Shaming the Fat Away by Kris Kemp Introduction

Sweeping the nation by storm is the idea of fat shaming, but the question of the matter is does it work? Fat shaming is the idea that if you embarrass someone enough, whether it be through the internet, public access and news, or even in person, they will get the motivation to lose weight. In this paper I will be arguing against the weight loss technique known as fat shaming by talking about four main points. First I will discuss the real source of fat shaming, known as hazing or bullying. Second I will talk about obesity itself and what kind of effects fat shaming really has on people. Following that, I will give personal opinions and experiences of fat shaming. And lastly I will propose alternative methods to encourage people to get healthy. First Point On March 20th 2011, President Obama and the first lady released videos of them discussing the issue of bullying. In these videos, the two of them talk of nation-wide campaigns to stop bullying and mentioned websites such as stopbullying.gov, as well as momsfightingbullying.com. Bullying, also known as hazing, has quickly risen to one of the nations top priorities in both schools and the media over the past few years. But what separates this major epidemic of hazing from that of fat shaming? The answer is absolutely nothing. Although the majority of Americans that discriminate or make fun of the overweight population say that it is to, make the defendant feel disgusted with their body and be embarrassed to the point that they will make healthier decisions and change their lifestyle, the source will always remain that of mocking and humor.

Shaming the Fat Away by Kris Kemp

According to an entry by hazingprevention.org, the definition of hazing is as such: Hazing is any action taken or situation created intentionally that causes embarrassment, harassment or ridicule risks emotional and/or physical harm to members of an group or team whether new or not regardless of the person's willingness to participate. (2011) In accordance to that definition, fat shaming is a form of hazing in that it is an action that is meant to intentionally embarrass someone who an individual deems unhealthy. If hazing is such a huge issue in the United States that even the president is involving himself in order to obliterate it, then why is fat shaming not dealt with to the same extent? According to suicide.org, the number one cause of suicide is depression, and the number one cause of depression in people ages 15-22 is hazing. The main reason for Americans taking action against hazing is that it is linked so directly to suicide and depression. But scarce percentages of the population have yet to put together the links between fat shaming and suicide and depression because it is so pervasive in our everyday way of life. Whether it be clothing brands such as Lulu Lemons, who do not sell clothing complimenting those who are over average size, advertisements making fun of chubbier individuals, or television and movie characters that depict fat people as lazy, dumb, or annoying. The idea of making fun of fat people has become a day to day activity. But yet it is still a form of hazing and should be dealt with as severely as any other form. Even an NBCs writers son, who is twelve years old, understands that fat shaming is Just bullying, and bullying is wrong. (July 31st 2013) Second Point

Shaming the Fat Away by Kris Kemp

The definition of obesity by the National Library of Medicine reads: Having too much body fat. It is not the same as being overweight, which means weighing too much . A person may be overweight from extra muscle, bone, or water, as well as from having too much fat. (May 12th 2012) It is common sense that having too much body fat is detrimental to your health, as well as your appearance. But even so, every person has a different healthy weight size which should not be determined by anyone besides a certified physician. Yet, people every day take it upon themselves to judge whether someone is healthy or not by their appearance. This is an issue that faces the U.S. when it comes to fat shaming. People are simply not educated on the subject. If more people understood the human body, there would be less cases of fat shaming. According to the Center for Disease Control, more than one-third of adults in the United States are considered obese. (August 16th, 2013) Of these people, the leading cause for obesity has to do with their childhoods and the habits they developed growing up. According to childrens.org there are four major reasons children become obese and obtain unhealthy habits. The top reasons are as followed: unhealthy diets, insufficient exercise, genetics, and environmental issues (which I would like to focus on). A childs environment does not solely depend on the home living situation, it also includes any media they come in contact with as well as their social life, in and out of school, and extra-curricular activities. Now if a child who is on the verge of obesity or is already obese was to be affected by fat shaming, what would the effects be? According to NBC News, a new study done by Angelina Sutin, a psychologist and assistant professor at the Florida State University College of Medicine:

