Body Shaming Lizzo

[civvver]

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture...zed-saying-lizzo-s-body-shouldn-t-be-n1112941

The story is, Jillian Michaels, famous for her run on the tv show biggest loser, made some comments about the singer Lizzo, who is obese, saying we should celebrate her music not her body. Of course following those comments a bunch of people were enraged and posted responses, so Michaels double downed on her comments saying she doesn't judge people's beauty and worth by their size, but being big is terrible for your health and we shouldn't celebrate it.

So what do you think? Is she body shaming or is she trying to bring awareness to actual health issues associated with obesity? The thing I don't get is where her comments came from. They seem to come out of nowhere. I mean who was celebrating Lizzo for her body and not her music? So to me, while I agree with the substance of what was said, I think her motives are clearly in question here. And why single out one person anyway?

 

[Hygro]

At first I was like, this lady is totally out of pocket. But her whole brand is to be anti-fatness, so if you're going to pay her heed, then her job is to tell you someone is fat. So I blame you, civvver, for promoting her message.

Lizzo's music is great.

 

[civvver]

I guess I am wondering, at what point does accepting people for who they are become a personal crutch for not taking care of your body? And is that ok? It's gone so far that skinny shaming is now a thing apparently, when people get in shape and instead of celebrating their new found healthy people will say why did you do that, you succumbed to the fat shamers and are too skinny!

 

[rah]

Yes, a health/body building instructor came out and said fat isn't healthy for you. News at 11.
Yes fat shaming is not a good thing. But I'm willing to cut people in her profession a little slack when it comes to saying it shouldn't be celebrated.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I never heard of this singer, but I do know something about body-shaming. It's why I rarely speak to my mother's side of her very judgmental family and don't really consider them to be my family. If you're not perfect (as in too much one way or another), they come right out with critical, rude remarks... and then wonder why you want nothing to do with them.

There is no need to inform "imperfect" people that they are "imperfect." Honestly, they are aware of it. And considering some girls start fretting about their weight when they're as young as 6 or 7 when they see favorite young singer/dancers on TV, it's a problem in many ways. That's far too young to start a cycle of self-hate over body image.

 

[Commodore]

Yes fat shaming is not a good thing

Okay, but is it really fat shaming to state the very basic medical fact that being fat is unhealthy? And is it also fat shaming to say such an unhealthy state of being is not something a person should strive for or be comfortable with?

I mean, are we going to start accusing doctors of fat shaming when they tell their patients they need to lose weight as well?

 

[rah]

You would be correct except that it was associated with a specific person.

 

[EgonSpengler]

I do think Michaels, as a fitness-celebrity, showed a lack of eloquence there. I'd think she'd be better at communicating to a wide audience, given that's her job.

The thing I don't get is where her comments came from. They seem to come out of nowhere. I mean who was celebrating Lizzo for her body and not her music? So to me, while I agree with the substance of what was said, I think her motives are clearly in question here. And why single out one person anyway?

The interviewer is the one who brought it up, naming Lizzo and Ashley Graham. There's a short video clip on the twitters. https://twitter.com/AM2DM/status/1214966495912058881

I mean, are we going to start accusing doctors of fat shaming when they tell their patients they need to lose weight as well?

If they do it publicly, or if they're talking about someone who's neither present nor their patient, then yes. And if they're talking about someone who is their patient, they'd better have that person's permission. On Michaels' show, I'd guess the participants sign a waiver or a contract or something.

If Michaels had been a little less clumsy, maybe she could have pivoted away from Lizzo specifically and spoken more generally and more gently about the health effects of obesity. I dunno. (I'm not a health professional or a media professional. Michaels ought to be better at this than I am.)

 

[Gorbles]

Okay, but is it really fat shaming to state the very basic medical fact that being fat is unhealthy? And is it also fat shaming to say such an unhealthy state of being is not something a person should strive for or be comfortable with?

I mean, are we going to start accusing doctors of fat shaming when they tell their patients they need to lose weight as well?

Calling something a "fact" doesn't mean it can't also be an insult, unnecessary, or generally just poor form. I see this a lot, "well, I'm just stating facts". Failing to realise that linguistically, words aren't just put in a single box and kept there.

