The Ethics of Fat Shaming

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Philosophy Now
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The Ethics of Fat Shaming

Post by Philosophy Now »

Charlotte Curran tells us precisely why fat shaming is unethical.

https://philosophynow.org/issues/144/The_Ethics_of_Fat_Shaming
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vegetariantaxidermy
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Re: The Ethics of Fat Shaming

Post by vegetariantaxidermy »

Fat people always say 'What about Rubens?'. If you look at the naked women in his paintings they are not even fat. 'FAT' is grotesque, unhealthy, uncomfortable... Fat women don't have curves, they have rolls. There are a vast number of health problems associated with being fat.
I am totally against 'fat shaming' anyone (whatever that even means), but should fatties be classed as a 'special protected group' that you legally aren't allowed to 'offend'? Of course they shouldn't, and nor should any other so-called 'special group' of humans. Destructive and nonsensical 'hate speech' laws need to be put in the garbage where they belong. Besides, 'fat shaming' is far more likely to happen to people who are NOT fat (eg, famous women who have just given birth ffs). Fat people are well aware of their fatness.
Isn't most of the US population morbidly obese thse days? If they were discriminated against in the workforce then surely there would be no one left in it.

If anything the person in this painting looks far too muscly to be a woman. Perhaps Rubens sometimes used male models when he was short of female ones?

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Walker
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Re: The Ethics of Fat Shaming

Post by Walker »

Fat shamers are busybodies. At best the motive for fat shaming is compassionate concern for another’s health. Other than mean girls in middle-school, at worst fat shaming is totalitarian propaganda as an answer to food shortages.

Celebrating the husky gal or guy body type is a whole other story. Such a celebration is meant to celebrate acceptance of the current state of the body.

However, the current state of the body is ever-changing, and that’s where obesity celebration can’t really take wing.

Why? Because celebration of the present also requires acceptance of the inevitable, present-moment, physical sensations caused by an unfull tummy.
Walker
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Re: The Ethics of Fat Shaming

Post by Walker »

Perfection assumes the form of a perfect, familiar design.

https://www.amara.com/static/uploads/im ... carafe.jpg
Ansiktsburk
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Re: The Ethics of Fat Shaming

Post by Ansiktsburk »

The heart of the critique of fat shaming in Currans article is that the fat shaming is inconsistent with a person’s personal autonomy. But well, should a person be allowed to ignore the values of the society that hosts the person? Isn’t a culture a contract that gives a person safety and a place in society? Culture is about living together. Unless one want to be a hermit, one is dependent on the support of others. And to cherry pick the goods, is that really morally permissible?

Further on, the hardships of having to adapt to norms one maybe not like is also not necessarily a bad. Fostering drones that get the message “what do you want to do with your life “ is not maybe the best for the well being of a community, and further on the hardships of keeping to that diet, does that nor make you a morally better person, showing the world that your genes are not the ones that will easily crack when bad times come?

I strongly believe that Curran herself came from a relatively sheltered background.
Walker
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Re: The Ethics of Fat Shaming

Post by Walker »

It's only for your own good ...
curran.charlotte
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Re: The Ethics of Fat Shaming

Post by curran.charlotte »

Ansiktsburk wrote: Sat Jul 10, 2021 4:16 pm The heart of the critique of fat shaming in Currans article is that the fat shaming is inconsistent with a person’s personal autonomy. But well, should a person be allowed to ignore the values of the society that hosts the person? Isn’t a culture a contract that gives a person safety and a place in society? Culture is about living together. Unless one want to be a hermit, one is dependent on the support of others. And to cherry pick the goods, is that really morally permissible?

Further on, the hardships of having to adapt to norms one maybe not like is also not necessarily a bad. Fostering drones that get the message “what do you want to do with your life “ is not maybe the best for the well being of a community, and further on the hardships of keeping to that diet, does that nor make you a morally better person, showing the world that your genes are not the ones that will easily crack when bad times come?

I strongly believe that Curran herself came from a relatively sheltered background.
I appreciate your engagement with my article. Although, I think you may have missed the point as my claim is not that all values should not be imposed upon individuals in society - rather that some of them can be harmful and we often may be unaware of their consequences. I am happy to discuss anything philosophical with you, however, assumptions about my background have no place or relevance in this discussion and I should not feel the need to defend myself against personal and misinformed judgements. Thank you!
Gary Childress
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Re: The Ethics of Fat Shaming

Post by Gary Childress »

I find it interesting that human beings seem to view thinness and muscularity as being attractive. Muscularity is clearly an evolutionary advantage and when people are thin it often correlates with food scarcity, sickness, and things that usually lead to high mortality rates so it comes as an evolutionary advantage to have more children when mortality is high. In the end, fat is not attractive and when overweight people go around looking for mates, we are going to be shunned by those who find us unattractive compared to thinner or more muscularly tone people. It's cruel, but it's just the way things are. I wonder if shaming people for encouraging others to lose weight is any more ethical, to be honest.
Ansiktsburk
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Re: The Ethics of Fat Shaming

Post by Ansiktsburk »

curran.charlotte wrote: Mon Jul 19, 2021 1:55 pm
Ansiktsburk wrote: Sat Jul 10, 2021 4:16 pm The heart of the critique of fat shaming in Currans article is that the fat shaming is inconsistent with a person’s personal autonomy. But well, should a person be allowed to ignore the values of the society that hosts the person? Isn’t a culture a contract that gives a person safety and a place in society? Culture is about living together. Unless one want to be a hermit, one is dependent on the support of others. And to cherry pick the goods, is that really morally permissible?

Further on, the hardships of having to adapt to norms one maybe not like is also not necessarily a bad. Fostering drones that get the message “what do you want to do with your life “ is not maybe the best for the well being of a community, and further on the hardships of keeping to that diet, does that nor make you a morally better person, showing the world that your genes are not the ones that will easily crack when bad times come?

I strongly believe that Curran herself came from a relatively sheltered background.
I appreciate your engagement with my article. Although, I think you may have missed the point as my claim is not that all values should not be imposed upon individuals in society - rather that some of them can be harmful and we often may be unaware of their consequences. I am happy to discuss anything philosophical with you, however, assumptions about my background have no place or relevance in this discussion and I should not feel the need to defend myself against personal and misinformed judgements. Thank you!
Sorry for late answer, and thank you for your answer. First, is really losing weight something harmful? Sure, the benefirs are sometimes overrated, but a good deal of medical problems are connected to obesity.

Secondly - my comment on your background is closely connected to my own class journey - growing up in a semi-tough concrete working class suburb to Stockholm and ending up in a semi-posh area in a university town jammed with academics(I’m one myself). And the attitude to raising children in the upper classes came as an absolute shock to me. Mothers are allowed to spoil kids rotten, injecting the hubris of “what do you want to do with life”, not contributing to society in the way you are best genetically apted to do - as the daytime workers where I grew up automatically did. The pressure on people in your own ranks, as well as people seen as “opressed” in any manner to behave,to follow the spoken and unspoken rules of society is low. Where I grew up it was like - you have anything seen as an error, you get picked on for that and its up to you to ignore or change. Fosters a culture of not causing other people problems. That others pick on you for being loud, low, greedy, outliving, violent and yes - obese is not necessarily a bad thing. You conform to the others and society will be a community where people thrive. We used to have that here. The Social democrat “folkhem” - the home for the people.
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