Fat Politics

What is Holla Forums's opinion on "fat shaming/fatphobia"? Can we discuss obesity in the context of capitalism?

I absolutely loathe the "fat positivity" movement.

I can understand how people spiral into a lifetime of obesity; for many people, it starts when they are children and have no choice but to eat food stuffed with sugar, condemning them to a life of craving carbs and sweets. The subsidies that our government gives to big corn farms doesn't help, nor does the fact that sugar and meat are crammed into every American meal.

But to see your fatness as not only acceptable, but to be proud of it and encourage others to be as well? That seems ludicrous, I can't believe this movement has caught on to the mainstream:

thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/589/tell-me-im-fat

Even worse is that there seems to be an unsaid assumption that if you're a leftist then you automatically need to be accepting of this movement and defend "fat rights". Like probably everyone in America, I have fat relatives and friends, but I would never tell them they don't need to lose weight and to be proud of it, because that seems like the opposite of what a person who cares for them would advise.

How can we approach this pro-fat mentality without seeming hateful, while also pointing out how capitalism contributes to obesity?

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=Yo3U2i6-jKg
americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts
twitter.com/NSFWRedditVideo

Well for one, I think we can all agree that rhetoric SJWs spew like "being fat has no negative consequences" is all bullshit. "Healthy at every size" my ass. By encouraging that being fat is ok you're only reinforcing them not to change which not only hurts themselves and their motivation, but also gives more money to McPorky's.

Plus could you imagine an armed revolutionary force full of fat commies?

t. Slightly underweight male.

I've always gone by the phrase "Fat shaming is wrong, but fat acceptance kills"

More people should adopt this tbh

Being fat is a burden to the self and society. There is no benefit in being fat, it does not bring anyone happiness or improve anyone lives. Its not even enjoyable. It should be fought in all fronts.

Im against fat shaming and fat positivity. I think people should be encouraged to be healthier but not in a dickish way and not by strangers unless you're a doctor or fitness trainer. Someone being fat doesnt make them a bad person.

Well, obesity is a sign of consumption of more than one needs. Of course, luxuries are important in life - it wouldn't be worth living without them - but indulgence to the point of obesity is indicative of too many essential resources directed towards one group of people, which opens up the possibility that others are being deprived of said resources.
At the same time, high fat/sugar foods are often more affordable in this day and age, forcing the proletariat to consume them more and leading to obesity among the lower classes, so while it can indicate a greedy mindset, it may also show a poor lifestyle for the lower classes.

There are several ways to approach this:

Also, be mindful of thyroid problems. Not everyone is obese due to diet.

youtube.com/watch?v=Yo3U2i6-jKg

Stop shilling your idiotic American horsecock on this board. Go on your scooter to wallmarkt, buy a 1000 dollar rifle and blow your brains out. The only thing Americans are good for is crop fertilizer.

Christ.
I'm not even a burger, but we need a proletariat revolution and we need it right fucking now.

No one is forcing them to make retarded budget choices.

No nigga, I don't

The profit margins on fat/corn syrup shit is much higher. It gets pushed on people hardcore.
Ban junkfood marketing when?

I go to the same fucking supermarket as them and can buy a 'healthy' food there so why cant they?

It's more expensive
It takes more skill to prepare
It takes more time to prepare
'Junk food' is just what tastes good to you if that's how you were raised eating

It's not impossible for poor people to eat healthy but it is more difficult than it is for some bourgie waster with a personal trainer and a maid.

Bull Shit..

Weight gain is caused by consuming more calories than you burn,, a thyroid might cause a slight weight gain by slowing your metabolism, but you need to stuff your face regularly to get fat and maintain that weight.

americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts

Lack of education on the subject from when they were children, and a near-omnipotent presence of fatty, fried, sugary cheap food all of their lives. Indoctrination, basically.

With that being said… my diet is atrocious, I literally never eat fruit, veg, meat or fish, (eating disorder) yet somehow I manage to be only skinnyfat, not like 300 pounds. I don't know what some people's excuses are. Even with shitty food you might not be that healthy but you don't have to eat twice as much as you should.

Maybe im thinking too much in European terms.

Availability of goods, is not the choice of the consumer, in a consumer capitalist society (no matter how hard the idea that the consumer chooses everything by their action is trying to be shat down their throat). Large food chains and what is readily available to them as they're completely delinked from any direct labour and unable to (unless deviating strongly, from the norm established and maintained by every impulse and pressure point around them) work (directly) for their own subsistence, is almost entirely out of their control.

If we weren't living in a consumer capitalist society, as we are presently, you'd be half-right (half, because even then the notion of eating to the point where your body is unable to maintain itself, and you are severely functionally limited, would show some sort of issue that you clearly have no control over - nobody wants to get morbidly obese).

These people are not just greedy sloths.

That makes me blink. What do you eat, then? If you're just lazy and don't want to cook by the way, chickpeas. Fucking delicious. Bit of soy-sauce, some garlic, and a ton of chickpeas. Goddamn it's good, and doesn't even need to be cooked.

Exclusively wheat and dairy products basically. It's not really a lazy thing (though I am lazy) but an irrational disgust

Well, that's not bad, necessarily. At the very least take some vitamin C and B12 supplements, though. There's no way in hell you're getting all you need from just wheat and dairy.

This

Yeah, I know that. I do take vitamins when I remember (I'm pretty screwed up). I just got some a few days ago. It's no substitute but oh well.

I had a really shit diet, myself, so no worries there. Didn't even know how to cook anything. Went Vegan several years back, forced me to learn how to cook. Everything is simple now, food-wise, and cooking is fun as fuck.

