I have to talk about this. A rant
is needed. What about? The horrible hashtag on Twitter:
#FatShamingWeek
All week I have seen disgusting
tweets designed to hurt, shame and attack women. I nearly broke my computer screen in rage
when looking at the website Return of Kings whose idea kick started the hashtag. Thankfully, I was also pleased to see a lot
of backlash on Twitter from a lot of people who like I, thought that the whole
thing was disgusting.
Although I retweeted a few
comments from people during the week, I refrained from commenting. Ordinarily this sort of thing I wouldn’t
comment on. Too afraid of being targeted
myself or stirring the pot I would normally watch in disgust but say nothing. Then on Sunday night I saw someone in my
timeline, a beautiful, confident and inspiring woman I may add, being attacked
by one of these cretins because she promoted body confidence. How bloody DARE you!
I sent her a message along the
lines of “Ignore, they are just pathetic trolls” and copied the instigator of
the tweet in.
Here are a few snippets of what I
received back from various sources.
Today I look in the news and I
see the vitriolic Katie Hopkins, again spouting her venomous bile about fat
people or in this case, fat children.
What is it with these people?
It is NOT ok to target anyone in
order to hurt, shame or abuse. Nobody
has the right to tell you what you should and shouldn’t look and what is
“acceptable” in their eyes to look like.
But lately it seems that it is happening everywhere.
From the fat shaming week on
Twitter to pictures being posted on the internet of people with crude and
malicious comments written over them to simply people on the street or even
your friends saying rude things.
Emma of Meet the Millards has
posted Are You Happy Being Fat Then? this week after a friend said something unacceptable to
her. Last week I had someone whom I met
recently ask me if I was “stuck with my body” or whether I simply ate far too
much. Oh yes, I replied, I eat all the
pies. What else can you say? Apart from being just as rude back which I
wouldn’t deign to do.
What strikes me from all of these
situations is that every one of the people who say these things think that it
is perfectly acceptable to do so. It isn’t.
So to those who post “shaming”
comments on Twitter, to those who shout at people in the street; to those “friends”
(thankfully never any of mine) that say “You’ve got such a pretty face, if only
you lost weight”; to anyone who think that they have the right to tell you how
they think that you should like; I have a message.
·
Every single person on this planet is different
from the other and that is a GOOD
thing.
·
If you want to judge anyone, judge yourself.
·
If you think that a fat person is unattractive,
don’t date one.
·
If you think that shaming a fat person is an
attractive quality, you’re wrong. Your
attitude is
ugly.
·
It is not big or clever to take delight in
ridiculing someone else.
·
If you enjoy hateful behaviour, you are probably
hateful yourself. You might want to do
something about that or nobody really will want you.
·
If you don’t care that what you say hurts someone
else, I suggest that you see a psychiatrist.
Have you experienced any body
shaming this week?
