If plus-size modelling is glorification of obesity, I’ll eat my hat
We need to talk about fat privilege. It’s not fashionable to say this, but OMG thin women are in danger of becoming an oppressed minority! While society used to have an unhealthy obsession with skinniness, the tables have turned and we’re now seeing a widespread glorification of obesity.
Take, for example, the death of the diet. For decades, counting calories has been an integral part of the western woman’s way of life. Lately, however, it has become deeply uncool to admit you might be trying to lose weight and everyone is now practising “clean eating” instead. Even Barbie no longer wants to be thin; Mattel started selling a curvy Barbie last year. Then you’ve got the fashion industry. Earlier this year, British Vogue put Ashley Graham, a plus-size model, on its cover – a historic first. And now we’ve reached a point where people are actually starting to parade bigger bodies on the runway. A recent Sports Illustrated swimsuit catwalk show featured models of diverse body types, including plus-sized models.
Naturally, some misguided fools have tried to see the positive side. Indeed, Sports Illustrated’s editor MJ Day said that “some people in the audience were moved to tears because they saw themselves represented on the runway, which they never thought they would”. However, once you get past all the touchy-feely stuff about breaking down stigmas and democratising fashion, you start to realise just how dangerous inclusivity and body positivity can be. Yes, really! As Soraiya Fuda, a columnist for Australia’s Daily Telegraph, pointed out, in a piece that quickly went viral, “Sports Illustrated’s move to parade ‘curvier’ women on the runway [is] irresponsible”. Because showing women that you can wear a swimsuit at any size is basically a slippery slope to an obesity-triggered death.
Don’t believe me? Various doctors have chimed in to support Fuda’s argument. Dr Brad Frankum, the president of the Australian Medical Association in New South Wales, told the BBC that “if we send very overweight or obese people down the catwalk modelling clothes, what it is saying, in a way, is that we are celebrating obesity. I think that is dangerous because we know it is a dangerous health condition.”
Of course, pointing out the dangers of obesity tends to prompt a predictable counterargument that society skews far more towards fat-shaming than the celebration of obesity. A 2016 study for LighterLife found that nearly 40% of obese adults in the UK have been mocked by strangers, for example. The argument is also often made that stigmatising obesity can have a hugely detrimental impact on people’s physical and mental health. One study, for example, found that people who think they are overweight are more likely to stress-eat in response and become even more overweight. Recent studies also show that fat-shaming by doctors is rife and damages the physical and mental health of overweight people. In some instances, obese people even avoid seeking medical help when they are ill because they’re afraid of disrespectful treatment.
I don’t believe a word of it, however. Ultimately, I think that we need to forget the facts and focus on the real issue: political correctness! As Fuda explains in her column: “We’ve worked our society up to have a heightened sense of sensitivity around overweight issues where the word ‘fat’ is now frowned upon. In turn it has created a taboo ‘look-away’ culture in fear of offending someone – even if the intention is to urge them to seek help.” Political correctness is so pervasive that, tragically, it has even stopped Fuda from saving her fat friends from themselves. She admits that “I’m guilty of turning a blind eye when a friends says, ‘I’m so fat.’ I just stand there denying that they are but maybe a bit of truth can lead some people on the right track of weight loss. Too many people are risking their lives with weight-related problems.”
I really have to applaud Fuda for the courageous way in which she “looks away” from grammatical norms and focuses in on truths the PC brigade would prefer us to avoid. She’s right! Obesity is far too serious a matter to treat sensitively. What’s needed is a little tough love. In fact, I’m going to go so far as to say that, not only should the fashion industry ban anyone over a size 8 from its catwalks, it should stop making plus-sized clothing altogether. Admittedly, companies aren’t actually making many clothes for larger women at the moment: plus-sizes make up only 16% of all apparel sales, which is very low considering 67% of women in the US wear a size 14 (UK size 16) or above. However, making any sort of plus-sized clothing is irresponsible. If we send very overweight or obese people down the sidewalk wearing clothes, what it is saying, in a way, is that we are celebrating obesity. And that’s obviously very dangerous – as I’m sure many doctors would agree.
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