Fat feminism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fat feminism or fat-positive feminism is a form of feminism that argues overweight women are economically, educationally, and socially disadvantaged due to their size. Because of this, fat-positive feminists promote acceptance for women of all sizes and oppose any form of size discrimination. Fat feminism originated during second-wave feminism, and did not meet mainstream acceptance until recently. While very closely affiliated with the fat acceptance movement, fat feminists focus on women who are discriminated against because of their size.
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[edit] Views
According to Monica Persson, over 56 percent of obese or overweight women have answered that they have been treated disrespectfully by their physicians, and 46 percent view their physicians as uncomfortable with the women's weight.[1]
Fat feminists argue that the likelihood of women to experience discrimination increases proportionally with body size; women who are naturally larger than the norm would be forced into a chicken or egg cycle of poverty and social discrimination.
Also argued is that size discrimination is associated with, and is similar to racism, sexism, and ageism. Biologically, females tend to have more body fat than men, leading to the view that size discrimination affects women more so than men. Size discrimination is associated with racism, as some suggest that size is affected by race. The ageist argument stems from the view that women gain weight naturally with age, especially after childbirth.
[edit] Body image
Fat feminists oppose the concept of a fixed "ideal" figure for women imposed by the society. They scorn fat jokes on sitcoms, and the promotion of skinny figures seen on television, in Hollywood and on catwalks. A supermodel weighs 23 percent less than an average woman, and less than 5 percent of the female population have figures like her.[2] Fat feminists criticize these body-type ideals for the reason that for many real-life women, these figures are impossible to achieve, pointing to the statistics that 95 percent of diets fail. They believe this would put women at risk for distorted body image, anorexia, bulimia, or other eating disorders, which can lead to death, especially among the young.
[edit] Fitness
Fat feminists contest the belief that one cannot be overweight and fit at the same time. Instead, they believe that the figure one would naturally have through consistent exercising, balanced nutrition, and maintaining an active lifestyle is a person's ideal figure, which is not limited to one size. Oddly enough, if one works out enough and can reach peak strength, one can be overweight and fit at the same time, due to large muscle mass.[3][4]
[edit] History
[edit] Early years
Fat feminism and much-related fat acceptance movement traces its root back to the late Swinging Sixties when second-wave feminism thrived. During the late 60s and 1970s, activists such as Sara Fishman, Judy Freespirit, and Karen Jones, now known as Karen Stimson, emerged. In 1973, Fishman and Freespirit decried fat oppression as sexism in their book "Fat Liberation Manifesto." However, their movement was met with mixed reactions during the Swinging Sixties, the same decade when unnaturally skinny Twiggy-esque figures became fashionable. Some of the most prominent feminists at that time, such as Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda, believed that removing traits of "femaleness" was necessary to gain entrance to male-dominated society.[5] Despite this, activists continued to hold demonstrations and continued their course of action. When the fat feminists did not get support from National Organization for Women, they founded organizations to advocate size acceptance. Few notable ones include NAAFA, then known as National Association to Aid Fat Americans, Fat Underground, and The Body Positive.
[edit] 1980s-2000
During the 80s, the movement had mixed success. More organizations and publications against size discrimination were founded. The first issue of Radiance: The Magazine for Large Women hit the newsstands in 1984. Clothing brands and fashion magazines were founded during this time that aimed solely at a plus-size audience. More books on size acceptance such as "Fat?So!" and "You Don't Have to Apologize for Your Size" was released. Fat feminists continued to sue diet programs for fraudulent claims. However, its popularity did not wane as it was boosted by the fitness boom during the 1980s. Today, Americans continue to spend over $33 billion on diet products and programs.[6]
Once viewed as radical, however, fat feminism finally met support from National Organization for Women when they officially took on an anti-size discrimination stance with no dissenting vote during the 1990s, and started body image task force. In 1992, Mary Evans Young, a fat activist in England, launched No Diet Day, which was planned as a picnic. Unfortunately her plan did not go accordingly due to the rain. However, its second annual celebration was a success as 35 states participated in No Diet Day.
In 1993, size activists enjoyed one of the biggest successes since the birth of fat feminism when the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of Toni Cassista who filed a lawsuit against Community Foods, a store in Santa Cruz, California when she was not hired because of her size. This put an end to work discrimination based on weight in the state of California.
[edit] Notable fat feminists
- Toni Cassista - filed a lawsuit in 1993 to make job discrimination based on size illegal in California
- Andrea Dworkin
- Mary Evans Young - founder of No Diet Day
- Sara Fishman - author of Fat Liberation Manifesto
- Judy Freespirit - co-writer of Fat Liberation Manifesto
- Lee Martindale - founder of Rump Parliament, a size activism magazine
- Travis Jones - fat power
- Lynn McAfee
- Susie Orbach - writer of Fat is a Feminist Issue
- Karen Stimson
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- UK size acceptance site
- Fat Feminist Herstory, 1969-1993: A Personal Memoir by Karen W. Stimson
- Fat and Feminist Large Women's Health Experiences
- The Web of Size Acceptance: Internet Resources for Exploring a Feminist Issue
- Fat Feminism: Politics and Perspective
- Love Your Body
- Recent Lawsuits about Fat Discrimination
