I was browsing through the status updates on Facebook yesterday when I came across one from an ex-workmate which said "...is sick, think I'm dying - still at least I'll have lost a few pounds.". I'm sure she's exaggerating the 'dying' part but her status struck me as a perfect example of women's mania for being thin, regardless of health concerns.
A common criticism of the Fat Acceptance movement is that we are promoting an unhealthy (and potentially life-threatening) lifestyle choice in much the same way as Pro-Anorexia sites do. The main focus of most FA blogs is 'Thou shalt not hate yourself just because you are not thin' - Pro-Ana sites on the other hand have the central tenant 'If you hate yourself more, you can be even thinner.'. FA is about self-love, pro-ana about self-hate. Pro-ana is an exaggeration of the the status quo (diet sites and pro-ana sites have almost identical content). FA is a rejection of it.
Health is more than numbers on a scale. Part of the reason I'm fat is side-effects of medication I've taken for mental health problems. It may have made me fatter, but it saved my life - and to me that's far more healthy than welcoming illness to make you thin.
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