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Sexism you have personally experienced or have heard of? *READ POST 1*

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Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,129 ✭✭✭PucaMama


    JRant wrote: »
    Well the sooner this myth that "big is beautiful" is dispelled the better. Anyone (male or frmale) who thinks they can carry around an extra 5/10 stone on them is a numpty. It's not beautiful, it's dangerous, and gob****es going around promoting it are not doing anyone any favours.
    Actually it's none of your business what other people weigh.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22,448 ✭✭✭✭Pawwed Rig


    PucaMama wrote: »
    Actually it's none of your business what other people weigh.

    It is actually as we pay for the health system via taxation. The government i.e. the people i.e. us need to tackle the obesity crisis. Encouraging poor health is a very silly thing to do.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,129 ✭✭✭PucaMama


    Pawwed Rig wrote: »
    It is actually as we pay for the health system via taxation. The government i.e. the people i.e. us need to tackle the obesity crisis. Encouraging poor health is a very silly thing to do.

    Do you like a drink? A smoke? Drive faster than you should?

    You pay tax. End of. The government spends it. That's it. It's not an allowance to bitch at someone who doesn't weigh what you think they should.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22,448 ✭✭✭✭Pawwed Rig


    PucaMama wrote: »
    Do you like a drink? A smoke? Drive faster than you should?

    You pay tax. End of. The government spends it. That's it. It's not an allowance to bitch at someone who doesn't weigh what you think they should.

    And do I pay motor tax and fines if caught speeding? Is there government policy in place to stop it?
    Do I pay excise on cigs and alcohol? Is there government policy in place to lower consumption?

    It definitely is not end of. The government owes the people a reasonable basis for their spending. If they are blowing huge amounts of money treating a preventable ailment then dam right we have the right to an opinion. Where the fat person absolves the state of their obligation to treat them THEN they can go about their business with no interference from anyone.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,313 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    maybe
    PucaMama wrote: »
    Do you like a drink?.
    Alcohol abuse is increasingly seen as a problem and increasingly vilified.
    A smoke?
    Smokers have been vilified for decades and have been pushed ever outdoors and beyond the Pale.
    Drive faster than you should?
    Speed is a constantly referenced issued as far as road deaths are concerned and if caught results in fines, even licence removal.
    You pay tax. End of. The government spends it. That's it. It's not an allowance to bitch at someone who doesn't weigh what you think they should.
    See above.Indeed find any thread on those subjects on Boards and see how many are quick to "bitch". Why are increasing levels of obesity seen as somehow more off limits?

    Many worry about Artificial Intelligence. I worry far more about Organic Idiocy.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22,448 ✭✭✭✭Pawwed Rig


    See article attached re cost of obesity

    http://www.safefood.eu/News/2012/New-study-reveals-the-annual-cost-of-overweight-an.aspx
    2012 article - annual cost €1.1 billion

    There is a pension saving however as obese people die about 10 years earlier than they should.

    So saying that obesity is ok is costing ON AVERAGE 10 years of their life. You may as well tell old people that suicide is ok.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,585 ✭✭✭ligerdub


    PucaMama wrote: »
    Actually it's none of your business what other people weigh.

    You're quite right of course, in many cases it is their choice to look how they want to. When it becomes a problem though is people lying and telling obese people they are fine as they are in terms of health, and that "big is beautiful". It isn't. There's no reason for obese people to feel down or marginalised, as that is unfair, but there's no point in keeping heads in the sand and suggesting that overweight people are as physically attractive or socially attractive as the same person would be were they in a normal weight range.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,129 ✭✭✭PucaMama


    ligerdub wrote: »
    You're quite right of course, in many cases it is their choice to look how they want to. When it becomes a problem though is people lying and telling obese people they are fine as they are in terms of health, and that "big is beautiful". It isn't. There's no reason for obese people to feel down or marginalised, as that is unfair, but there's no point in keeping heads in the sand and suggesting that overweight people are as physically attractive or socially attractive as the same person would be were they in a normal weight range.

    Some people (see above!) love getting their chance for a go at overweight people. I have no problem saying it's unhealthy and shouldn't be encouraged but calling people names for it isn't ok.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,585 ✭✭✭ligerdub


    PucaMama wrote: »
    Some people (see above!) love getting their chance for a go at overweight people. I have no problem saying it's unhealthy and shouldn't be encouraged but calling people names for it isn't ok.

