On being fatphobic

[Suguri]

I overheard some students today during break. They were talking about this TikTok video where a person is ranting about how Walmart is "fatphobic" because they don't have clothes in a very large size. (Can't remember what it is though.) I remember one of the students said something like, "I'm not fatphobic, but if you can't find 'em in [very large size I cannot remember], it's time you got some exercise and lost some weight."

I don't usually make threads related to sorta-controversial topics like this, but after that happened I couldn't help myself, so here it is. Is Walmart really fatphobic? Or is this TikToker exaggerating? Any thoughts on fat acceptance in general? I'm pretty skinny and never cared much about how I looked to begin with so I don't really have an opinion.

 

[Tude]

As a fat person, it seems Walmart is more likely to have big clothes than anywhere else! Try finding big clothes at like Forever 21 or Dicks sporting goods lol good luck

 

[.: Meri :.]

Idk about the Walmart situation so no comment there.
I think as a general rule, we shouldn't make unsolicited comments about other people's bodies (or assumptions about their health/diet/exercise based off their bodies), or treat someone's health as a marker of their moral character.

The way the mistreatment and dehumanization of fat people is so normalized is honestly reprehensible.

 

[seliph]

Corporations do not have a conscious, they will be fatphobic, homophobic, transphobic etc. whatever is most profitable for them. We're seeing it now clear as day - corporations that were previously "diverse" these past few years when BLM and LGBT acceptance were on the up are now rolling back their DEI programs because with republicans/conservatives feeling empowered, it's now the most profitable stance to take. Walmart is one of these companies along with McDonald's, Ford, and others. You cannot rely on companies for political and social consciousness.

That response by the student on the other hand is both fatphobic (a very real issue & term that doesn't need quotation marks around it) and ignorant, as weight is not an indicator of health. This has been proven time and time again.

You don't have to be fat to have an opinion on body/fat positivity, or to notice the lack of fat acceptance in both society and the media. I've always had a metabolism so quick doctors have been concerned about whether I'm eating or not. But it's also always been clear as day that skinnier (or muscular for the masculine side, but a lack of body fat regardless) bodies have been, and still are, favoured by advertisers, TV castors, fashion/modelling agencies, pretty much every industry that uses images of human beings to promote itself, than chubby or fat ones.

 

[QueenCobra]

I used to be VERY insecure about “being fat” despite being underweight at one point.

I grew up in the early to mid-2000s, when thin was in and the news constantly showed fat people walking around, but not their faces— just their bodies. There was talk of an “obesity epidemic”. Magazine covers always said “Follow this diet and get skinny in a week”! while simultaneously mocking actresses for being “too thin.” I also didn’t like how people called average-sized women fat, like Jessica Simpson or Khloe Kardashian.

When I got a little older, I wanted to lose weight to “look better”, but personally I never found it attractive— I just wanted approval.

Some “friends” made fun of me for liking chubby guys. (They didn’t know about the girls.) It was ignorant of them, but at first it hurt me— how does liking a chubby person make me look bad? Ridiculous.

Of course lean, muscular men are favored over plump ones, but they don’t face the same scrutiny women do. It’s glaringly obvious— once I was watching the WWE Hall of Fame induction of Big Boss Man, and some comments made fun of his daughters’ weight. Now…these are the same people who were fans of a guy who literally had “Big” in his ring name. If they were sons, it would be a different story.

I don’t understand why some people get angry at brands for including plus-size clothing. People NEED clothes. Like…you want people to have to wrap themselves in a sheet?! Clothes are a basic necessity.

Also I would say…I’ve bought clothes at Walmart before and they are usually comfy— especially the sweatpants. Then again, I’m not plus-size, so I can’t speak for those clothes.

This Ozempic stuff is taking us back to the early 2000s, in way. (I know it’s used for medical purposes, but I’m talking about celebrities using it to lose ten pounds.) I know the stuff is expensive, but there are people seriously who need diabetes medications, and using it to diet is a waste of valuable resources.

I’d like to think this generation is nicer and more self-aware than we were in the 2000s, though.

 

[nightglow]

... Most obese people go to an obese people store for their clothing. I don't see how that is a problem, and yeah I am fat. It isn't even always about size when going to a fat people store, but also cut of the fabric.
I usually don't find things that fit right at Walmart. I go to a fat people store or Meijer or rural king.
As for needing to get exercise if you are whatever plus size you have in mind, weight isnt always about what you eat and your exercise schedule. There is a little more to it than that, but eating healthy, making better choices, and getting exercise helps anyone at any size.