There's also a lot of medical stuff underneath what fat is considered to be r.e. health. I'm not commenting on Lizzo specifically, just generally, what laymen like most of us (I'm assuming) understand as "fat" can absolutely be irrelevant to someone's particular health, and we certainly don't know what people do in their own time to work on it. So it's judgement pure and simple, the only difference is misguided intent or outright malice.

 

[red_elk]

I think it depends on context. It's rude just to say there is nothing to celebrate about your body, when you weren't celebrating anything about it.
On the other hand when you live unhealthy lifestyle, it can be tempting to believe you are as beautiful as people who exercise and maintain diet.

 

[Commodore]

You would be correct except that it was associated with a specific person.

A person who is ostensibly going to be a role model for her fans. Seems to me that Michael's was just trying to get the point across that people shouldn't look at Lizzo and think that being obese is okay. Because it's not okay. It's a public health issue that is bordering on a public health crisis in the US. In my opinion, saying it's okay to be fat is the same as saying suicide is okay. Because that's essentially what fat people are doing: killing themselves. They are just doing it in a slower, more passive way.

Calling something a "fact" doesn't mean it can't also be an insult, unnecessary, or generally just poor form. I see this a lot, "well, I'm just stating facts". Failing to realise that linguistically, words aren't just put in a single box and kept there.

There's also a lot of medical stuff underneath what fat is considered to be r.e. health. I'm not commenting on Lizzo specifically, just generally, what laymen like most of us (I'm assuming) understand as "fat" can absolutely be irrelevant to someone's particular health, and we certainly don't know what people do in their own time to work on it. So it's judgement pure and simple, the only difference is misguided intent or outright malice.

If someone gets insulted by facts, then they are the one with the problem, not the person stating the facts.

And while obesity may not always have a direct impact on someone's health, it almost always compounds any medical issues that do come up and can even make it harder for doctors to treat an obese person properly.

 

[rah]

I said I was willing to cut her some slack, but she could have handled it a bit better. As said already, she should know better.

 

[Gorbles]

If someone gets insulted by facts, then they are the one with the problem, not the person stating the facts.

And while obesity may not always have a direct impact on someone's health, it almost always compounds any medical issues that do come up and can even make it harder for doctors to treat an obese person properly.

Facts can be used as insults, and pretending that facts and the method in which they're delivered is some sacrosanct thing that allows no criticism is just that - a pretense.

Besides, like I said, what you or I consider facts might not actually be so, especially when it comes to something that's always advancing like (human) medical science.

 

[EgonSpengler]

I said I was willing to cut her some slack, but she could have handled it a bit better. As said already, she should know better.

Has anyone here seen her show? I had to Google her. There are certainly media personalities who deliberately portray themselves as abrasive - Gordon Ramsay is one I can name - and maybe she's one of them. Anyway, even if she cultivates that style of persona, I still think she threw a meatball right down the middle of the plate here - "scored an own-goal"; "threw an interception"; "made an unforced error"; pick your sports metaphor.

 

[Kyriakos]

I don't care. People communicate stuff poorly all the time. As long as there wasn't actual malice, I can't say this warrants much of a response.
Some people will be obese - and most will stay obese. In the end of the day, it's each person's call (though it certainly is extremely hard to get back to a regular weight if you are obese). No point in shaming nor celebrating, imo.

 

[Commodore]

Besides, like I said, what you or I consider facts might not actually be so, especially when it comes to something that's always advancing like (human) medical science

Of course. "Facts" in this case is shorthand for "the facts as we currently understand them."

 

[Birdjaguar]

If someone gets insulted by facts, then they are the one with the problem, not the person stating the facts.

Oftentimes, "just stating the facts" is done so without any purpose other than to cause pain. That problem lies with the fact speaker. Trump often uses such "facts" when he attacks his enemies.

 

[Narz]

When anorexics celebrate being underweight everyone can agree its pathological.

Celebrating obesity is odd, it's like celebrating alcoholism.

Shaming people is mean, "celebrating" something unhealthy is patronizing and also kinda mean in it's own way

 

[Zardnaar]

In this scenario it's fine. She was asked and is a fitness guru.

It's not like she is going out of her way to do it.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

In this scenario it's fine. She was asked and is a fitness guru.

It's not like she is going out of her way to do it.

Was she asked? Based on earlier posts here I was under the impression that she wasn't and just said it. If someone asked her about it that changes the context of this discussion considerably.