    Who are you referring to?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,138 ✭✭✭✭JRant


    PucaMama wrote: »
    Actually it's none of your business what other people weigh.

    It's everyone's business when an already creaking health service has to deal with easily preventable diseases down the line. Anyone who thinks diabetes us a walk in the park needs a rather loud wake up call.

    Anyway my main gripe is with the deplorable asshats that keep telling us that "big is beautiful" so they can keep making a quick buck off the back of it. People carrying too much timber should be encouraged to try lose the extra weight not keep it on because it's "beautiful". It's bloody dangerous and needs to called out for what it is.

    Smoking used to be viewed as "cool" but with effective education people now realise just how dangerous it is. It has now become persona non grata everywhere in this country as a result. The same approach needs to be taken with obesity IMO.

    "Well, yeah, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man"



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,280 ✭✭✭✭Eric Cartman


    PucaMama wrote: »
    Some people (see above!) love getting their chance for a go at overweight people. I have no problem saying it's unhealthy and shouldn't be encouraged but calling people names for it isn't ok.

    and people love having a go at smokers, druggies, alcoholics etc…

    The media talks and talks about how children are influenced by whats going on in magazines and tv shows etc…

    Nobody is going to put a heroin addict on the cover of a magazine and say "wow, look at this lad , who has his crippling drug addiction , so proud, he shouldn't have to change" quite the opposite really. Even when celebrities become drug addicts or have problems , its talked about in a negative light in those publications and doesn't dare glorify it, even someone like charlie sheen was vilified in the media for his drink and drugs lifestyle.

    Yet you have the likes of tess holiday, being celebrated for being a size 26 and a model, not a word about her size being unhealthy or the dangers of obesity from a lot of publications / outlets. They're actually celebrating it.

    Now I don't believe in these awful "she's a size 10, what a mess" type publications , but theres a massive difference between (giving a size 10 women a break and not asking her to be a size 6) and glorifying a size 26 woman.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    PucaMama wrote: »
    Some people (see above!) love getting their chance for a go at overweight people. I have no problem saying it's unhealthy and shouldn't be encouraged but calling people names for it isn't ok.

    There's a flip side though. I'm 192 cm tall and damn skinny. Very high metabolism. And I have a shaking disorder (essential tremor). I've lost count of the number of fat people that feel the need to comment on my weight. Pretty much everyone has some advice on how to gain weight for those guys who are very skinny (moreso when you're over 30, i've found). And yet, I don't hear anyone complaining about it...

    The slim/skinny perspective of beauty for women comes far more from other women than it does by men. Consider the weight of girlfriends/wives. Men generally don't push their partners to be slim.... The perspective of beauty (chunky, mascular, etc) oddly enough also comes from women. Imagine that. :rolleyes:

    Edit:
    JRant wrote: »
    Smoking used to be viewed as "cool" but with effective education people now realise just how dangerous it is. It has now become persona non grata everywhere in this country as a result. The same approach needs to be taken with obesity IMO.

    I always find this funny... do you really think anyone waking up the next morning after smoking 20 cigs didn't know it was unhealthy? Hell, most people vomit on their first or second cig. You really have to work at getting addicted... but, yes, it was cool in school..

    I understand the push on smoking. I really do. But smokers aren't complete idiots. Yes, we smoke something that damages our health. We knew that from the beginning.

    I've never used public health care, and never will (i'm a big believer in private care). I also voted for the smoking ban. My god, the ideas people have about smokers these days.

    Are you annoyed with the government for taxing smokers heavily but not making tobacco illegal? Make smokers pariahs but don't remove the addiction from view.. Nah. The economy needs that money. Right?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,138 ✭✭✭✭JRant


    There's a flip side though. I'm 192 cm tall and damn skinny. Very high metabolism. And I have a shaking disorder (essential tremor). I've lost count of the number of fat people that feel the need to comment on my weight. Pretty much everyone has some advice on how to gain weight for those guys who are very skinny (moreso when you're over 30, i've found). And yet, I don't hear anyone complaining about it...

