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Bunny

@bun-dpdbny

President of the Small Titty Committee Reigning Supreme of the No Titty Committee
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fatphobiabusters

This post is to remember the singer Cass Elliot who tragically died due to fatphobia. To put it simply, an entire life of cruelty about Cass Elliot's fatness caused her to resort to starvation diets, substance misuse, and what very well could have been an eating disorder. She attempted to survive the fatphobia by playing the fatphobic, stereotypical role of the "funny fat person." Not even in death was she allowed to escape fatphobia, as her tragic death was used as a fat joke by spreading a rumor that she had died by "gluttony." More specifically: choking on a sandwich. Despite that not being true, people continue to believe that debunked myth today. If not for this fatphobic society, Cass Elliot, an incredibly talented singer, would not have died at age 32, involuntarily leaving her only daughter parentless, and likely would have still been alive today.

If you're not sure who Cass Elliot was, this is one of her most iconic songs with her former band:

And here is a solo performance by her. Some people might recognize this song since it was apparently used for a TikTok trend:

For more details about the horrendous fatphobia she endured her entire 32 years, here is a video and two articles that explain. A trigger warning for the second article since it uses the slur "ob*se" and "overweight."

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‘Mama Cass’ Elliot Died Almost 50 Years Ago, But Her Memory Is Still Obscured By Fatphobia
“Cass deserved far more from us,” says writer and researcher Lexi Pandell.
Vogue
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Mama Cass: How fatphobia made a mockery of a legend
The iconic singer of The Mamas & The Papas broke barriers in the music industry by succeeding while also defying established beauty standard
EL PAÍS English

In memory of her, please do not call her "Mama Cass." She hated that nickname because it was used specifically due to fatphobic stereotypes.

If anyone needed an example of how deadly fatphobia has been for centuries, I hope you'll think of Cass Elliot, one of the plethora of people who have been killed by fat people's systemic oppression and still faces oppression to this day while 6 feet under.

-Mod Worthy

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leenbeef

I'm sorry if this comes across as ignorant, but I thought she had collapsed 2 weeks prior to her death and was treated and released from a hospital, and then leading up to her death, she was up for over 24 hours, and then passed away in her sleep due to cardiac arrest?

She absolutely faced terrible fat phobia. I remember growing up (DECADES after the "ham sandwich" rumor was debunked) and my dad telling me that's how she died.

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fatphobiabusters

Her heart attack has been attributed to her extreme disordered eating and substance misuse, both due to her long-term experiences of fatphobia.

Excerpts of the articles previously linked:

“[Elliot’s] official cause of death was labeled as ‘fatty myocardial degeneration due to ob*sity’—but that would still be a shocking cause of death for such a young woman and has largely been refuted,” Pandell tells me. “From the research I’ve done and the doctors I spoke to, it seems the most likely cause of death was extreme dieting in combination with long-term substance abuse.” Pandell believes that present-day fatphobia contributes to a continued lack of understanding about how Elliot actually died, in part because “confronting the possibility that Cass may have died due to extreme dieting challenges our idealization of diet culture.” —‘Mama Cass’ Elliot Died Almost 50 Years Ago, But Her Memory Is Still Obscured By Fatphobia
The quartet’s founder, John Phillips, confessed that peer pressure to lose weight took its toll on Cass, leading her to go on diets that were as extreme as they were dangerous. These diets ended up irrevocably damaging her cardiovascular system. In 1968, after fasting four days a week and losing up to 55 kilos (about 121 pounds), Elliot was admitted to the hospital. “I’ve been fat since I was seven and being fat sets you apart,” she said. —Mama Cass: How fatphobia made a mockery of a legend

Also, as I was double-checking the cause of death, I read this from a fatphobic article:

It remains unclear when precisely she died, while the date was inscribed as July 29 — and the cause as heart failure due to ob*sity.

Which is absolutely incredible that they wrote that her heart attack was due to fatness when the author of the article literally wrote this a few paragraphs beforehand:

Elliot had embarked on a volatile crash diet during this time. She fasted for several days at a time and lost more than 100 pounds — but collapsed prior to an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Nonetheless, her London shows were a cathartic triumph for her.

Even after losing over 100 pounds by starving herself four days a week, people saying she looked visibly sick due to the fasting, and the article completely admitting that she collapsed due to the fasting wreaking havoc on her body, this article still dared to write she died because she was "too fat :(" You've got to be kidding me.

-Mod Worthy

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afeelgoodblog

Murphy, a rescued bald eagle who is known for fiercely protecting a rock he considers his egg, will be getting the opportunity to become a father to an orphaned chick ❤️

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