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[Chocofreak13]

*sits in corner with depression cloud overhead*

[Bella]

New topic: Thoughts on the body acceptance movement, particularly when it comes to people who are under- and overweight (even to a possibly-extreme degree)? Do you think it's good for people to accept themselves and others unconditionally, or do you think it promotes unhealthy behavior?

[Chocofreak13]

this country is too obsessed with weight.

i say, if you're happy with yourself, then godspeed. your body, your choices.
if you have problems with another's body, that's YOUR problem, NOT theirs. people have no right to go around making people feel bad about themselves just because THEY don't like the way others look. not everyone can be or wants to be a victoria's secret model. i say, leave others the fuck alone and keep it to yourself.
if YOU have problems with your body, either change your body or change your mind, since one has gone bad here.

[NejinOniwa]

I'm not quite willing to take acceptance that far. Concern for a person's health is a very viable reason to intervene indeed. If someone wants to be half-fat and pudgy, then that's their problem; if they want to look like a skeleton (or a stranded whale), sorry, but no.

[Simonorged]

No one should judge, but appearance is something.
Positive criticism is helpful, especially if you have an eating disorder.
You should always desire better for yourself.

You know what bugs me?

When people say somethings wrong with them, in order to justify them doing it.

[LeaflameSD]

If someone has a weight problem, then I think people should be able to say 'you need to start losing/gaining weight', 'change your dietary plan', etc and actually try to help without being a total boob about it.

[Bella]

I agree with Kari; people should be able to do with their bodies as they see fit without others passing judgement on them. I mean, if it's a case of disordered eating (which is a psychological issue), they should be encouraged to seek medical help or at least some sort of support system (as should people with any other sort of psychological illness), but the majority of people who are over- or underweight due to eating habits, genetic predisposition or environmental factors should be left alone.

I'm pro-body-positivity mostly because I dislike current standards of beauty (not because they're "wrong", beauty being in the eye of the beholder and all that, but because they're near-ubiquitous and present almost-impossible standards for people to live up to), discrimination against people who fall outside of the narrowly-defined spectrum of pretty/handsome (aka lookism), as well as harassment and stereotypes against people who *are* conventionally-attractive (for instance, the assumption that all good-looking women are dumb, easy, or fair game for objectification or sexual harassment), and the assumption that certain diseases go hand-in-hand with certain body types without exception or that you can't be fit if you're overweight.

All these cases present dangerous over-simplifications: That's there's only one way to be beautiful or handsome, that you can tell what a person is like based on the appearance of their body, that people who are under or overweight can't be healthy, fit or athletic (which also makes the reverse assumption: that people who are at an "ideal" weight must be healthier, fitter or more active than their fat peers).

[LeaflameSD]

I agree with Kari; people should be able to do with their bodies as they see fit without others passing judgement on them. I mean, if it's a case of disordered eating (which is a psychological issue), they should be encouraged to seek medical help or at least some sort of support system (as should people with any other sort of psychological illness), but the majority of people who are over- or underweight due to eating habits, genetic predisposition or environmental factors should be left alone.

I'm pro-body-positivity mostly because I dislike current standards of beauty (not because they're "wrong", beauty being in the eye of the beholder and all that, but because they're near-ubiquitous and present almost-impossible standards for people to live up to), discrimination against people who fall outside of the narrowly-defined spectrum of pretty/handsome (aka lookism), as well as harassment and stereotypes against people who *are* conventionally-attractive (for instance, the assumption that all good-looking women are dumb, easy, or fair game for objectification or sexual harassment), and the assumption that certain diseases go hand-in-hand with certain body types without exception or that you can't be fit if you're overweight.

All these cases present dangerous over-simplifications: That's there's only one way to be beautiful or handsome, that you can tell what a person is like based on the appearance of their body, that people who are under or overweight can't be healthy, fit or athletic (which also makes the reverse assumption: that people who are at an "ideal" weight must be healthier, fitter or more active than their fat peers).

>Throw test paper away
>Copy Bella's

PROFIT!

[Chocofreak13]

don't copy my copying. -w-;

@nej: eating disorders are tricky, since like any addict, direct confrontation is likely to be met with either denial or exaserbation of the problem. with eating disorders, saying "you don't look well" is viable to make them think you're calling them fat. choice of words is vury important here.

but honestly, when it comes to "concern", i still don't think it's cause to intervene. if it's dangerous, yeah, that might be cause, but plenty of people are "concerned" with their family due to their lifestyle choices. that doesn't nessecarily make them bad ones. (i know plenty of people are 'concerned' when their teenage daughter starts exploring alternate religions/sexualities. we live in a close-minded world, and that's something that needs to change. the first step is letting people live their own lives, even if we don't agree with them.)

[Nichi]

Indeed. I hate the kind of people who feel the need to basically live someone else's life for them; like how many people I've dealt with try to control every aspect of my life (Even people I didn't know at all tried this; especially at the hospital, as a contract worker tried to strike up a conversation...only for it to turn into harassment about how I need to quit my job right now and go to college or else I'll "never amount to anything in life". Thankfully, my dad added that to a very long list of complaints about that contract worker -w-)

[Chocofreak13]

it's times like these that i'm thankful that these images exist, just for this situation:

[Simonorged]

fair enough, I was speaking of myself as well.

But here I'm not talking about a little over or under, I'm talking a person who purges and starves them selves or weights so much that they cannot move. Eating disorders are dangerous. And they affect those close to them a lot. My friend went on a food strike a little while ago, for the sake of he wanted to, he is a diabetic toothpick and it almost killed him. People worry when you don't take care of yourself.

I realize that people will do what they want to do, and that no one has any right to change anyone. But not addressing extreme issues leads to death.

Then you have the people who are a bit over or under. You have me 240lb and my friend who weighs 100lb, in both cases it has to do with metabolism, my friends' is fast and mine is slow.

would there be a debate if I didn't play the devils advocate?

[Chocofreak13]

i still say we don't have the right to interfere any more than we have the right to interfere with a christian scientist's refusal of medication. we may not like it, we may not agree, but we don't have the right to control the lives of others. with that in mind, if the christian scientist's kid didn't agree with him and went off to get BC, he has no right to interfere with the kid.

[Bella]

@Simon: I do agree with you. This stance would surely make me enemies within the body-acceptance scene, but I don't like EXTREME obesity or emaciation being considered alright or normal. I mean, I have no right to judge people who are extremely under- or overweight, nor would I, but when a person's weight or build starts to effect their mobility and make it difficult to live their day-to-day life, it's probably best that they reexamine their life. Of course, it's rare for people to get to that point, and by then it could be very difficult for them to make changes to improve their health.

All in all, I wish there was more emphasis on being active and eating the most balanced diet possible REGARDLESS OF WEIGHT (while bearing in mind there are ENORMOUS social and economic factors that prevent many people from eating a healthy diet and that it's dickish to criticize poor and overworked people for not eating well enough), rather than obsessing over developing a thin body and looking a certain way.

[Chocofreak13]

Maybe it's because I'm colder than most of you, bug I still say don't interfere. Their body , their problem.