Shaming the Fat Away by Kris Kemp

Stigma and discrimination are really stressors, and, unfortunately, for many people, theyre chronic stressors, and continues on saying, We know that eating is a common reaction to stress and anxiety -- that people often engage in more food consumption or more binge eating in response to stressors, so there is a logical connection here in terms of some of the maladaptive coping strategies to try to deal with the stress of being stigmatized.(July 26th 2013) The following graph shows the percentage of people who, after being stigmatized either gained weight, stayed the same, or lost weight corresponding to different commonly used subjects of mockery. (Damion Reinhardt Oct 13, 2013 skepticink.com)

Making fun of someone because of their weight, although the excuse for the actions might have good intentions, actually makes the victim more likely to eat more in order to cope with being bullied and being made fun of to the point where they could become even more obese. An excuse might be that they should just eat healthy foods in those situations, but for

Shaming the Fat Away by Kris Kemp

most individuals, junk food is associated in the subconscious to happiness and all the sugars and fats release endorphins which make the person feel better at the beginning. But, according to a study, carried out at the University Of Las Palmas De Gran Canaria, suggests that people who eat junk food are 51 per cent more likely to develop depression than those that don't. (Jamie Condliffe April 2nd 2012) Therefor it can not only affect their personal appearance but their mental abilities as well. These things all affect grades, decision making, as well as social life which according to Maslows hierarchy of needs, is a necessity for life. (Maslows Pyramid) These facts all point to the direction that fat shaming has no positive outcomes, only harmful consequences. And as such, the whole idea behind fat shaming being a logical way to help someone lose weight is completely fictional. Yet it is still a common practice, and sometimes facts do not reach everyone. Therefore, I have prepared personal opinions and recollections of fat shaming in order to appeal to the emotional aspect of this discussion. Third Point/ subsection a- personal article Lesley, a writer who posts articles on xojane.com discusses her personal
A Georgia foundation called Strong4Life Campaign picture.

experiences with fat shaming and how it has affected her life. It did not expose itself to her as fully until she discovered the pictures and campaigns by multiple foundations making fun of children in order to push for healthier lifestyles among children. She describes fat shaming as a paralytic rather than a catalyst for change. She goes on to give examples from her everyday life where citizens astonished her by

Shaming the Fat Away by Kris Kemp

giving input that most would deem inappropriate. During one of her times spent at the grocery store, she is approached by an elderly woman as she is selecting a carton of milk. During that time the old women instructed her to: choose the skim milk, put back the butter, purchase reduced-fat-fake-butter spread, and try Egg Beaters instead of real eggs. This experience only reminded her that because she was overweight, anything in her shopping cart, or anything that she put into her mouth, was open to public scrutiny. (Jan. 26th 2012 Lesley) She could not even go to the gym without a stranger commenting good for you. People such as Lesley are forced into living sheltered lives, because they are unable to go about a normal day without some kind of scrutiny. Subsection b- Interview These things happen all over the country and are simply brushed away because we feel it is acceptable. But I am sure that the country would think otherwise hearing from the opposite end of the insults. I recently interviewed a fellow fraternity brother who, in the past, has dealt with weight problems. For the sake of the paper he wished to stay anonymous but was more than willing to give his opinion on the matter. When I asked him about the expierences that he had with individuals commenting on his weight he responded: I used to get Twinkies thrown at me, and I used to get pants which sucked because of my fat ass. People would call me names and treat me differently. I also asked what his reaction was to these cases of abuse, and he said: I was initially traumatized. I thought of myself as a nice person but the thought of people judging me because of my weight was terrible and made me sad. But I tried to make up for it by being funny but I was not good at it so I was made fun of more. It made me want to get revenge. So I hit the gym hard and beat up the kids who picked on me. Sadly it only resulted in my expulsion

