Fat Acceptance Movement Information
The fat acceptance movement (also known as the size acceptance movement, fat liberation movement, and fat power) is a grassroots effort to change societal attitudes towards fat, obese, and overweight people.
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Background
Activism concerning the societal acceptance of fat people covers numerous fronts but generally can be described as attempting to alter societal, internal, and medical attitudes.
The movement argues that overweight people are targets of hatred and discrimination,[1] and that obese women are subjected to more social pressure than obese men.[2][3][4] Hatred and disrespect towards fat people are seen in multiple places, including media outlets, where fat people are often ridiculed[5][6][7] or held up as objects of pity.[8] Discrimination comes in the form of lack of equal access to transportation and employment.[9]
Proponents argue that anti-fat stigma and aggressive diet promotion have led to an increase in psychological and physiological problems among fat people.[2] Proponents of fat acceptance maintain that people of all shapes and sizes can strive for fitness and physical health.[10][11][12][13] They believe health to be independent of, not dependent on, body weight. Thus, proponents promote "health at every size", the philosophy that one can pursue mental and physical health regardless of their physical appearance or size.
Through the works of authors such as Paul Campos and Sandy Szwarc, the fat acceptance movement has argued that doctors should treat the health problems of people of all sizes, believing that health issues are not defined by weight and are shared by people of all sizes, fat and thin. Some in the movement have argued that the health risks of fatness and obesity have been exaggerated or misrepresented, and used as cover for cultural and aesthetic prejudices against fat.
Fat activism remains a marginal movement.[14] Organizations such as the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) and the International Size Acceptance Association (ISAA) have relatively small memberships, and people interested in the movement tend to be clustered in larger cities and spread across medium- to small-sized web communities.
History
During the early part of the 20th century, obesity was seen as detrimental to the community, by means of decreasing human efficiency, and that obese people interfere with labor productivity in the coastal areas of the United States.[15]
This kind of history and visibility gave rise to the Fat Acceptance movement which originated in the late 1960s, although its grassroots nature makes it difficult to precisely chart its milestones.[16][17] Like other social movements from this time period, the fat acceptance movement, initially known as "Fat Pride," "Fat Power," or "Fat Liberation," often consisted of people acting in an impromptu fashion. A "Fat-in" was staged in New York's Central Park in 1967.[18] Called by a radio personality, Steve Post, the "Fat-in" consisted of a group of 500 people eating, carrying signs and photographs of Sophia Loren (an actress famous for her figure), and burning diet books.[19]
Several groups formed during this period to promote a fat acceptance agenda. In 1969, William Fabrey founded a social club promoting "Fat Pride" called the National Association to Aid Fat Americans, subsequently renamed the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA). In 1973, a radical NAAFA chapter spun off to become an independent group, the Fat Underground, promoting a stronger activist philosophy. They were inspired by the philosophy of the Radical Therapy Collective, a feminist group that believed that many psychological problems were caused by oppressive social institutions and practices. The Fat Underground, founded by Sara Fishman (then Sara Aldebaran) and Judy Freespirit, took issue with the growing bias against obesity in the scientific community. They coined the saying, "a diet is a cure that doesn't work for a disease that doesn't exist".[20]
Shortly afterwards, Fishman moved to New Haven, CT, where she, along with Karen Scott-Jones, founded the New Haven Fat Liberation Front, an organization similar to the Fat Underground in its scope and focus. In 1983, they collaborated to publish a germinal book in the field of Fat Activism, Shadow on a Tightrope.[21] The book collected several fat activist position papers initially distributed by the Fat Underground, as well as poems and essays from other writers.
The 1980s and 1990s witnessed an increase in activist organizations, publications, and conferences.[16][17] In the 1980s, new anti-dieting programs and models began to appear in the research literature in response to new information dispelling common myths about obesity.[2]
Modern movement
Members of the contemporary movement perceive negative societal attitudes as persistent, and as being based on the presumption that fatness reflects negatively on a person's character.[22][23] Currently, the fat acceptance movement continues to strive for change in societal, internal, and medical attitudes toward fat people. Proponents engage in public education about what they describe as myths concerning fat and fat people.[24] Organizations hold conferences and conventions: including "NAAFA",[25] the "Association for Size Diversity and Health",[26] the "No Lose Annual Conference",[27] and "FatGirl Speaks".[28] Several books have been written on the topic, including Fat!So? You don’t have to apologize for your size, By Marilyn Wann, Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight-Based Discrimination, by Sondra Salami, Largely Happy: Changing your mind about your body, by Lynda Finn, and Don’t Diet, by Dale Atrens.
