Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Post about it here.

I came on here this morning to have a leisurely stroll through the new posts and the first two posts I came across were body shaming. This type of language and thought has always been around, but lately it seems rampant, and silently condoned by society, and I for one am forking sick of it. Bless the PPK, it seems to be one of the few spaces online where body shaming is NOT accepted or encouraged, so I thought I would start a thread where people can come to safely vent about body shaming they've come across or are dealing with. Kind of like the "who challenges your feminism in your life?" thread but more specidic to body shaming.

Last week, after shaking off my disgust at PCRM's "sit next to a vegan" ad, I got to work and saw that my colleague had taped a picture onto a bowl of chocolate Easter eggs that was on the counter for customers; it was a picture of a shrtless fat man on the beach, eating. (It should be noted that this was not aimed at the customers but was turned so that the picture was only visible from our side of the counter.) I asked him why that picture was there and he said it was to keep him from eating too many chocolate eggs. I told him I thought his actions were mean spirited and not ok and to his credit, he took down the picture right away. But it gets my goat that this sort of stuff almost seems to be sanctioned by society as a whole.

*sigh*

Would you believe me if I told you that at an orientation day at a university I went to (for dietetics), the man doing the presentation used a picture of some obese women in bikinis [addressing the issue of obesity], saying "well, these women clearly haven't had their fill..." with a slight giggle? I literally looked around the room at the other people looking for more grimaces or something, I thought it was a completely inappropriate 'joke' to make...

I am really glad we have this thread.

Me too.

A while back on Facebook, a friend posted about getting back to being "sexy", in connection with specific measurements about her weight loss. Well, silly turn of phrase, but probably tongue-in-cheek. But within days, she was posting about her annoyance at someone on Biggest Loser, and how she'd like to kick their "fat asparagus" for their behaviour towards another. It was just two little things, but it left me feeling super anxious about the idea of seeing her next time. Apart from being unpleasant commentary, there's only one conclusion I can draw about what she would think about my body (if she thought about it at all). I really don't know how to be around her.

It also bums me out that she's managed the sort of changes I desire for myself; I feel upset that soon I'll be the only significantly overweight person in my social circle. I feel ashamed that this upsets me and makes me resent her; a lifetime of body image lessons absorbed, eh?

ETA: Meant to say: good on you for speaking up, lepelaar!

I am tired of the conversation. I don't want to talk about fat vegans or how veganism will make you skinny or oil is going to kill you or anything. Let's talk about something more interesting and fun. Like kittens.

I am over-the-top sick of body shaming that is forking everywhere I look. I am sick of weight loss commercials. I'm sick of knowing that people make judgments about my body on a daily basis. I'm sick of the fact that these messages get absorbed by my subconscious, even though I don't want them to and I fight very hard to not let it get to me.

I love my body. I love it's shape. I love the fact that it's strong and carries around my organs and brain all day. I love the fact that it's healthy.

And yet everywhere I look, I'm being told that this is not good enough. Good enough for who? I don't know. I'm in love with my body and so is my husband, but when it comes down to it, society feels they have some ownership in women's bodies. I'm forking SICK OF IT. I'm forking fat, but I'm also beautiful, strong and healthy. So forking what.

I'm tired of watching reruns on Lifetime while I'm at the gym and seeing nothing but ads for weight-loss programs and products paired with ads for canned soup.

Sing it! I did P90X and didn't have a magical, visible transformation, but I got so much stronger. My calves are now too big for all of my cute knee high socks and I have a butt for the first time ever. I plan to jump into another workout program as soon as i'm done repeatedly injuring myself in various ways. If I can get a lean, muscular body working out in a way that I enjoy, that's great but i'm not going to do things I don't enjoy or not eat foods I enjoy just so other people can see the muscles under my fat.

The only thing that makes me angry about this is that there are too many characters to sig the whole bloody thing. You are the queen of the world, and I love you <3 <3. And I just really wish that some of the fat-shamer wankers popping up on this very forum would read this and forking just GET IT.

My friend just posted this on FB, and I think it fits in nicely with this conversation.

http://newsweek.tumblr.com/post/20987735306/my-puffy-face-moment-viva-la-sports-bra

So. Much. Love.

I think the worst part of fat shaming is a lot (most?) of the time done to make a profit. Yes some is done to improve health (because obviously healthy = skinny - sure) but most is to make money off of diet pills, diet plans, gym memberships, clothes to make you look skinnier, workout plans etc etc. Marketers are purposely making you feel bad so you give them your money that seems so evil.

See, I find the worst part the real people who have like internalized this idea that too fat or too skinny = unhealthy. And that somehow someone else's health is their business and their right to judge and complain about.

As most of you probably know, I'm quite thin. I LOVE my body and love what it can do. I think it's hot and strong, and I've even come to terms with the fact that tiny boobs are actually pretty practical in most situations.

I've noticed that when I get drunk, I often end up talking about my weight (usually either because I get to talking about alcohol tolerance or bicycle riding, where weight is something kind of relevant - not just out of the blue from nowhere), and not because I'm trying to be braggy or weird about it (though I always feel the next morning like that's how I've come across and then have massive embarrassment). I think it's because I feel like because I don't talk about my body in shameful terms, or talk about needing to lose weight, I shouldn't talk about it, and that's forked up! I'm embarrassed by talking about how I like my body! I'm embarrassed because I'm not embarrassed of my weight!

I've just had enough about people TALKING about bodies. We are so much more interesting than that.

eta, JoPa, that wasn't directed at you, as I didn't see your post. I meant in the sense that there are so many more interesting things to discuss on a daily basis and I think everyone would be better off if we realized that bodies are just bodies.

All boobs are great!

So true. I for one am an equal opportunity boob lover.

Totally. I just think it's forked up that when it does come up, we're supposed to talk about our bodies with shame and not ever be honest or frank, or, god forbid, think our bodies are GOOD at/for stuff.

Agreed. On a related note: jopa's subnick almost made seltzer come out of my nose and onto my boobs.

If you had smaller boobs, you'd be at lesser risk for boob-seltzer.

my small boobs are sexy as all forking get out... I dont care who knows it

Tell me about it. On the plus side, though, they're handy for catching crumbs and stuff; the other day I found part of a pretzel in my shirt! True story.

When I signed up at my gym, there's a compulsory meeting with a personal trainer so they can ensure you know how to use the equipment, etc. (it's really a ploy to get you to sign up for more personal training sessions, but whatever.) Anyway, my personal trainer took one look at me and said, "So, coming to the gym to lose some weight, huh?"
"Nope!" I said with a smile on my face.
PT: "Oh, uh, okay...um...what are you here for then?"
Me: "To gain strength and general fitness?"
PT: "Oh. So, not to lose weight, though."
Me: "Nope! I'm super happy with my body, generally, I just want to be stronger and more flexible."
PT: "Could you please step on the scale?" *scale reads 200lbs*
Me: "200lbs! On the nose! Just what I thought!" (continuing to smile)
PT: "Really. Huh. I'm surprised you're so upbeat! I think a lot of people would be upset if they saw that."
Me: "Yeah probably, and that's sad."

And that's the story of why I don't have a personal trainer. Trying to make me ashamed of weighing 200lbs didn't win you my business, bubs.

Gross. And when I joined a gym when I was very underweight and unhealthy, I got nothing but compliments about how "trim" I was. PEOPLE. It's BORING AND DUMB. Stop talking about weight!!!!!!