't know about this thanks to sluthing into police reports or embarassing coverage in the local news. We know because Ms. Roth issued a damn press release bragging about her attempt to vandalize an ice cream table at a YMCA party.

This is the kind of person the media turns to when discussing fat issues. This is the kind of person who gets copious media time while fat activists are never seen. This is what our media regards as an expert on "obesity". You want to laugh at her until you realize how horribly depressing that all is.

Hide the Fatties!

I warn you: if you watch this clip, you're liable to get very pissed off.



Michelle posted this in my comments this morning but I didn't have a chance to bask in the insanity until this evening. I don't even know what to say to this. American Idol is no fat friendly show. From the first season the producers were always hostile towards fat contestants. They let them on, sure, but they had to be that much better to earn their spot. We kept hearing how American didn't want fat pop stars, didn't even want vaguely not waifish pop stars.

What happened? The logic of the entertainment industry was proven completely wrong. Don't worry, though. They haven't let that change their approach in any other respect. Just there is one place where we can be reminded that America is apparently not as inately fat hostile as we might have assumed. Time and time again, singers who didn't look the part got deep into the competition. Sure, after they were embraced by the entertainment industry they inevitably were swept up into countless diet schemes, plans, and promotions. Being honest, they all probably would have been doing that no matter what, but it kept feeling like Hollywood was being very pandering to them. Like, "Sure, you've proven that people like your singer, but you're going to go nowhere unless you drop 50lbs." This year, all 3 top women were non-thin to one degree or another. This includes the winner, Jordin Sparks, a 17-year old who had actually done some plus-size modeling.

You might thing a whopping 3 not-thin people on television for a couple months wouldn't be a big deal to the forces of fat hatred. I mean, they still dominate our culture and media, after all. What's the big deal about 3 women who'll be relentlessly pressured to lose weight for the remainder of their professional careers? Ah, but, if there is one thing we should all now about the anti-crowd is that they will accept nothing but total and complete domination. One sorta-plus-size young woman winning a singing contest simply cannot be tolerated. They clearly watch Idol, seething with rage at some fatty being allowed to pursue her dreams. How dare she! Doesn't she know there are hardworking thin people who could be on stage?

Of course, its not about aesthetics. They are always careful to keep up their pretense. No, no, its about an "epidemic". Won't someone please think of the children! Quick, hide the plus-size teen before anyone sees her and gets any ideas about thinking they are normal! Its an EPIDEMIC! Besides, she can't work that fat. Everyone knows that you can't work in the entertainment industry and be that awful to look out. Wait! I mean unhealthy to look at. Not about aesthetics. We swear! She looks like unhealth. That's the problem. Damn fatty.

The spokesperson trotted out to deliver this line mostly overplayed her hand. Heck, even Neil Cavuto was incredulous. She's named MeMe Roth. I first thought that spelling was someone making fun of her (Me! Me!), but that is indeed exactly how she spells her name. The Rotund noted that she represents National Action Against Obesity. I normally would never link to "the enemy" but its all almost too insane for words. You just have to go peruse and learn about how evil the Girl Scouts are and of her "boycott" against REDBOOK Magazine for its reckless employment of a size 14 woman. You can also enjoy a glimpse into Roth's profoundly anti-woman agenda as she saves most of her bitterness for women who don't stay skinny for their husbands. Just read her insights:

“Most women I know commit fraud on their wedding days--they weigh-in for the walk down the aisle with no expectation of maintaining that weight year after year,”

“Somewhere between the wedding reception and delivery room, many women abandon their brains, body and libido.”

“It’s wrong to be fat. It’s easy, but it’s wrong.”

“Dump your friends who plan to grow fatter with every year. Surround yourself with those who aspire to greater things.”

"I see staying fit as an obligation to my self and my family."

"Back in the 80s when I was Van Halen’s 'number one fan,' I did get the chance to meet the band. Eddie Van Halen made me promise I’d never get fat. He said I looked like something out of Playboy. Talk about making a girl swoon."

What can you even say? But this woman gets to talk on cable news, time and time again, just because she has asserted herself as an expert. Her credentials? Apparently fitting into her wedding dress. That's what we are facing in the media. To viciously attack fat people, you need only be thin. To defend fat people, even being a doctor won't qualify you to disagree with "common sense".