I find it odd though how many things that were previously stigmatized -- having kids out of wedlock, homosexuality, divorce, interracial relationships -- are not judged and being fat is. We've grown so much more tolerant as a society in so many regards. Why is it still okay to fat shame? Yes, gluttony's a sin but technically so is divorce, so is promiscuity, so is abortion, etc. We are much less likely to judge those sorts of issues than we are to judge a fatty.

And we're willing to accept that families are different, people are different in terms of their genders and being trans, etc. yet we're not willing to accept different body shapes.

I find it hard as a fatty because it's like I have to wear my sins on the outside of my body all the time and be judged. If I was shooting up heroin in the privacy of my home, or if I was an alcoholic, you wouldn't even know. But because you can see that I'm fat, it's open season on the moose lady.

I think deep down we're pretty primal; we see someone who we assumes eats a lot as a threat--"they might take my food." Or we see someone we perceive as heavy as literally a burden--if the pack had to move quickly, this one would slow us down.

That's just pure speculation on my part, but I think when you boil it down to visceral reactions, there it is.

Society judges because weight is something most people can control. It has become an issue when food scarcity disappeared. 2/3 of the country is overweight, and it can’t be that all of a sudden everyone started having hormonal issues which make it hard to lose weight.

Being not just thin, but normal, requires an investment of time and effort. As such, overweight and obese people are seen as those who are not putting in that time an effort to maintain their physique.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is an American thing - in some other countries/cultures it's good to be plump.

Also, there's some weird issue with doctors. I'm fat and have asked several doctors for help and used very direct language about being worried about my heart, cancer, knees, diabetes, etc., and flat out said, "I feel like this is a crisis situation and really need help." And all but one (the one I just started seeing) wouldn't help. They wouldn't say "No" but their actions said no.

At my heaviest (190), I also begged for help and was told to do a free internet health coaching program. I lost 20 in 6 mos, gained it back in 6 mos. What really helped me was a nutritionist which we paid for OOP.

Doctors aren’t really trained in nutrition. They could prescribe meds but that’s not really going to help long-term.

OP, being overweight has almost always been judged.

It is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Gluttony.

Anonymous wrote:I know this is an American thing - in some other countries/cultures it's good to be plump.

Also, there's some weird issue with doctors. I'm fat and have asked several doctors for help and used very direct language about being worried about my heart, cancer, knees, diabetes, etc., and flat out said, "I feel like this is a crisis situation and really need help." And all but one (the one I just started seeing) wouldn't help. They wouldn't say "No" but their actions said no.

At my heaviest (190), I also begged for help and was told to do a free internet health coaching program. I lost 20 in 6 mos, gained it back in 6 mos. What really helped me was a nutritionist which we paid for OOP.

I agree it's the rapid increase in obesity that people "judge" more.

I don't necessarily judge someone who is heavy, having been overweight myself. I think it's a symptom of something awry in their lives and childhood - almost everyone carries baggage from their lives and childhood, but weight isn't as easy to hide as other things people use to cope.

I do however, judge the "health at every size" craziness. I empathize with struggling with your weight, but there is no way someone is healthy weighing 300+lbs. I'm not your doctor, but I absolutely know that, even if your blood pressure and resting heart rate are fine at the moment. For starters, the human body was simply not designed to carry an extra 100lbs pounds. 20? Not a big deal. A hundred extra pounds? Your musculo-skeletal system is screaming on the inside, I guarantee it.

Everyone has issues and challenges, but don't parade yours as healthy.

I think the problem is that excess weight used to be rare so people didn't devote much thought to it. Now, it's an epidemic, and a preventable one at that. Like smoking, people will judge it and that judgment will provide an appropriate tension so that people can properly evaluate the dangers of embracing excessive consumption/sedentary lifestyles.

When I was a kid in the 80's, there was 1 "fat" kid in the school. Nowadays, I see many, many overweight children at my kids' schools and activities. I think the statistic is that 2/3 of Americans are overweight. Looking back on school pictures, the 1 kid wasn't huge. She'd be considered "chubby" by today's standards.
I don't know why society judges people by their weight....apparently, we're all fat!

Anonymous wrote:I know this is an American thing - in some other countries/cultures it's good to be plump.

Also, there's some weird issue with doctors. I'm fat and have asked several doctors for help and used very direct language about being worried about my heart, cancer, knees, diabetes, etc., and flat out said, "I feel like this is a crisis situation and really need help." And all but one (the one I just started seeing) wouldn't help. They wouldn't say "No" but their actions said no.

Why isn’t this also judging, just with an inverted scale? Skinny = bad, curvy = good?

As people have easier access to food, they can focus on their bodies. If you barely have enough to survive, chances are you aren’t looking to be thinner. The focus on body image is a result of society’s access to food.

I think the judging comes from others' choices affecting us.

When people try to squeeze into chairs (especially on an airline) but spill over onto other people, that affects those other people.

Really unhealthy people also drive up the cost of insurance premiums.

etc etc

I don't think people would care so much if it didn't affect others.

No, in medieval and Renaissance Europe, where peasants were regularly stricken by bad harvests and starvation, it was considered more beautiful to have a rounded body and be rosy-cheeked, because this showed good health and financial means. Go read some history and look at some classical paintings.

Having a wasp's waist was also a goal, and stays or corsets were laced very tight, sometimes leading to fainting fits (which is why ladies carried smelling salts to be revived). This was all about having a classical hour glass shape figure.

The trend to be waif-like is very new and recent, as far as human history goes. It is only when humans in the developed world were liberated from the threat of starvation that some thought thin was a good idea!

I know this is an American thing - in some other countries/cultures it's good to be plump.

Also, there's some weird issue with doctors. I'm fat and have asked several doctors for help and used very direct language about being worried about my heart, cancer, knees, diabetes, etc., and flat out said, "I feel like this is a crisis situation and really need help." And all but one (the one I just started seeing) wouldn't help. They wouldn't say "No" but their actions said no.

Did it have something to do with photoshop? Unrealistic expectations of us? Or was it Arnold Schwartzenager who started this craze with working out and being fit, which let to a huge demand for gyms?

If we can be polite here, unlike in the other elementary thread, that was clearly started by a troll. It is my opinion that this weight judging always existed, but is it more pronounced now? And if it is, why? Because there are more heavy people than before? I think 80s attitude might be to blame for scary thin ideal that is "the norm" of beauty today. I read that in the past aristocracy frowned upon heavy ladies and they would starve themselves until certain age, but I don't believe middle aged women and men were judged so harshly for being portly, on the heavy side, etc.. prior to 80s. Is this judgement more pronounced in urban areas? Is it part of thinking that if you gain a lot of weight, you are letting yourself go? Hence the judgement? Similar to judging untidy people? I am a child of obese mother, I had issues as a chubby child put on a diet by that same mother, and yet even I am guilty of wondering why did my sister let herself go a bit, or why wasn't more done to help my obese niece when she was younger. Why do you think we are so absorbed in such shallow and petty thoughts?