In recent years, more writers have written to promote fat acceptance: related online zines includeFat!So[29] and Figure 8,[30] related blogs include Kate Harding's Shapely Prose,[31]Big Fat Blog,[32] and The F Word.[33] Several websites have sprung up to help connect fat people with fat-friendly service providers and products. Many books have been published challenging the medical claim that fat produces ill health and highlighting the issue of weight-based discrimination that fat people are subjected to by medical professionals and society at large.[34][35] Size discrimination has been increasingly addressed in the arts, as well. Performance art groups such as The Padded Lilies, Big Burlesque and the Fat Bottom Revue, among others, intentionally feature fat bodies in their shows.
There has also been an emerging body of fat political and sociological studies, some with a fat activist agenda, developing within the academy. The American Popular Culture Association has an area in fat studies and regularly includes panels on the subject. In addition, student groups with a fat activist agenda have emerged in a number of colleges including Hampshire, Smith, and Antioch colleges.
In addition to what the movement is doing to raise public awareness, there have been a surge in studies both for and against fatness in scientific journals.[citation needed]
Issues within the movement
| Wikinews has related news: Obesity and the Fat Acceptance Movement: Kira Nerusskaya speaks |
One point of contention in the movement is found between those fat people who are attempting to lose weight and those who are not. Opponents of weight loss attempts cite the high failure rate of all permanent weight loss attempts, and the many dangers of "yo-yo weight fluctuations" and weight loss surgeries.[citation needed]
Due to intrinsic linguistic misunderstandings and differing definitions of the word acceptance, some fat activists believe the phrase refers to any fat person fighting for equal rights and opportunities, regardless of whether or not that person believes that the pursuit of reduction in a person's body mass is feasible. Other fat activists define fat acceptance more strictly, applying that phrase only to fat people who are not pursuing a reduction in their body mass, and use phrases such as fat activist to describe fat people and allies working more generally on civil rights issues pertaining to fat people.
In practice, the only way to know the position of any particular individual member of the group on weight loss attempts is to ask, or read specific position papers on the issue.
Another common division in the fat acceptance community is the differing attitudes towards general society, specifically thin people. The fat acceptance community generally divides into two categories. One is those who feel discrimination towards thin people hinders their cause. The other side views thin people as the enemy, or the partial cause of their social stigma; some cater to this group with mockery of thin people.[39]
Related law
Michigan, Washington, D.C., and the California cities of San Francisco and Santa Cruz have passed laws prohibiting weight discrimination.[citation needed]
Criticism
Health problems
Despite advocates' claims to the contrary, many studies show that people who are obese are more likely than others to be in poor health, at a time when health care costs are rising,[40][41][42][43][44] though activists claim this may be partially attributed to stigma that people who are overweight face in everyday life, and these people avoiding doctors because of perceived weight discrimination in the medical profession.[45] In 2006, the CDC estimated that 10 percent of current health care costs are due to obesity.[46] A Dutch study concluded that lifetime cost of obesity are less as these individuals die at an earlier age, while obese individuals have higher annual health care costs.[47]
There are many health related problems associated with obesity, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and joint problems caused by overloading the skeleton with too much weight. Studies show that obesity reduces life expectancy.[48] [49] Public health officials regard widespread obesity as posing significant costs to society.
Social criticism
Fat acceptance advocates' positions have sparked criticism.[citation needed] While acknowledging that fat and obese individuals are subject to inappropriate discrimination or pressure, some critics hold that fat acceptance advocates' goal of unconditional acceptance of obesity is itself unhealthy. One study concluded that "the risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, or other diseases increases throughout the range of moderate and severe overweight for both men and women in all age groups."[48] The same study also found that the mortality risk associated with "overweight" is greater for whites than for blacks, raising questions about whether one set of standards for what constitutes health can be applied uniformly across demographic groups.
Critics also contend that accepting fatness will make people less likely to aspire to achieve a healthy weight. The common fat acceptance mantra that "diets don't work" is considered by some[who?] to be an oversimplification that may discourage a person in need of a healthier lifestyle from making responsible and potentially beneficial changes in eating habits. Research has shown that obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive dietary calories, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility.[50][51]
Experts at The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine published a study suggesting that, as the obese eat 18% more than average, they are unfairly contributing to world hunger and climate change. Dr David Haslam, of the National Obesity Forum (UK) responded "Really, it (the study) is discriminatory towards obese people. They are an easy target at the moment, but I think the causes of climate change and rising food prices is much more complex." [52]
See also
References
(A) Medical Practitioners' Guide to Benefits of Adapting Environments for the Obese Michigan State University study by Angela Berg MD and Joyce Burke MD MSU.edu
- ^ Enoughdiscrimination.com
- ^ a b c B. E., Robinson; Bacon, J. G. (1996). "The "If Only I Were Thin..." Treatment Program: Decreasing the Stigmatizing Effects of Fatness". Professional psychology, research and practice (Arlington, Virginia, United States: American Psychological Association) 27 (2): 175–183. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.27.2.175. ISSN 0735-7028. OCLC 8996897.