    The slim/skinny perspective of beauty for women comes far more from other women than it does by men. Consider the weight of girlfriends/wives. Men generally don't push their partners to be slim.... The perspective of beauty (chunky, mascular, etc) oddly enough also comes from women. Imagine that. :rolleyes:

    Edit:



    I always find this funny... do you really think anyone waking up the next morning after smoking 20 cigs didn't know it was unhealthy? Hell, most people vomit on their first or second cig. You really have to work at getting addicted... but, yes, it was cool in school..

    I understand the push on smoking. I really do. But smokers aren't complete idiots. Yes, we smoke something that damages our health. We knew that from the beginning.

    I've never used public health care, and never will (i'm a big believer in private care). I also voted for the smoking ban. My god, the ideas people have about smokers these days.

    Are you annoyed with the government for taxing smokers heavily but not making tobacco illegal? Make smokers pariahs but don't remove the addiction from view.. Nah. The economy needs that money. Right?

    I'm not one bit annoyed, whatever gave you that idea?

    My point was that people now know the consequences of smoking and it is nowhere near as "cool" as it was. You won't see magazines telling smokers to be proud of themselves and how 'right on' they are.

    "Well, yeah, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man"



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,524 ✭✭✭✭One eyed Jack


    JRant wrote: »
    Well the sooner this myth that "big is beautiful" is dispelled the better. Anyone (male or frmale) who thinks they can carry around an extra 5/10 stone on them is a numpty. It's not beautiful, it's dangerous, and gob****es going around promoting it are not doing anyone any favours.


    Entirely subjective JR. That "myth" isn't going away any time soon either as it's as old as time itself, and it's a prevalent phenomenon in many, many cultures, just not so much in Western culture where it's more of a fetishised sub-culture. Prosletysing from either perspective doesn't really do anyone any favours. Humiliation works for a minority, but only in the short term - Operation Transformation, Weight Watchers, Slimming World, etc, it's a massive, massive, and incredibly profitable industry making people feel shìtty about themselves and feeding off their insecurities (lol, no pun intended :D), but hopefully you get the idea.

    Work with people at an individual level is as best you can do, because preaching and criticism just doesn't work on a grand scale... (I need to stop :pac: ).

    Pawwed Rig wrote: »
    It is actually as we pay for the health system via taxation. The government i.e. the people i.e. us need to tackle the obesity crisis. Encouraging poor health is a very silly thing to do.


    Fat people pay tax too PR, I know I do, and I smoke, and drink, and hell I just happen to enjoy the finer things in life. But this is the thing - y'know what kills more people than anything else? Stress.

    Encouraging a healthy lifestyle from childhood is one thing, criticising people for their poor lifestyle choices is quite something else entirely. The first one works long term, the second one if any effect at all, only works in the short term. A holistic approach is required, examining all the factors involved, not just the physical appearance that many in the Western world find objectionable.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,138 ✭✭✭✭JRant


    Entirely subjective JR. That "myth" isn't going away any time soon either as it's as old as time itself, and it's a prevalent phenomenon in many, many cultures, just not so much in Western culture where it's more of a fetishised sub-culture. Prosletysing from either perspective doesn't really do anyone any favours. Humiliation works for a minority, but only in the short term - Operation Transformation, Weight Watchers, Slimming World, etc, it's a massive, massive, and incredibly profitable industry making people feel shìtty about themselves and feeding off their insecurities (lol, no pun intended :D), but hopefully you get the idea.

    Work with people at an individual level is as best you can do, because preaching and criticism just doesn't work on a grand scale... (I need to stop :pac: ).





    Fat people pay tax too PR, I know I do, and I smoke, and drink, and hell I just happen to enjoy the finer things in life. But this is the thing - y'know what kills more people than anything else? Stress.

    Encouraging a healthy lifestyle from childhood is one thing, criticising people for their poor lifestyle choices is quite something else entirely. The first one works long term, the second one if any effect at all, only works in the short term. A holistic approach is required, examining all the factors involved, not just the physical appearance that many in the Western world find objectionable.

    Fair point Jack, beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all. It's a strange dichotomy whereby one industry is making a fortune promoting the larger person while another is telling them they are "massive fatties" (as one particular obnoxious program calls obese people) and creaming it as well. Neither are right in my mind.

    How we deal with it though is a tough one but it really is a ticking time bomb coming down the line.

    "Well, yeah, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man"



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    JRant wrote: »
    I'm not one bit annoyed, whatever gave you that idea?

