Let’s play catch up with some of the crazy fat-related stories swirling around the interwebs these days.
First, you’ve probably heard that doctors can now tell how healthy a person is just by looking at them. Fabulous! Think of the savings we’ll all experience by never having to travel to a doctor’s office.
Sound ridiculous? Well, a former White House doctor did just that to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. This doctor makes plenty of assumptions about Gov. Christie’s health, having never examined him – or even met him. That’s unprofessional and unnecessary, but it sure makes for a good headline in today’s obesity-terrified culture. In her from-afar diagnosis, she claims that Christine could end up with diabetes, sleep apnea, and heart disease, all of which would make him a terrible candidate for president. Of course, any presidential candidate could suffer from these ailments, but we live in a world where it’s much more satisfying to assume only fat people get them.
Whether or not Christie does suffer from any medical issues (due to his weight or otherwise), it’s completely irresponsible and unprofessional for a doctor to use the national spotlight to point at a fatty and shout, “But, your health!” You can read Christie’s response to the doctor here.
In other news, the guy who invented the Segway (that personal motorized traveling device that was supposed to revolutionize society as we know it) has created a bulimia machine. Of course, that’s not what he’s calling it, but still: It’s a stomach pump that allows you to suck out the food you’ve just eaten so you lose weight. Are we really that terrified of being fat that there is a market for this kind of of thing? I hope not, but…
…we also live in a world where young girls will do pretty much anything to achieve a thigh gap, never mind that it’s primarily a matter of body structure that dictates whether or not your thighs touch. What a sad world it is when girls will starve themselves for a body aesthetic that is likely impossible for many of them. Peer pressure is enormous for young girls (and young men), and therefore it’s vital that we remind them that the random contours of the body do not dictate their worth or attractiveness. We also need to remind ourselves of that very thing!
And finally, let’s talk about Rex Reed. You’ve probably heard that this “movie critic” blasted Melissa McCarthy in her new movie, Identity Thief, not for her performance, but for her body. Reed didn’t like the movie, and that’s fair enough. But in his review he called McCarthy “tractor-sized,” a “screeching, humongous creep,” and a “female hippo.” He goes on to lament that McCarthy’s career is based on “being obese and obnoxious with equal success.” God forbid McCarthy is an actress who happens to be fat. Rather, she is fat and happens to be an actress – for which she should be ridiculed and shamed.
Now, some people are blasting Reed for being a hypocrite, and indeed, he’s not a skinny man. But the bottom line is, it’s high time we stopped equating someone’s worth primarily (and sometimes solely) to their body size. Melissa McCarthy is hilarious and entertaining. Christie might very well make a good president (I’m not committing, just commenting). And those things are completely unrelated to their size.
Achieving an elusive thigh gap or having a tube implanted in your stomach so you can get rid of the food you eat before it’s digested are not the keys to success or happiness. If you achieve some magical weight loss number or pant size, your life is not going to become magically perfect, and you aren’t going to magically have perfect health for the rest of your life.
Focus on the important things: eating what nourishes you, moving in a way that makes you feel good, developing strong relationships, and building a life that satisfies and sustains you. Crazy Town doesn’t need a bigger population than it already has!
