Short post today and none next Monday since I will be on vacation.
I usually don't like to criticize the fat acceptance movement in my blog. I feel that these are internal issues we can sort out ourselves.
However, an important issue has come up that I feel I must comment on. NAAFA is considering a name change because of the negative connotations of the word fat. I don't know if they are going to change the name completely or keep the acronym and not say what it stands for. Two reasons have been given for the name change. The first I disagree with but understand and that is calling yourself fat brings out all the 7th grade mentality of critics. Some fat people may be uncomfortable using the word fat or might see it is an insult.
It is the second reason that gives me pause. The word FAT is not getting NAAFA the corporate sponsorship it needs.
Of course it isn't. A grassroots movement meant to change how fat people are viewed does not need corporate money dictating its agenda or memberhip.
I'm a member of two size positive groups, The Association for Diversity and Health in Size(ASDAH) and the National Association to Advanced Fat Acceptance (NAAFA). The reason why I am a member of both is because they are two different groups with distinct and different goals. ASDAH is the group I rely on the spread the HAES message. To make sure that fat individuals aren't judged solely on their weight and that healthy people come in a variety of sizes.
NAAFA was my group that told me it was okay to call myself fat.
In the NAAFA newsletter section about the name change is this quote:
We cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand and believe this problem will resolve itself. For us to affect change, we must be taken seriously.
Writing this blog I get a lot of trolls. Most of them outright insult me, or tell me stop eating but a large portion of them tell me I'm delusional because I think it's okay to be fat.
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