    My point was that people now know the consequences of smoking and it is nowhere near as "cool" as it was. You won't see magazines telling smokers to be proud of themselves and how 'right on' they are.

    I'm 40. I've been smoking since I was 13. And I've never seen magazines telling smokers to be proud of smoking or how right they were to smoke. Are you thinking of the Marlboro Man in the States?

    There was plenty of advertising but that didn't get us smoking. It was the rebellion against what was considered "safe" or "acceptable".... or simply to avoid bullying in school. Pretend you fit in.

    It's the social stigma and the lack of venues to smoke publically, that really are pushing to stop smoking or simply not start.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 473 ✭✭__Alex__


    Pawwed Rig wrote: »
    It is actually as we pay for the health system via taxation.

    IMO, people hide behind this a bit in criticising overweight and obese people. It's handy. I don't believe it's what concerning all the criticisers. I think for many, it's purely aesthetic. Obesity can be compared to smoking but they are different in that smoking effects people surrounding by it much more than obesity does.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    __Alex__ wrote: »
    IMO, people hide behind this a bit in criticising overweight and obese people. It's handy. I don't believe it's what concerning all the criticisers. I think for many, it's purely aesthetic. Obesity can be compared to smoking but they are different in that smoking effects people surrounding by it much more than obesity does.

    Only in terms of affecting other peoples health, and Ireland's got plenty of regulations/laws in place to help that.

    As a smoker, I'm very aware of my smell. :D the effect tobacco can have on my teeth or fingers. It's hardly something I can avoid, and many smokers (like myself) go to extreme lengths to avoid passing that smell on to others. Gum, Body spray, Throat spray etc. You get the picture.

    Now... Overwight people quite often have a certain problem with sweating... leading to BO issues. Some go overboard with the flowerly scent to mask it, but IMO very few bother. Instead, they don't notice the sweat stained shirts or the sickly scent wafting behind them.

    My point though is drawing comparisons with smoking doesn't really work. We've been aware of the drawbacks of our habit since we tried hiding it from our parents.... Obesity is generally encouraged by parents (replection of themselves) or ignored by spouses. And obesity or heavily large people do affect those around them.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,129 ✭✭✭PucaMama


    Only in terms of affecting other peoples health, and Ireland's got plenty of regulations/laws in place to help that.

    As a smoker, I'm very aware of my smell. :D the effect tobacco can have on my teeth or fingers. It's hardly something I can avoid, and many smokers (like myself) go to extreme lengths to avoid passing that smell on to others. Gum, Body spray, Throat spray etc. You get the picture.

    Now... Overwight people quite often have a certain problem with sweating... leading to BO issues. Some go overboard with the flowerly scent to mask it, but IMO very few bother. Instead, they don't notice the sweat stained shirts or the sickly scent wafting behind them.

    My point though is drawing comparisons with smoking doesn't really work. We've been aware of the drawbacks of our habit since we tried hiding it from our parents.... Obesity is generally encouraged by parents (replection of themselves) or ignored by spouses. And obesity or heavily large people do affect those around them.

    How exactly does someone else's weight affect you. In comparison to someone smoking beside you.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22,448 ✭✭✭✭Pawwed Rig


    ligerdub wrote: »
    Who are you referring to?

    I'd be interested in a response on this myself.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,129 ✭✭✭PucaMama


    and people love having a go at smokers, druggies, alcoholics etc…

    The media talks and talks about how children are influenced by whats going on in magazines and tv shows etc…

    Nobody is going to put a heroin addict on the cover of a magazine and say "wow, look at this lad , who has his crippling drug addiction , so proud, he shouldn't have to change" quite the opposite really. Even when celebrities become drug addicts or have problems , its talked about in a negative light in those publications and doesn't dare glorify it, even someone like charlie sheen was vilified in the media for his drink and drugs lifestyle.

    Yet you have the likes of tess holiday, being celebrated for being a size 26 and a model, not a word about her size being unhealthy or the dangers of obesity from a lot of publications / outlets. They're actually celebrating it.

    Now I don't believe in these awful "she's a size 10, what a mess" type publications , but theres a massive difference between (giving a size 10 women a break and not asking her to be a size 6) and glorifying a size 26 woman.

    Go to Dublin City centre. Who is more likely to cause public disturbance or be violent. The heroin addict or the overweight person. So what would there be to celebrate with the addict?

