T-devil is one of my very good friends. He’s a plus-size man and a lover of plus-size women. He’s also super opinionated on the subject and I’m including this article on my site because it’s always good to ponder the male perspective of plus-size empowerment and size-acceptance.

Sometimes I question the sincerity of size acceptance by T-Devil

I was reading something somewhere about fat art and if some of it was a help or a hindrance to size acceptance. Sometimes, Art can be very beautiful:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

I love beautiful art! It’s inspiring and creative and it speaks of such great positivity and energy. Then you get this:

Exhibit C

Believe it or not, this is where the trouble starts.

Does Exhibit C say ANYTHING positive about size acceptance? What does it tell you?

See, some people find this erotic. Big deal, lots of people find lots of things erotic. But who wants to be tied to an image like that? I don’t. Many people don’t. I’m not saying it ought to be banned or anything, but there are people out there that believe that shit like this actually helps the movement! I can only imagine that these people have no idea what it’s like to lose the ability to move. That’s sexy to them? Ok, whatever.

This is where everything I believe in Size Acceptance falls apart like a house of cards. Just what am I supposed to accept? I can’t accept artwork like that because it ill represents me and my ideals. It’s not what I believe in. It is the opposite of what I believe in. I’ve tried to put my mind around the concept and I can’t do it. Something stops me. I pride myself on having an open mind, but eventually it has to shut itself off or I begin to see things I can’t take.

I can’t take the idea of finding immobility erotic. I don’t think anyone should. Where is the freedom in that? When I first decided to support Size Acceptance, it wasn’t because I was into Fat Girls. It was because I myself am fat. I’ve been discriminated against because of it too both at jobs and in society in general. I as a male don’t get it nearly as bad as women, but I know what it feels like. Having rights is important and supporting what you believe in is important.

But how far is that belief supposed to go? Are we supposed to support EVERYTHING that entails weight? If we don’t, are we enemies of the movement? Are we hypocrites?
I don’t think so. I think there has to be a shut off valve. I think we have to say when it’s gotten out of control. I think we have to reach a certain point and ask ourselves if we have crossed some kind of line.

I love Big Women, I do. But love them to the point of stuffing them to immobility? I can’t do it and what disturbs me is that I feel like a traitor because some dumb assholes try and use logic to make people accept the bad and the good. I can’t though. I just can’t do it because the mere thought of putting another person into a gluttonous prison of their own bodies is so hard for me to even think of, much less condone.

I would sooner find another cause to believe in before I would accept something like that. To me, it’s confirming all that people outside of our movement have been accusing us of. It’s evidence of guilt. It’s weakness in our belief of being fat, but also being healthy and happy.

I’m a believer that people of size ought to have the right to walk down the street and not have insults flung at them. I believe that fat people ought to have self-esteem and a sense of worth. I believe in people that support this ideology. I can’t accept people that believe over indulgence is a good thing.

Sometimes you just have to know your limitations, and accept them AS your limitations. Sometimes one just has to say “Enough”.

__________________________________________________________________________

Image Links courtesy of: