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Comparing fat-shaming to racism is lazy and won’t help Comparing fat-shaming to racism is lazy and won’t help
(about 2 hours later)
Fat-shaming is one of “the last socially acceptable forms of prejudice”, and should be viewed like racism and sexism, the Times reports today. Implicit in this argument is the belief that there exists a hierarchy of oppression in which race and gender get top billing. This is a simplistic, if not unhelpful, way of looking at things. All forms of prejudice spring from the same well: the mistaken conviction that one set of people is innately better than another, who should accordingly be marginalised.Fat-shaming is one of “the last socially acceptable forms of prejudice”, and should be viewed like racism and sexism, the Times reports today. Implicit in this argument is the belief that there exists a hierarchy of oppression in which race and gender get top billing. This is a simplistic, if not unhelpful, way of looking at things. All forms of prejudice spring from the same well: the mistaken conviction that one set of people is innately better than another, who should accordingly be marginalised.
That said, I can see that the researchers from University College London, who provided this comparison, are well-intentioned, meaning only to highlight an entrenched problem. As a teacher I know the importance of analogies in helping students gain a greater understanding of something previously unfamiliar. But as useful though it may be, resorting to equivalences always collapses particularity. Racism and sexism are not the same as weight prejudice, not least because those who are directly impacted experience them differently. What of obese people who are black and female? How are they to view themselves? I’m guessing it would be hard to separate out the prejudice experienced into three neat little packages. That said, I can see that the researchers from University College London, who provided this comparison, are well intentioned, meaning only to highlight an entrenched problem. As a teacher I know the importance of analogies in helping students gain a greater understanding of something previously unfamiliar. But useful though it may be, resorting to equivalences always collapses particularity. Racism and sexism are not the same as weight prejudice, not least because those who are directly impacted experience them differently. What of obese people who are black and female? How are they to view themselves? I’m guessing it would be hard to separate out the prejudice experienced into three neat little packages.
Analogies like these work under the false assumption that someone else’s experience can be fully understood and used to discuss our own very different reality. Charlize Theron proved just this earlier in the summer when she described unwanted media attention on her private life to “feeling raped”. As Karen Ingala Smith, chief executive of the violence against women and children charity Nia noted: “Rape is rape. It is sex without consent. Using the word rape outside this context desensitises us and minimises sexual violence. The more we misuse and dilute the word rape, the more we play down sexual violence.” Analogies like these work under the false assumption that someone else’s experience can be fully understood and used to discuss our own very different reality. Charlize Theron proved just this earlier in the summer when she described unwanted media attention on her private life to “feeling raped”. As Karen Ingala Smith, chief executive of the violence against women and children charity Nia, noted: “Rape is rape. It is sex without consent. Using the word rape outside this context desensitises us and minimises sexual violence. The more we misuse and dilute the word rape, the more we play down sexual violence.”
Suggesting that there is a uniformity in how prejudice is experienced only serves to silence those who find it hard to be heard. It also obscures the institutional power that enables such prejudice. Men have had the social, economic and political power to institutionalise their prejudices against women. It is why, despite being half of the population, only one in five of MPs and members of the House of Lords are women. So while the businessman David Harding can reasonably suggest that words such as “geek” and “nerd” are as offensive as “nigger” and “yid”, we know that they are not. For example, the criminal justice system does not view a young black rioter the same way it does a hedge fund manager who has been a little economical with the truth. Neither does being academic place you at the same physical risk as being Jewish in Europe during rising antisemitism. Suggesting that there is a uniformity in how prejudice is experienced only serves to silence those who find it hard to be heard. It also obscures the institutional power that enables such prejudice. Men have had the social, economic and political power to institutionalise their prejudices against women. It is why, despite being half of the population, only one in five of MPs and members of the House of Lords are women. So while the businessman David Harding can reasonably suggest that words such as “geek” and “nerd” are as offensive as “nigger” and “yid”, we know that they are not. For example, the criminal justice system does not view a young black rioter the same way it does a hedge fund manager who has been a little economical with the truth. Neither does being an academic place you at the same physical risk as being Jewish in Europe during rising antisemitism.
So, yes, I’m all for taking weight prejudice seriously but lazy comparisons with racism and sexism won’t help. In fact, they will only serve to diminish and obscure their terrible impact on people’s lives.So, yes, I’m all for taking weight prejudice seriously but lazy comparisons with racism and sexism won’t help. In fact, they will only serve to diminish and obscure their terrible impact on people’s lives.