[TW: eating disorders, shaming people with eating disorders, fat shaming]
I need help understanding this.
I noticed on a image board I go to, it seems the people with eating disorders have built a clique, and every once in awhile will post a thread dedicated to their despise of fat people. Then if someone goes in there, and tells them to accept all bodies, and discuss fat acceptance they don’t just get angry they get upset.
I don’t see why it’s so frightening that fat people that they don’t know personally in real life, are happy and healthy? Is it a threat to their inner mantra that they must be thin at all costs, that being thin is the only way to be healthy? It seems as if they need to hate fat people, or else they’ll have to realize their obsession with being thin is a waste of time or a problem.
I’m wondering about this, because one person got so mad they asked the mods to ban them for a month. I do not want to make anyone’s eating disorder worse, but I also don’t see why they can’t keep their hate clique to themselves. I don’t see why eating disordered people feel as if fat acceptance is a personal attack on them and their lifestyle.
Alright, look.
First, I support fat acceptance, I think thin privilege is real, and I’ve had anorexia for about eight years. I’ve even written about fat acceptance and how it’s helped with my recovery. So I’m not the opposition.
But this is a fucked up post.
Eating disorders are mental illnesses. The people you’re complaining about are legitimately ill, and regardless of intent, fat acceptance feels like a personal threat to them. That doesn’t make their fat-shaming behavior okay, but calling a group of sick people a “hate clique” is disgusting.
This “hate clique” is just as affected by fatphobia and body-shaming as anyone. While “the media” is obviously not the sole cause of eating disorders, the normalization of fat-shaming and prizing of thin bodies does not help. Many of us suffer from massive amounts of internalized fatphobia—I say internalized because, regardless of our actual weight, we often perceive ourselves as bigger—and are more likely to lash out at proponents of fat acceptance because of it.
You are under absolutely no obligation to help eating disordered people (sorry, “hate cliques”) see the light, but if you do want to engage with us, you need to do it in a more respectful way. This post is not a good start.
WOW what the fuck did TITP just call mental illness a “lifestyle”?? Jesus fucking christ.
Also TITP, those of us with eating disorders do not have eating disorders because we want to be healthy, we have eating disorders BECAUSE THEY ARE A MENTAL FUCKING ILLNESS and we all know that eating disorders are not going to make us healthy, but do the exact opposite.
I support fat acceptance & body positivity, but I will not support anyone who attacks, hates, and shames people with mental illness.
Seriously, the more I think about this post the more pissed off I get.
Wow. Just browsing through my old likes and getting angry all over again about this.
Bolded for emphasis because I think the word internalised gets forgotten in these discussions. People with EDs don’t tend to hate fat people, since their perception of other people’s bodies is generally not affected (at least not to the same extent). People with EDs usually hate themselves or are terrified of their own fatness, and that is more symptomatic of how fatphobia functions in society (misogyny and control of women’s bodies). Put another way, EDs are most often exaggerated manifestations of the self-hatred foisted on women in a patriarchal society. They aren’t a ‘hate clique’. They are a mental fucking illness. And they most certainly aren’t a ‘lifestyle’. So let’s stop with that ableist bullshit, shall we.
And yeah, I also want to reiterate how lifesaving fat acceptance can be for people struggling with EDs - especially those who want to stop hating their bodies but don’t know how.
Urgh, just so mad about this post. So mad.
Wow, I thought TITP was better than this. The sheer lack of understanding of EDs here is just incredible.
These comments are spot on.
I apologize that the post in question got through the queue. As someone who once suffered from an ED, I know very well that it isn’t a ‘lifestyle’ and would never condone such.
I apologize that I haven’t been as on top of the posts at TITP as usual due to personal life changes. And I’m very sorry for this offensive post and everyone it hurt. The original will be taken down.
-ArteToLife
