I am fat and I experience fat shaming everyday. For as long as I can remember, I have always been teased about my weight and the hurt caused many struggles in my life. There is not a day that goes by where someone does not mention my size or says that I do not fit in to what is beautiful. Like many others, I have suffered mentally and physically especially when it comes to how I see my health and myself. Fat shaming has recently become a topic talked about in the media and in common conversation. There are people who believe that fat shaming is the only way obese and overweight people will see that they are an issue. That is not how the issue should be approached, though. Those struggling with their weight need positive help and encouragement, not to be humiliated into losing weight. Fat shaming negatively affects how overweight and obese people perceive their lives and their mental and physical health. 

In recent years, fat shaming has become a part of our society that is not something to be proud of. Obesity affects many peoples lives all around the world and "is considered the most serious growing issue facing the developed world" (Morris). Margret Morris wrote a piece for the Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews discussing the problem of obesity in the 21st century and what causes it. She explains that obesity is an epidemic that is growing fast in our society today and there are many social and behavioral factors that play into why this is happening. It is difficult to go out to the mall and not see someone who is morbidly obese and with so many people being affected by this and living lives of extreme weight, hatred was bound to arise. Kris Gunnars, CEO and founder of AuthorityNutrition.com, explains, "fat shaming involves criticizing and harassing overweight people about their weight or eating, in order to make them feel ashamed of themselves" (Gunnars). Some people see fat shaming as a cruel for of bullying but, like many arguments, there is always another side. Others see this as intense truth telling, making this argument of whether or not fat shaming motivates someone to lose weight. Fat shaming places people into a specific category and many of the people who fat shame ignore the fact that overweight and obese people are just like everyone else, they have feelings that can easily be hurt and broken by the standards placed by society. We also must take into consideration that the people doing the shaming have a hard time seeing how their actions hurt people and how this is not a joke made to make people laugh at standup comedy night. By going through the evidence, I hope to show others that the effects of fat shaming can pose negative outcomes for the people that struggle with their weight.

Fat shaming is something that exists in everyday life and happens a lot when people do not realize it. There are things people say to others that they probably would not consider fat shaming because, to them, it is acceptable for them to say. An article released by the Huffington Post gives examples of how fat shamming is roped into the daily lives of people through list of tweets. The tweets all use the "#fatmicroaggressions" tag to categorize them for the article. One tweet written by Jennifer Rollins says, " 'you have such a pretty face Jen. If only you would just lose weight'- my mom #fatmicroaggressions" (JenRollinsYEG, 2013). This is a great example of how fat shaming is present where one would least expect it the most. Many people would not expect a mother to say something like this to their child but it does happen and it happened to Jennifer. Coming from one's parents can be the worst out of all fat shaming possibilities. These are the people thought to love no matter what but their words are more powerful than most. Also, fat shaming is carried out in the public eye as much as in the direct relationships held by people. Another tweeter, Jen, writes, "When walking into a store, immediately accosted by sales person, 'we don't carry plus sizes here.' #fatmicroaggressions" (AdviceChicken, 2013). It is sad to think that even by just walking in the door of a store, someone can be judged by a worker just for the way they look. There are many stores and brands that purposefully do not carry plus sizes because they do not want to hurt their reputation and do not want to draw that type of attention to their store. The people that hear things like this when they first walk in a store are forced to believe they do not belong and that they are not worthy of justified customer service.

Bullying is a large part of our culture but not a good one. More children today are bullied because of their size than any other reason, including skin color and origin (Rabin). This is a serious problem, especially because obesity in children is rising and if children are being bullied more for their weight, than more kids are going to be experiencing the negatives of size centered shaming. This causes people to experience the negative affects of fat shaming much early than obese and overweight people now and will affect their lives in the long run. The problem is there is no law that prevents overweight people from being discriminated (Rabin). With no protection and no consequence, people begin to think it is okay to treat others in hurtful ways, even if they argue that they think it will help the person. Also, this type of bullying comes up with adults too, in public places and not face to face like on would assume would happen if someone is concerned about the others health. In the subway system in London, a group called "Overweight Haters Ltd." gave cards to overweight and obese people that had a hateful message about why they are "fat, ugly human beings" (Romm). By doing this, the people of their organization are only hurting the people receiving the cards, not motivating them to lose weight. Many people are already self conscious about the way they look and receiving these cards only verifies the horrible way they see themselves. Carl Romm explains that fat shaming is "ineffective at best, and downright counterproductive at worst" (Romm). In no situation would telling someone they are a horrible human being for being fat encourage that person to lose weight, it only hurts the way they perceive themselves and their mental stability.

The outcomes of fat shaming are many mental and physical problems that can be carried with someone for the rest of their lives. Not only are they reminded of they way they look but they also have their negative views of themselves confirmed by others. Jeffery Huger explains that people's mental wellbeing is not correlated with their weight; it is the shame they get and fear about that does (Lucchesi). Not many people realize how detrimental negativity and indignity has on other people's lives, which is why some people engage in fat shaming. They do not understand or see that what they are doing is wrong and that "discrimination against people who are obese remains socially acceptable" (Kramer). Not only do people engage in fat shaming but society allows it to happen, not really think twice about how this could be wrong and unproductive. Obese and overweight people develop body image and self esteem issues from fat shaming that do not go away simply because they lost weight to get people to stop attacking them for the way they look. When someone is suffering from those self-doubts, it is hard for them to get to a place where they accept themselves for who they are. This just puts people on a cycle of disappointment and when they are fat shamed, they it is again confirmed that they are not what society wants. Society does not stand up against fat shaming therefore allowing people to develop mental issues that hinder the way they perceive themselves. Obese and overweight people should be receiving positive encouragement and help from others, not being constantly put down just because they are not stick thin.

An article written for Men's Health in the UK explains that the hard thing about arguing against fat shaming is carefully not endorsing fat acceptance. Authors Ted Lane and Jamie Millar explain that is it important for people to be comfortable in their bodies but it is even more important to keep your body healthy. Lane and Millar argue that losing weight should be about improving one's health and not to become skinnier to fit in to societies idea of what is acceptable. Lane says that shaming people into going to the gym is not going to work but overweight and obese people do need to start. He says, "losing weight should be seen as a positive experience, not a frightening one" (Lane). That stems from the idea that encouragement is key in helping people lose weight and get a healthier body. Millar, though, says that fat shaming is bad but people should not be encouraging fat acceptance. He claims that fat shaming shows people that being overweight and obese is not a good thing for their health and says, "another risk of blanket acceptance is reinforcing a defeatist mindset" (Millar). By telling people they are perfect the way they are, we run into the issue of saying that being unhealthy is okay. I understand where the article is coming from because we, as a society, should not be encouraging unhealthiness but we should not be hurting and hating people who are not model thin.

Though it easy to understand the negative affects of fat shaming but there are still many people who believe that it is the only way to get obese and over weight people to become skinnier. Nicole Arbour released a YouTube video in September of 2015 talking about how she hates how overweight and obese people say that weight-based bullying is real because she believes it is not (Arbour). She thinks fat shaming is good because people who have bad habits should be shamed until they are no longer do those bad habits (Arbour). There are many reasons why this video is offensive and wrong but one of the biggest issues is her delivery. There are times when she explains people should lose weight so they can live longer and do not develop things like diabetes and heart disease but that is over shadowed by her attempt to be funny when making fun of fat people (Arbour). Fat shaming, like many other forms of bullying, is not something that should be used as comedic material. It makes her message come off like she really does hate all fat people and her humor does not take away from how her words are offensive. Fat people will not just lose weight because they stop eating and the fact that she says that, whether or not she is joking, puts the thought in peoples mind that they can lose weight if they stop eating. That is neither healthy nor productive and feeds back into the statement that fat shaming causes negative emotional and physical wellbeing. This video doe not give people struggling with their weight and people who have insecurities about their bodies the confidence or tools to improve themselves.     