Shaming the Fat Away by Kris Kemp

and me gaining back the weight. Now that I am in college, I have been able to join phi delt where, for the first time, I have been accepted for who I am and I have been able to slowly lose weight because of the ability to be who I am. I quickly followed up with a question about whether or not he knew what fat shaming was, which he jokingly answered: Yes, when they shame the fat guy. This of course was a false answer. After explaining what fat shaming was to my fraternity brother, I finished by questioning whether or not he believed fat shaming worked. With a serious face he retaliated with: Absolutely not! It would make the victims worse off. Realizing that he was getting upset and finished the interview. This just shows how, even after a long course of time, fat shaming still haunts its victims. Subsection c- Personal Experiences I myself have even dealt with fat shaming throughout my life. In high school I played basketball my freshman and sophomore years. Even though I was a highly active individual I still found it hard to lose weight. At the end of practice every day, we would host a scrimmage where all the players would play against each other, shirts vs. skins. I would always pray to be put on the shirts team for fear of being made fun of due to my weight as well as the unusual amount of hair I had running from my chest down through my stomach for a 15 year old male. But just as one would expect, I eventually wound up on the skins team multiple times through the season, only to have my nightmares realized. Due to my weight, whenever I sat down on the bench for an extended period of time, I would develop three red lines stretching across my stomach which gave the appearance of muscle where my abdominals would be, if I had them.

Shaming the Fat Away by Kris Kemp

Along with a set of man boobs, these were the fuel sources which fed the antagonizing. A set of red headed twins as well as a short Justin Bieber look alike, each day rampantly insulting and embarrassing me as I ran across the dust ridden, hard wood basketball court, where a block-G laid in the very center. Even successes of receiving girls phone numbers on trips were quickly dispersed by the ranting and complaining of the upperclassmens voices asking, Why does the fat, ugly kid get all the numbers? These occurrences lead to the end of my basketball career, a sport I once loved. Later on in years, when I confronted the individuals who had mocked me in high school, the responses I received in return were all along the lines of, It was all to make you stronger and motivate you. Little did they know it had done just the opposite. This is the motivation that drove me to write on this subject. Third Point It is of little knowledge why fat shaming has become such a common tool to try and motivate individuals to get in shape. Yet there are many more ways in which one could achieve the desired result. Suggestions from CBS New York involve the parents. Growing up, the best way to get your child to make healthy choices is to lead by example. A parent is the greatest role model to a child growing up, therefor if the parent eats healthy and stays active, the chance that the child with do the same as well is astoundingly high. Other options include multiple dietary choices, positive reinforcement, and exercise alternatives. Sub-point a- dietary choices In the field of dietary choices, it is hard to find something that would benefit you the most, in my personal case, finding gluten free food that is healthy and good tasting is near

Shaming the Fat Away by Kris Kemp

impossible. Yet with options such as meal plans at large optioned buffets, variety is always a good choice as long as the options are healthy. Another personal favorite is something I like to call ninja nutrition. The idea of ninja nutrition is to disguise healthy food as junk food. Options such as soda with stevia instead of sugar, dark chocolate instead of milk, frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, and the list goes on. Sub-point b- positive reinforcement Positive reinforcement is also a great way to encourage someone to stay healthy. Someone might not always listen to their parents or mean kids at school, but they might listen if it is their best friend or a doctor. Hearing that you are unhealthy and that someone is extremely worried about you from someone you can trust makes a positive impact compared to an insult from a stranger on the street. Also shows like the Biggest Loser and Supersize Me can create subconscious ideas about staying healthy. So encouragement of watching shows like those can contribute as well. Sub-point c- exercise alternatives With the widespread release of new technology, companies are finding ways to get people off the couch while still playing their favorite games. Great examples are the Wii and the Kinect for Xbox. These are great alternatives to sitting and playing Call of Duty. On top of these options, games like Pokmon, have integrated devices such as the PokWalker that encourage the player to go outside and be active. Even in competitive video gaming, professionals often refer to their alternative workout schedules they keep in order to maintain a healthy mind and

Shaming the Fat Away by Kris Kemp

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body. There are plenty of alternatives to the normal workout. These alternatives just need to be taken advantage of in order to keep a healthy lifestyle and still have fun. Fat shaming in the end is one of the worst possible attempts one could have at getting someone to lose weight. It is nothing more than justified hazing and should not be tolerated. Obesity is a serious problem and there are no facts proving that making fun of someone is beneficial. Over half the country is affected in some way or another, or has taken part, and these kind of things have ruined lives. Think of the other person next time before you decide to make a comment on someones size. And finally there are plenty of alternative sources to hint someone towards the path to health, so there is no need for calling someone out. Fat shaming is a serious issue and should be fought against. No more shaming and a lot more proclaiming the benefits of health.