Dunno, might not be of any help, to you.
What specifically is the foodstuffs that disgusts you or freaks you out?

...

i dont get it, why do you feel the need to lie?

good post

i want to add that there is A LOT of misinformation about food and excercise in magazines and major media outlets. This is why you have people that believe that wrapping a piece of plastic around their waste will help them burn fat. Also people misread nutrition labels and judge how much food they eat through volume instead of calories.

You also hear people say 'eating healthy is expensive' but when you look at the healthy food they buy it's usually exotic expensive fruits.

Honestly if we stopped over complicating nutrition and fitness I think our overall health would dramatically improve.

This thread is about economics.

fat acceptance is a thing because capitalists want you to consume as much as physically possible, being morbidly obese should be normalized and be seen as true american freedom and "liberating" when in actuality you are a literal tool if you push for fat acceptance

As a venezuelan guy that hasn't eaten anything fried in a while because cooking oil is expensive, this thread is really confusing.

This is what I've eaten this month: Rice, bread, beans, arepas, eggs
+ cheese, mortadella, tomatoes, onions, margarine

What do poor Americans eat? I doubt that they buy "already made" food, because you'd end up starving buying expensive shit like that.

Dunno, but prices are very different in the US compared to other places in the world.

Things like restaurant prices have much to do with food culture (small shop streets) (gradually destroyed by larger capitalist enterprises) labour rights, unions, general wealth (and equal distribution of said wealth) amongst the nation.

In Northern Europe, nobody except the rich could live by eating out, or always eating ready made food. In the US you'd probably be able to afford always eating at mcdonalds. Retailers would be able to stock you up with massive amounts of rice, grains, etc. beans, but only if said retailer had a shop in your area (not a given, as unless it's profitable for them to expand or cover your area, it won't be there). Fresh fruit and vegetables are typically phased out, and made into a luxury item apparantly (in places where there is no local arable land, local farmers, and still has a demographic that leaves a profit margin potential available for a large chain); like wholefoods and similar. (where everything is over priced)

Typically fast food chains are price-wise one of the cheapest, most easily accessible places to eat, and cover enough calories to feed you for the day (and the next, for that matter).

Contrast that to say, east-asia, and southern food cultures… where you have an availability, still not completely destroyed, of 'small merchants', food street merchants, etc.

So basically there's like 3 types of 'universes' here; there's the capitalist world with fuck all care for anyone (the US), the capitalist world with some fucks given to people (some parts of Europe) and the places where capitalism hasn't completely consolidated its power into the hands of a few and run everyone else (the "small businesses" they always hide behind) out. (where you still have your typical 'merchant/family restaurant')

And yes, cooking oil is expensive, where I live as well, other than the one that is extracted from locally grown produce. (protectionism, hey, it works)

McDonalds is fucking cheaper than making your own food here in America.

Government subsidized beef

It should neither be venerated nor ridiculed. Making fun of them doesn't really do anything, and fat positivity does even less. If you are worried about someone you know, just tell the truth about the health risks and maybe they'll listen. If you cannot make people care, you cannot make them exercise or eat healthily. They have their own self-determination.

This.

ira why??

mcdonalds

hugo chavez was cool

rice, bread, noodles, ramen, some microwavable things for lunch when I'm at work, milk, cereals

t. poorfag

this really depends on…culture more than class itself/income, im probably not using the right word here

what I mean is it depends on if they are trashed out or not, f.e we had a huge mexi population behind our school and they would eat pretty well, probably better than a lot of mexicans in mexico because meat is cheaper here compared to wages and they knew how to cook

doesnt just go for foreigners though, there is probably no greater gift to your kids than teaching them how to cook and eat well for cheap, its basically cultural intelligence that a lot of demoralized families stateside are completely lacking in, they literally dont know how to cook anything outside of hamburger helper and other processed shit.

it also depends on location, that one LA guy that is starting the hydro gardens everywhere points out that you have "fresh food deserts" in low income communities.

If you cant cook at all and dont have a functioning household, that 1$ burger is actually a pretty good deal, its also comfort fuel to help deal with how shit your life is

tldr it really comes down to how brainwashed/demoralized you are, like with so many things in the US

You're an asshole if you engage in fat-shaming personally. But that doesn't make it a political issue we should care about as leftists.

literally a non-issue

even more so than most idpol non-issues that dominate the "left"

Porky manipulation of the food supply isn't an issue?

Fat shaming and/or acceptance is not about manipulation of the food supply. At most it's one of its cultural by-products, but nothing more.

Yes, please talk about everything but actual politics.

fat-shaming/fatphobia in the context of capital?

I think it's important that capital couldn't care less about people's body types. Consider how capital is a parasite on the movement of use values. If people are not fat, and they become fat, it's because they are overconsuming food. Porky is happy. If fat people are becoming thin, by using some special diet, supplement, or program, porky is happy.

It's also worth noting that shitting on people for being 'fat phobic' is a great way for liberals and those who aren't explicitly communist to get into radical spaces and divide the group of 'fat-shamers' and 'fat-acceptors' when the matter is really superfluous, for reasons anons have already made clear (unhealthy diets as fast to prepare, as pushed on people, fat people not being good at the physically strenuous aspects of revolution, etc).

MAINTAIN MARXIST-LEINNIST-MAOIST-OBAMAIST THOUGHT

BRING AN END TO LITERAL PORKING

kys

Why do people listen or pay attention to literal children on YouTube again? And why does this young lady feel that she's qualified enough to tell doctors their diagnosis is wrong because they're prejudiced?

There's just so much pandering to fat people in this video.