After that YouTube video was published, Grace Helbig uploaded a response on how she feels of Nicole saying that fat shaming motivates people. Helbig released this seven and a half minute video describing her feelings on Nicole's judgment of over weight people. She touches on the idea of how Nicole is "basically telling fat people to stop being fat" and how she is using this argument in a selfish and hurtful manner (Grace Helbig, 2015). Mental health is also something that Grace talks about and she brings up a good point of how many people are aware of their weight and that they are at an unhealthy state but their emotional stability should be focused on more and not telling someone they should stop being fat because it is bothersome. A large part of my argument is that fat shaming hurts people's physical and mental health. Grace talks about how negatively this stigma effects people and how those indorsing it, like Nicole Arbour, are promoting a negative solution to this problem. Helbig is a strong believer, too, that positive encouragement and support is what will help people become healthier physically and mentally. 

An article came out shortly after this video came out about how Nicole Arbour does not regret or take back anything she said (Ross). She is happy that her video sparked people to talk about obesity and fat acceptance. While her video was super offensive and not very positive, it is good that people are starting to talk about fat shaming and body image. It is important that people see how harmful their words can be and how there is a way to have this conversation without outwardly hating others. There are ways to go about telling a loved one you are concerned for their health and not making it sound like they have to lose weight for you to love them or for society to accept them. Some people may make the argument that other people are too sensitive and should grow thicker skin but what they do not understand is that everyone is different. Something you say to person A my not affect them as much as it does person B. If someone is to ever confront a friend or a loved one about their weight, it should be about them getting healthier and not about how they look. Also, offering positive encouragement and offering to help them will go a long way. A. Janet Tomiyana and Traci Mann explain in an article they wrote for the Hastings Center Report that, "we can improve individuals' health, regardless of their weight, through exercise, better nutrition, stress reduction, and social support" (Tomiyana and Mann). If someone hears that they are fat and have to lose weight because people hate them, they are not going to start losing weight. Mentally, they are going to always think people hate the way they look and may do unhealthy things to lose they weight that people hate. When someone hears that their friends want to help them get healthier and will help them every step along the way, they begin losing weight in the right way and know that no matter what, people will always love them. Fat shaming is not effective, positive support is.

Body image is something that everyone struggles with. The degree of which it affects someone differs from person to person but in most cases, it drastically affects how people see themselves and how they think others see them. Fat shaming encourages the notation that fat people should hate the way they look and that the only way to be accepted in society is to lose weight. People think that by shaming someone and making fun of them will motivate them to wan to lose weight but that is not the case. Lillian Bustle explains in her TEDx Talk about body image that body acceptance and self love is one of the most important parts of a persons life and that people should not be judged or shamed just because of they way they look (Bustle). If someone is healthy and confident, they should not be told they are not accepted because they are too fat. As a society we should love the people surrounding us and have an open mind about everything. Judging someone at first glance prevents us from actually getting to know people and learning something new. When people begin to open their minds and see that there is another side to what they believe is the right thing, the competence of that person only increases. If people who fat shame continue believing that this is the only way to get obese and overweight people to lose weight and become skinnier, the societal view of acceptance and beauty will stay the way it is and that is not good.

In conclusion, positive encouragement and support are much more effective when getting obese and overweight to become healthier than fat shaming does. Fat shaming and weight-based bullying are very common in today's age and there is no legal protection for people who experience discrimination because of their physical appearance. When society encourages fat shaming, it also promotes the negative affects that come with it. Many people develop eating disorders in order to achieve the body and size they think society wants. For others, fat shaming only verifies the negative views they have on themselves and makes it tougher to overcome the mental struggles they have. As a society, we have the chance to change the way fat shaming is used and prevent it from negatively affecting people who struggle with their body and the way they see themselves. Speaking out and practicing positive support are just a couple ways someone can shift away from what society thinks is the right body. Fat people are still human beings and deserve the same love and respect that someone with a model type body gets. We all have insecurities about the way we look. Until we fight back against fat shaming, we allow people to think it is okay to hate someone because of their size.
