This is not my ass, but it very well could be (on a good day, when I’m wearing my miraculous microfiber panties). This photo has been one of Yahoo’s “Most Emailed Photos” now for a few weeks. It accompanies a story on obesity. Being it’s the most emailed photo, I imagine people sending this photo to their friends. “Did you see this? OMG!” “Had no idea you were in London over the holidays!” “This here is the reason I never sit next to fat people when I fly.”
It seems to me that no rules — legal or moral — apply to those who villify fat people. I’ve even had people at work tell me fat jokes, right to my face. Hello. Nice to meet you. Did you not notice that I, too, am FAT? I do not find your fat joke amusing. But alas, I will laugh, because the only thing worse than a fat person is a fat person that isn’t jolly.
When news organizations do a story on, let’s say, disabilities, news photogs don’t walk outside and snap a photo of someone in in a wheelchair. When there is a story on gang violence, we don’t see generic b-roll of people who live in the hood. It would be wrong, and no editor or producer would let it fly (and rightfully so). But whenever there is a news story on obesity or diet pills, they show us a parade of fat asses. The message — a fat person isn’t actually a person. He or she is simply fat, which is why we feel it’s OK to let this one fat person visually represent ALL fat people. But just to be kind, we won’t show their faces.
The fat ass in this picture belongs to somebody. Somebody’s mother, somebody’s child, somebody’s wife. Maybe she knits booties for the newborns at the hospital in her spare time. Maybe she cares for her sick husband. This photo was snapped at the Heathrow Airport. She’s probably waiting for her flight, worried about what witty thing she can say if she doesn’t fit into the airplane seat, or how she’ll handle it if they pull her out of line and make her buy a second seat. Turns out she should’ve been more concerned with the photog lurking behind her.
Some people might think she brought this on herself. She chose to overeat. But I can assure you, obesity is a very complex emotional and behavioral problem. It’s not about a lack of discipline. Unlike thin people, there is something inside of our bodies and brains that creates a drug-like addiction to food. It’s a hourly torment that is magnified by the sideways looks we get and the whispers we hear. We all have flaws, but some of us aren’t lucky enough to have invisible ones.
Very well said.
well said. While I’m not that large I feel so “visible” at 215 lbs. And so very judged.
My first gut reaction to the pic -”fuck. that is just mean.”
Going to echo the above comments in saying ‘well said’.
“We all have flaws, but some of us aren’t lucky enough to have invisible ones.”
So true and VERY well-said!
I am so glad that you’re back. Please don’t go away for so long again.
Several months ago you were talking about bariatric surgery as something that was going to happen for you.
What happened?
I’m curious because I also started down that path. It’s been something like eight months and I’ve gotten nowhere. They couldn’t make it any harder if they tried. It’s like moving the Great Wall of China one chip at a time.
greentshirt — yes, I am still planning to have bariatric surgery. I’m awaiting insurance approval. They made me have 6 months of a physician-supervised diet and exercise program (Weight Watchers does not count). I had to submit a diet and exercise journal every month. I have also had a couple visits to the bariatric team at the hospital. They want me to lose weight before surgery. “If it was this easy, people, I wouldn’t be asking you to cut out half my guts here.” During one visit, they made me cry, because I had not lost enough weight that month (I only lost 3 pounds). The bariatric team just told me that once (if) I receive insurance approval, I will need to be on a liquid diet two weeks prior to surgery. I honestly don’t know how I’m going to do it. I plan on writing more about my ordeal soon. God, it’s such a mindfuck.
Very well said, untitled. Actually, there are chemical and metabolic changes that occur when one becomes obese that basically prevent one from processing food energy the same as a skinny person. I know, I have been both very skinny and very fat, and am now six months past bariatric surgery. I have lost 60 pounds, and it has not been easy. Anyone who thinks that surgery is easy, and that the weight just falls off, is mistaken. It is only a tool, as they say.
But I feel great empathy for this woman. And I have always wondered if the American ass is getting larger every year, how the airlines can justify installing 17″ wide seats on new airplanes. What happens if they decide to install 14″ wide seats? Where one is considered “fat” and “normal” is just an arbitrary line that is perpetually moving in society.
This reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Marge and Homer go to the Candy convention and stuff Marge’s trenchcoat with candy so she’s approximately 8 times her normal size.
Then when they get home, the kids swim around in her jacket eating the food.
ditto on an awesome post! seriously–good, powerful, and full of truth.
after reading this line “obesity is a very complex emotional and behavioral problem”, it dawned on me that it is a serious problem that isn’t just b/c i’m lazy and undisciplined.
this post alone should win an award. somebody, get somebodies people on the phone. stat. untitled rocked the mutherfucking house here!
Ah, yes — fat people — the only group left in the world that is not considered off-limits with respect to political correctitude. Can’t say stuff about ethnic groups, older folks, younger folks, people whose sexual orientation differs from ours, religious groups, unreligious groups, people who live in a particular part of the country (any country), or people with any kind of handicap. So who does that leave for us to pick on? Well, duh! Just feel free to paint a bullseye on the nearest (and fattest) fat person.
Drank too much and killed someone in a drunk driving accident? Sue the bartender. Smoked too much and fried out your lungs? Sue the cigar or cigarette manufacturer. Addicted to drugs or alcohol? It’s an illness. Overweight? Sue McDonalds (or in my case, Pizza Hut). Yeah, right.
My mother has three children who, despite having been average-sized during childhood, grew up to be fat adults. She has never weighed over 130 pounds in her life, even when she was 9 months and 20 minutes pregnant, and she thinks the worst sin anyone in the world can commit is to be fat. She has never understood why people have always been so down on Adolph Hitler and Charles Manson — I mean, they’re not fat, so what’s all the fuss about? (Issues? I have issues? No, honey, I have the whole lifetime subscription and collection, and not the condensed version.)
Yeah, Untitled, I’d have to say you struck a nerve.
Good to see you back, by the way.
Has anyone on here ever flown? I’m 5′7″, weigh 260 lbs. and I wear a size 20 pants. Does anyone know if I’ll need to purchase a 2nd ticket or ask for a seatbelt extender? I’m terrified that I won’t “fit” into the seat and that I’ll be publicly humiliated. Can anyone help?