Greta Christina's fat positive manifesto

[ciphergoth]

I froze the discussion here because I thought it deserved a top-level post of its own, rather than being under a general discussion of Greta Christina. A few weeks ago she posted a very interesting series of articles on the fat-positive movement and her own beliefs; I'd be very interested to read more about what people think of them.

"I was frankly shocked at how callous most of the fat-positive advocates were about my bad knee. I was shocked at how quick they were to ignore or dismiss it. They were passionately concerned about the quality of life I might lose if I counted calories or stopped eating chocolate bars every day. But when it came to the quality of life I might lose if I could no longer dance, climb hills, climb stairs, take long walks, walk at all? Eh. Whatever. I should try exercise or physical therapy or something. Oh, I'd tried those things already? Well, whatever."

• The Fat-Positive Diet
• The Fat-Positive Skeptic
• An Open Letter to the Fat-Positive Movement

Comments

[purplerabbits.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I find "The Fat-Positive Diet" kinda depressing because it's so exactly where I was a few years ago, including the unintended boost you get from people telling you you look better, the mixed messages you get, the everything.

And I am now heavier than I have ever been. Which might mean I can't participate in a debate like this as objectively as I feel it deserves.

I think her Fat Positive Manifesto is *almost* right and that her depiction of the Fat Positive message she's been getting is neccessarily cherry picked and a reaction to a range of annoying comments she is bound to have recieved. I'm not sure any real person believes all of that, so it's in danger of being a bit of a straw man argument.

I wish I knew what to think about the science, I really do, but I don't know of *anyone* who is doing a balanced job on this.