Reading around the fatosphere, particularly in blog archives, I’ve found a frankly infuriating response to fat acceptance by fat haters. In particular fat haters and shamers seem to attack the idea that a person can be fat and happy. Even when a person states that they are fat and happy with it, they get shot down. These people tell them they can’t be telling the truth, they must be wrong about how they feel. As if fat people need more casers of being told they are wrong, that they’re lying, that they really can’t know how they feel, that they much be wrong because their statement just doesn’t make sense.
Now, I’m not quite ready to make the claim that I’m fat and happy. I’m fat and okay. I’m fat and doing not bad considering. I’m fat and while I still have issues and problems none of them are related to my weight or me being fat. I guess the short hand for that might be fat and happy. At the very least I understand how it is possible to be fat and happy.
So this is to you, fat haters and shamers. This is to everyone who believes you have to be thin to be happy. This is to everyone who ahs ever accused a fat person of lying, especially if you’ve accused someone of lying about being fat and happy. This is exactly how a person can be fat and happy.
It is possible to be fat and happy when you have a boyfriend (or girlfriend/other half/partner/whatever) who loves you for who you are and not your dress size. It is possible to be fat and happy when someone loves your body, exactly how it is. It is possible to be fat and happy when they actively love the curves your fat gives you, and would actually be a little disappointed if weight loss resulted in curve loss.
It is possible to be fat and happy when you have a group of friends who honestly don’t give a shit about social norms. It’s easy to be fat and happy when you have a group of friends who think you’re awesome as it. It’s easy when you have a largely supportive family, and a mother who came to the same conclusions as Fat Acceptance years before you did.
It’s easy to be fat and happy when you refuse to read women’s magazines.
It’s easy when you refuse to conform to any ideal whatsoever.
In short, it’s easy to be fat and happy if you’re determined to be so. And it’s easy when you know how.
And no, I’m sure as hell not lying, and I bloody well know how I feel, thank you very much.
