Unsplash — Siora Photography
Fat people simply existing in this world does not mean they are advocating or promoting anything; let’s start there
This problem goes beyond Lizzo. This is a problem of how fat-shaming, body-shaming, and faux-health concern are rooted in our culture.
One of the core issues here is automatically equating thinness to health. Even medical professionals see fatness as the cause of illnesses that have nothing to do with weight.
A woman named Karyn S. had a horrid sinus infection and was lectured by a physician on how she needed to lose weight as she was hacking on the consultation table.
Rebecca Hiles was told by her doctors for years that her persistent, violent coughing fits were “clearly just weight-related” when in actuality, her lung was rotting.
Martina Donkers was told that her increasingly painful knee pain was “due to early-onset arthritis as a result of my being overweight” despite being an active dancer and netball player. She was diagnosed with ‘patellae chondromalacia’ and told she would have to manage that for the rest of her life. Her doctor told her, “It was probably hereditary, exacerbated by my weight.” After joining a gym, she was introduced to a personal trainer who helped her ease the pain of her knee condition- completely ridding her of the pain in six months. The treatment style changed, not her weight.
A friend of Virgie Tovar had been dealing with severe exhaustion but chose not to see a doctor for a while in fear of being told to just “lose weight.” It turns out that she was anemic. She had to undergo an emergency blood transfusion because her red blood cell count was so low.
And fat-phobia related horror stories go on.
Fat-phobia kills
If doctors (people with whole ass degrees) are treating fat patients differently because of their weight, imagine how accurate the on-the-spot-diagnosing from randoms are?
Afros-And-Opinions 