Thursday, November 05, 2009

Valuing Fat

I really loved this post over at FWD/Forward (if you haven't checked them out: do! They put out a steady stream of awesome). I thought of it today in my biology class. We weren't about disability or mental health, but about fat.

My professor was listing things that are good about fat. Which is great! Fat is not intrinsically bad! In fact, we need it!

But during the talk about what is good about fat, she used the phrase "Unfortunately, women have more body fat than men". Women have more of this thing I'm trying to tell you that your body needs: unfortunately.

She directly followed that sentence with: "That's why if you go to Sea World, for example, the pearl divers you see are female." Which, is, cool! This is a thing women can do better than men because they're fat! This is a situation in which we must reframe what we value! This is a context in which something that we usually see as a burden, is a gift! SO COOL.

If only you hadn't completely defeated that point in your previous sentence.

1 comment:

Sorcha said...

I love this! And thanks for posting that link.
It's funny how in some socities women feel this illogical need to be starved, child-like versions of themselves, and yet in others they are empowered and celebrate their shape.
I'm NOT saying that obesity is a good idea, but we all need something to cover our bones!