    I'm saying person, to keep up the hope that maybe one day the vilifying of overweight people won't be only about overweight women. The other poster is correct. People aren't really offended about tax money being spent on overweight people. It's the looks.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,280 ✭✭✭✭Eric Cartman


    PucaMama wrote: »
    Go to Dublin City centre. Who is more likely to cause public disturbance or be violent. The heroin addict or the overweight person. So what would there be to celebrate with the addict?

    I'm saying person, to keep up the hope that maybe one day the vilifying of overweight people won't be only about overweight women. The other poster is correct. People aren't really offended about tax money being spent on overweight people. It's the looks.

    I don't think anyone here is solely picking on women, but theres never been a celebration of overweight men. This is a purely female phenomenon we are seeing.

    Anyone here who knows my previous posts knows I regularly complain about tax money being spent on a lot of different groups as a result of their poor life choices.
    The world will always have a percentage of people who are obese, its the reality of our society. My issue is it being glorified in magazines and celebrated and it being the elephant in the room you're not allowed mention to somebody.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,129 ✭✭✭PucaMama


    I don't think anyone here is solely picking on women, but theres never been a celebration of overweight men. This is a purely female phenomenon we are seeing.

    Anyone here who knows my previous posts knows I regularly complain about tax money being spent on a lot of different groups as a result of their poor life choices.
    The world will always have a percentage of people who are obese, its the reality of our society. My issue is it being glorified in magazines and celebrated and it being the elephant in the room you're not allowed mention to somebody.

    Maybe your not to mention it to people because it's not your place to?

    Overweight women are being celebrated because it's only them that are criticised so strongly. It's all about the looks. No one criticising really cares about the affects on the women's health. It's all vanity and self righteous behaviour. And the majority of time it's aimed at women who dare to be happy with who they are.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 473 ✭✭__Alex__


    My point though is drawing comparisons with smoking doesn't really work. We've been aware of the drawbacks of our habit since we tried hiding it from our parents.... Obesity is generally encouraged by parents (replection of themselves) or ignored by spouses. And obesity or heavily large people do affect those around them.

    They do but to a much smaller extent than smokers. People who are obese may pass those bad habits on to their children and those around them. That's bad, obviously. And it can be trying being beside someone very overweight on public transport. But obesity is much less of a danger to those surrounding it than smoking. Passive smoking is not a figment of the imagination and smoking has been linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. With obesity, the obese person might detrimentally affect only a small number of people, healthwise, and as for taking up space on public transport, well that's irriatating, but that's it. A smoker has the potential to effect a larger number of people and with there being many smokers around, all those individual smokers' effects on the population overlap greatly. It's a much greater public health issue than obesity.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭kunst nugget


    maybe
    __Alex__ wrote: »
    They do but to a much smaller extent than smokers. People who are obese may pass those bad habits on to their children and those around them. That's bad, obviously. And it can be trying being beside someone very overweight on public transport. But obesity is much less of a danger to those surrounding it than smoking. Passive smoking is not a figment of the imagination and smoking has been linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. With obesity, the obese person might detrimentally affect only a small number of people, healthwise, and as for taking up space on public transport, well that's irriatating, but that's it. A smoker has the potential to effect a larger number of people and with there being many smokers around, all those individual smokers' effects on the population overlap greatly. It's a much greater public health issue than obesity.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2674328/
    Maternal obesity is associated with increased overall risk of infant death, mainly neonatal death.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    PucaMama wrote: »
    How exactly does someone else's weight affect you. In comparison to someone smoking beside you.

    I actually did put it my post. :rolleyes:
    __Alex__ wrote: »
    They do but to a much smaller extent than smokers. People who are obese may pass those bad habits on to their children and those around them. That's bad, obviously. And it can be trying being beside someone very overweight on public transport. But obesity is much less of a danger to those surrounding it than smoking. Passive smoking is not a figment of the imagination and smoking has been linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. With obesity, the obese person might detrimentally affect only a small number of people, healthwise, and as for taking up space on public transport, well that's irriatating, but that's it. A smoker has the potential to effect a larger number of people and with there being many smokers around, all those individual smokers' effects on the population overlap greatly. It's a much greater public health issue than obesity.