- ^ Official Policies & Newsletters, National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance
- ^ Council on Size and Weight Discrimination - Discrimination FAQ
- ^ Health 24 - Diet, Weight loss - Related
- ^ Council on Size and Weight Discrimination - Weight Discrimination on Television
- ^ Greenberg BS, Eastin M, Hofschire L, Lachlan K, Brownell KD (2003). "Portrayals of overweight and obese individuals on commercial television." Am J Public Health. Aug;93(8):1342-8.
- ^ Weighing in - Time Out Chicago
- ^ Maranto, C. L.; Stenoien, A. F. (2000). Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal 12: 9–1. doi:10.1023/A:1007712500496.
- ^ Ikeda JP, Hayes D, Satter E, Parham ES, Kratina K, Woolsey M, Lowey M, Tribole E (1999). "A commentary on the new obesity guidelines from NIH." J Am Diet Assoc. Aug;99(8):918-9.
- ^ Naafa Policy On Physical Fitness, naafa.org
- ^ ISAA's Respect | Fitness | Health Initiative
- ^ Sizediversityandhealth.org - Home - Mission
- ^ Big Trouble | Bitch Magazine, bitchmagazine.org
- ^ Chang, V. W.; Christakis, N. A. (2002). "Medical modelling of obesity: a transition from action to experience in a 20th century American medical textbook". Sociology of Health & Illness 24: 151–177. doi:10.1111/1467-9566.00289.
- ^ a b Life In The Fat Underground by Sara Fishman
- ^ a b Big As Texas 2001 Event-Keynote Address, members.tripod.com
- ^ "Curves Have Their Day in Park; 500 at a 'Fat-in' Call for Obesity," New York Times. June 5, 1967, pg. 54
- ^ Fletcher, Dan (2009-07-31). "The Fat-Acceptance Movement". Time. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1913858,00.html.
- ^ The Fat Underground, largesse.net
- ^ Shadow on a Tightrope: is Writings by Women on Fat Oppression, eds. Lisa Schoenfielder and Barb Wieser. Iowa City, IA: Aunt Lute Books, 1983
- ^ Murray, S (2005). "(Un/Be)Coming Out? Rethinking Fat Politics" Social Semiotics Vol. 15 No. 2
- ^ Puhl, R.; Brownell, D. (Dec 2001). "Bias, discrimination, and obesity". Obesity research 9 (12): 788–805. doi:10.1038/oby.2001.108. ISSN 1071-7323. PMID 11743063.
- ^ NAAFA has a brochure titled Dispelling common myths about fat people
- ^ NAAFAonline.com
- ^ SizeDiversityAndHealth.org
- ^ NoLose.org
- ^ FatGirlSpeaks.com
- ^ Fatso.com
- ^ Geocities.com
- ^ KateHarding.net
- ^ BigFlatBlog.com
- ^ The-F-Word.org
- ^ The Obesity Myth (2004) by Paul Campos republished as The Diet Myth
- ^ Sandy Szwarc’s in depth examination of obesity research in the online magazine “Tech Central Station”
- ^ State weighs law against size discrimination, Dan Ring, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 26, 2008
- ^ Dating in NYC, Time Out New York
- ^ Wikinews interview
- ^ "The Top 8 Things Skinny Girls Can't Do". BBWCupid.com. Cupid Media. http://www.bbwcupid.com/the-top-8-things-skinny-girls-cant-do.cfm.
- ^ NIH.gov
- ^ Harvard Medicine, hms.harvard.edu
- ^ Harvard Medicine, hms.harvard.edu
- ^ Harvard Medicine, hms.harvard.edu
- ^ Obesity Raises Cancer Risk - MSN Health & Fitness - Breast Cancer
- ^ Stigma and Discrimination in Weight Management and Obesity, xnet.kp.org
- ^ SciGuy: Should fat people pay higher insurance premiums?, blogs.chron.com
- ^ Van Baal, H.; Polder, J.; De Wit, A.; Hoogenveen, T.; Feenstra, L.; Boshuizen, C.; Engelfriet, M.; Brouwer, B. (Feb 2008). "Lifetime medical costs of obesity: prevention no cure for increasing health expenditure." (Free full text). PLoS medicine 5 (2): e29. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050029. ISSN 1549-1277. PMID 18254654. PMC 2225430. http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050029.
