Monday, July 18, 2016
Whitney Thore: Living without Shame
I have written about the odd double messages being given to fat people in our media. One guy mentioned elsewhere that TLC is owned by Comcast which is part of a megacorporation that owns multiple mainstream food corporations. I agree with not being under the lash of shame, but I still stand by my belief that "acceptance" of these broken down and painful bodies is not doing us any favors. Whitney can refuse shame and that's a good thing, but all we have to do is watch her show is to see that in reality fat is hurting her. She passes out exercising, hurts her back in the shower. Fat people need to make a stand for real treatment that will work or demand that real answers are sought.
One thing I notice is she was in far smaller sizes and more midsized for a very long time. Her history seem to match mine. She even mentions that she stopped having periods after only one or twice at 15. For me, they all disappeared at age 19 and would not returned unless forced by drugs like Provera until I was 47 years old [last year] and going on insulin. That means for almost 30 years my body had no periods on it's own. Her doctors need to assess her for more severe forms of PCOS, her androgen levels and other health problems. Fat acceptance sometimes if taken to the extreme can damage those with extreme health problems influencing their weight. I used to make people angry in size acceptance telling them I know something is wrong, I have gained so much. There I was refuting the healthy and happy lies shoved down all our throats.
Whitney is a walking contradiction. Her fat is hurting her, she's ill but she still preaches the accept fat message and that bugs me. I agree with no shame or no discrimination but she could be using her fame to demand better answers, to confront CICO, to say LOOK something here more is wrong. Don't go with the shame and lies. I am noticing now webwide people leave rude remarks on her videos and pictures. They say things like "she's just making excuses" and this one I hate quite a bit: "PCOS doesn't make anyone fat."
She mentions her insulin resistance. Mine got very very bad. Oddly on insulin, my endless dark patches of dark brown skin have disappeared to go along with the returned periods. The back of my legs were covered in this brown velvet. During the weight gain, it was all over my neck, armpits and knees. It has faded ever since I have been on insulin. Perhaps some should get a clue that some of us are canaries in the coal mine for the endocrine disruptors or that there are extreme rare states of health.
She is fortunate she had the health and money to teach in Korea and go to the Great Wall of China. To me that is evidence she was exercising quite a bit. Travel takes walking. I worked at a camp in 1988. I was midsized and walked around 2-3 miles a day but unlike the other camp counselors, I wasn't firming up from all the exercising or losing weight. The food was gross and even there my intake was massively reduced, but it made no difference. She discusses getting assaulted. This happened to me when I was young too but in America. I had to be tough just to walk around.
She tries to lose weight. That fits my pattern. I fight the same 100lbs over and over. I lost that original 250 which 160 of has always stayed off from the peak weight but it's like running uphill. The crap they promise me that will work never does. My body swells up. I got gung ho, just so you all know, "to lose weight", since I could breathe better on that lung medicine, everytime I left the house, I was like "I gotta take a walk!" and diabetes was forcing very restricted eating and I didn't lose anything! It is enough to bring insanity to a person. And then one gets beaten up at every turn by society. "You're to blame, You're to blame", said over and over.
I have written before unless she has a serious eating disorder, she has something physically wrong even beyond the diagnosed PCOS. PCOS they don't do much for. I got a hormonal drug for PCOS for 15 years that helped take some weight off via lowering the androgens. I was forced off it for a kidney drug I need to stay alive and keep kidney stones away. Most people with PCOS don't even get that degree of treatment. I wish she did not tout the 1 in 10 women crap. I don't believe 10 percent of women have PCOS, and never will I believe that 11 percent of women have Lipedema. When they throw these numbers around they devalue the experience of those of us who suffer intensely from rare severe disorders.
Sadly, she has to get naked, for the photographers. How come they always want fat people naked in art but I digress? There are lower status in society is ever present and shows itself. If someone asked me to get naked for art, I would say I will wear a Victorian without a corset dress for you but naked, hell no.
If you read the comments at the video, her message is failing to get across. They call her fat pig, say she is an eating addict. Fat will never be solved in a stupid society that refuses to see outside of prejudice, but there too HAES and fat "acceptance" won't fix it either. Whistling by the graveyard as fat comes on us, and literally weighs us down is not doing us favors either.
God gave me enough self love to fight back. This blog came about from me saying Look I am going to tell my story and I don't care what mainstream society says, but I am going to demand more answers.
I know even in some in size acceptance see me as a wild haired "crazy" nut, who refuses to buy into the mainstream. I was silenced in some fat circles. It got serious on facebook groups and more. I rejected the two sides of accepting my "fat" and endless being beaten up by the diet industrial complex.
Whitney if she wants real help, will have to see "outside the matrix", so to speak but the problem is, this society doesn't want truth about fat. The "acceptance of fat" goes hand in hand with the brainwashing about fat people. While her message of no shame has no merit, I wish she asked some of the questions I do. Sadly the mainstream media would never allow it.
My articles on Whitney Thore
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Hi Peep,
ReplyDeleteSaw this article in Daily Mail today, and thought of you and your struggle with lypodema (sp?). This is a disease like you said, and has nothing to do with one's weight. This has to do with a broken lymphatic system. You've done a great job spreading the word about this condition.
I'm so sorry you had no support from your family due to their neglect and ignorance.
God bless you.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3705743/My-legs-won-t-stop-growing-Bride-chronic-disorder-undergoes-gruelling-treatment-decrease-4ft-wide-legs.html
Thanks, Katia is stage IV like me. I heard a speech of hers that was great and inspirational. It is a disease and the lymphatic system is very broken, the swelling can be more then the legs in stage IV too and include arms, stomach and other parts of the body so called Lipo-lymphedema.
DeleteThis disease led to a lot of abuse I faced and rejection. Once I informed them which happened before I went NC, they did not care nor did I expect them too. Every stage IV woman I have met had family members with the disease too. Thanks or saying I have done a great job spreading the word about this condition. More need to know, I don't want anyone to go through what I have. God bless you too and thanks for your post :)
I think that some people will never accept that obesity is anything other than simple gluttony, lack of control, or laziness. This gives them a way to ease some of their own insecurity and self loathing....at least they aren't as (pick one) weak/lazy/stupid as we are.
ReplyDelete