    I'm beginning to think my post was really badly worded or i wrote it in code. Where did I say that obesity was worse than smoking? Or that smoking doesn't affect other people? Smoking is a horrible addiction/habit to both smokers and everyone around them. I'd never try to suggest otherwise. (I might suggest that non-smokers could make a slightly greater effort to avoid smoking areas but I'd never suggest that smokers should be able to smoke everywhere.)

    I answered to the idea that obesity doesn't affect other people like smoking does. I believe it does in both B.O. smell, and their general large presence. I did say that it didn't affect other peoples health. Just IMO.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 473 ✭✭__Alex__



    Even with that, add on the delights of passive smoking and we are not in the same ballpark. Smoking effects a far greater amount of people. SIDS was just one example.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 473 ✭✭__Alex__


    I answered to the idea that obesity doesn't affect other people like smoking does. I believe it does in both B.O. smell, and their general large presence.

    I acknowledged these things but I'm sorry, these are just infrequent mild irritations, they're not all that important in the scheme of things. I can honestly say I can count on one hand the number of times somebody's large presence has been an issue for me in my life and bad smell, maybe I could count that on two hands. With smoking, the smells of that don't bother me much personally, however they are without doubt much more prevalent, so if they did bother someone, it's something they'd have to contend with on a much frequent level than obesity-related unpleasantness. For example, cigarette smoke aggravates my sinuses and that is something I've come up against countless times in my life. And all this is before we even consider the long-term effects of passive smoking on health.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22,448 ✭✭✭✭Pawwed Rig


    Just because soemtehing is worse does not mean we should ignore it or not have an opinion on it.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,028 ✭✭✭H3llR4iser


    PucaMama wrote: »
    Maybe your not to mention it to people because it's not your place to?

    Overweight women are being celebrated because it's only them that are criticised so strongly. It's all about the looks. No one criticising really cares about the affects on the women's health. It's all vanity and self righteous behaviour. And the majority of time it's aimed at women who dare to be happy with who they are.

    Hold on your horses, this is a big one. I agree on it all being based on looks, frankly there's no doubt about it, but it's not true at all that it's only women who get criticized about their weight; Men are just as much if not even more - for guys, it's not just the excess fat, the other side of the spectrum (being very skinny) is considered wildly undesirable as well.

    It's just given no attention whatsoever, almost as if it's a normal and acceptable thing, but I don't really know where the notion that men don't get grief about the scale value comes from.

    I'm not just "shooting air", I've experienced it on my own skin; In "another life" (well, 10 years ago really!) I was what is medically referred to as "morbidly obese" - nearly at the 150kg marker for my 1.85m of height.

    I was called up on it, mocked, shamed and slagged constantly; Absolutely everyone and their dog felt like they could and should give me advice, tell me to lose weight, call me a "fatarse" and so on, often even people who were just a bit "less fat" than I was and who could hardly pretend to be an example or in any position to give advice.

    Friends and even family would always greet me with "lost any weight recently?" or "you're getting even fatter!" comments; Even going for job interviews, you could detect the sniggering look on the interviewer's face as soon as I walked in the door. Sometimes, people would shout mockery and insults at me from passing cars. Basically a day wouldn't pass without someone or something telling me that I looked like sh1te and I must lose some weight. All the humiliation and insult quietly mounted in the corner; I didn't actually care, until the proverbial "straw broke the camel's back" (I asked a girl out and she went with the full "eeewww" reaction) and I decided that I didn't deserve to be treated that way and I wouldn't take it; Unless I wanted to be picking up daily fights with everybody, however, the only way to go was to "remove" myself as a target, and lost ~50kg in a year.

    I was - and am - the very same person, same intelligence, same views and everything, yet people stopped slagging me. Suddenly, I was "respectable"; Suddenly, they had nothing to give me "advice" about.

    So don't tell me "men don't get criticized about their weight", I can take a lot of bull****, but not that one.

    One last thing about the wider "body image" issue - that's another one that is only talked about in terms of women, while men are exposed to the exact same level of pressure, maybe even more in the last 10 years or so...Oh and it's not a new thing - I'm a child of the 1980s, one of my favourite cartoons was "Masters of the Universe"; Even back then, there was backlash about there being "scantly clad women" in it, that promoted "unhealthy ideals about body and looks".

    This are the "Masters of the Universe" main characters:
    Masters-of-the-Universe-he-man-604211_1024_768.jpg

    Just make what you wish of it.


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