- ^ a b Calle EE, Thun MJ, Petrelli JM, Rodriguez C, Heath CW (October 1999). "Body-mass index and mortality in a prospective cohort of U.S. adults". N. Engl. J. Med. 341 (15): 1097–105. doi:10.1056/NEJM199910073411501. PMID 10511607. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/341/15/1097.
- ^ Peeters A, Barendregt J, Willekens F, Mackenbach J, Al Mamun A, Bonneux L (January 2003). "Obesity in Adulthood and Its Consequences for Life Expectancy: A Life-Table Analysis". Annals of Internal Medicine 138 (1): 24–32. PMID 12513041. http://www.annals.org/content/138/1/24.abstract.
- ^ Kushner, Robert (2007). Treatment of the Obese Patient (Contemporary Endocrinology). Totowa, NJ: Humana Press. pp. 158. ISBN 1-59745-400-1. http://books.google.com/?id=vWjK5etS7PMC&pg=PA121&lpg=PA121&dq=measurement+of+metabolism+in+obese+Bessesen. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ Adams JP, Murphy PG (July 2000). "Obesity in anaesthesia and intensive care". Br J Anaesth 85 (1): 91–108. doi:10.1093/bja/85.1.91. PMID 10927998. http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/85/1/91.
- ^ Obese blamed for the world's ills, BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation, Friday, 16 May 2008
Sources
Academic journals
- Saguy, Ac; Riley, Kw (Oct 2005). "Weighing both sides: morality, mortality, and framing contests over obesity" (PDF). Journal of health politics, policy and law 30 (5): 869–921. doi:10.1215/03616878-30-5-869. ISSN 0361-6878. PMID 16477791. http://www.soc.ucla.edu/faculty/saguy/weighing.pdf.
- Neumark-Sztainer, D (Mar 1999). "The weight dilemma: a range of philosophical perspectives". International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders : journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity 23 Suppl 2: S31–7. ISSN 0307-0565. PMID 10340803.
- Stürmer, S.; Simon, B.; Loewy, M.; Jörger, H. (1 March 2003). "The Dual-Pathway Model of Social Movement Participation: the Case of the Fat Acceptance Movement". Social Psychology Quarterly 66 (1): 71. doi:10.2307/3090142. ISSN 01902725.
- Jankowski, M.; Gozansky, S.; Van Pelt, E.; Schenkman, L.; Wolfe, P.; Schwartz, S.; Kohrt, M. (May 2008). "Relative contributions of adiposity and muscularity to physical function in community-dwelling older adults". Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) 16 (5): 1039–1044. doi:10.1038/oby.2007.84. ISSN 1930-7381. PMID 18292753.
- Finkelstein, L. M.; Frautschy Demuth, R. L.; Sweeney, D. L. (2007). "Bias against overweight job applicants: Further explorations of when and why". Human Resource Management 46: 203–222. doi:10.1002/hrm.20157.
- King, B.; Shapiro, R.; Hebl, R.; Singletary, L.; Turner, S. (May 2006). "The stigma of obesity in customer service: a mechanism for remediation and bottom-line consequences of interpersonal discrimination". The Journal of applied psychology 91 (3): 579–593. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.91.3.579. ISSN 0021-9010. PMID 16737356.
- Schwartz, B.; Chambliss, O.; Brownell, D.; Blair, N.; Billington, C. (Sep 2003). "Weight bias among health professionals specializing in obesity". Obesity research 11 (9): 1033–1039. doi:10.1038/oby.2003.142. ISSN 1071-7323. PMID 12972672.
- Murray, S. (2005). "Doing Politics or Selling Out? Living the Fat Body". Women s Studies 34: 265–226. doi:10.1080/00497870590964165.
Other publications
- "Fat Pride World Wide: The growing movement for avoirdupois acceptance". Reason Magazine. Reason Foundation. October 23, 2007. http://www.reason.com/news/show/123151.html. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
External links
Fat Acceptance at the Open Directory Project
Organizations
Fat Acceptance organizations
- International Size Acceptance Association, size-acceptance.org
- National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, naafa.org
- Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, cswd.org
- TFRC: The Fat Rights Coalition, fatrights.org
- Health At Every Size, haescommunity.org/
Other organizations
- The Yale University Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, section on Weight Bias and Stigma, yaledruddercenter.org
Categories: Fat acceptance | Obesity | Identity politics | Discrimination
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