The Body Positivity
Is it so in reality though?
It is customary in our society to help the weak and the poor, to support people with disabilities, malformations, and overweight, to give up places in public transport for the elderly and pregnant women. However, the strong and the rich, the healthy, the beautiful, and the slender, the young and not pregnant have the same rights, and society should not treat them differently. All the movements which support one group of people inevitably discriminate against those who are different. For example, when we say that it is more difficult for “women” than for “men” to build a successful career in politics, we focus on the difference between women and men. Consequently, by singling them out into a separate group, we create a pretext for one or the other type of prejudice. Enough to remember the recent movie Mulan.
We are used to following the ideas of body positivity and defending the dignity of overweight people so that they do not feel at a disadvantage. However, we completely forgot that this behavior infringes on the rights of people with a healthy weight. For example, my friend, a ballerina, and I feel particularly offended by the fact that we have to pay a fine for our overweight (even by 1 kg) luggage, whereas overweight people are not asked to pay for their “extra 20–50 kg”. Of course, the fact that an airplane consumes more fuel if it carries more cargo is clear to me. Yet, an airplane will spend the same amount of fuel both when transporting 1 kg of clothes and 1 kg of fat. The only way to equality, as I see it, lies in the composite cost of the ticket according to the formula:
K + a * x,
where “K” is the fixed cost for the flight,
“a” is the fixed price of transportation of 1 kg (person or baggage),
“x” is the number of kilograms transported.
Now many of you might find themselves being indignant. How so? People are not to blame for being overweight! — Wrong! Overweight people are fully responsible for their problems. The weight can be gained only when a person consumes more calories than uses. Secondly, slim people are also not to blame that they have an athletic body. Why should they suffer from getting a different treatment?
Personally, I have never been inspired by stories like: “She managed to lose 20, 30, 50 extra pounds”. Why? Have you ever wondered that she/he did not accumulate them overnight, but had methodically been gorging them for years? Moreover, with the growing population of the planet, and the problem of hunger, say, in Yemen, people who consume more food than they need are actually criminals. Because of them, millions of African children will die of starvation, and millions of animals will be exterminated, either for direct consumption or for using their habitat for growing crops. To keep the balance in nature and save the planet we borrowed from our grandchildren, humanity must fight against overeating and being corpulent, instead of defending the rights of the fat. Besides, body positivity promotes love for your own body. Still, a fat body can never be loved by its owner because if you love something, you want to preserve it. Heavy body, as we know, cannot live to old age. People who cherish their body — take good care of it: maintain its optimal weight, look after the skin, and the balance of vitamins and microelements. A person who wolves down burgers that will lead him to a heart attack at a young age, diabetes, or cancer, certainly does NOT love his body. Why is he constantly trying to kill it after all?
Thus, overweight people harm not only themselves but the entire planet.
Time to speak about discrimination against women. They shout that they can work on equal terms with men, but require maternity leave or shorter working hours when their children are sick. However, men are not guilty that they can not give birth. So, if a woman wants to work, she must work. She should not receive money for sitting at home with her child whereas men are doing her job. If a woman wants to serve in the army — great, but she will have to comply with the same intensity and number of exercises as men. Of course, carrying heavy weights, especially during the period will have a much worse effect on a woman’s health than it would do on a man, but they wanted equality. In general, the concepts of men and women should be determined not by biological parameters, but by behavior. Men are problem solvers; they take responsibility, protect, and provide. Women are caring and empathetic; they create and maintain beauty, cherish relationships, and save resources. It has nothing to do with biology, but energy. That is why the concept of cisgender (people whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth) is now gaining popularity.
A similar system should be used for people with disabilities. Yes — it is not their fault that they have no health. Yet, healthy people are not to blame for the fact that they are salubrious either. Why should the healthy have to work and pay taxes, while the disabled can do nothing and live at the expense of others? We can also apply this to school. If a child with disabilities wants to study with normal children, then he will have to meet the same standards as for the rest. Just like the main character of the movie “Hichki” did. And no special approach should be applied here. After all, a smart child is also not guilty that his brain works better, so why should he do more than a child with mental disabilities if they are in the same class?
Probably, the last thought may seem strange to many, perhaps even delusional. Nevertheless, I bet you have not thought before that special treatment for one group of people sets them apart from the crowd, and makes them NOT equal with others. Just as in the case of the “Black lives matter” movement, distinguishing blacks as a special category that should be supported in every possible way only because of skin color, we discriminate against whites, Hispanics, and Asians. Why should blacks be given more social assistance than, for example, emigrants from Ukraine? Regardless of being white, people in Ukraine often earn less than Africans from black countries.
To conclude, I need to say that rights come to us with responsibilities. If a person wants to be treated like a woman, then they must behave like a woman. Same for men. If a person wants to have a standard of living like in Switzerland, then they must behave like a Swiss — respect the law, pay taxes, and sort garbage. If fat people want to be treated like slim people, then they should act accordingly — eat healthy food and play sports.
P.S. During the COVID-19 pandemic — remember to be careful not only for your health but also for your shape. Don’t let cholesterol kill you faster than unwashed hands and a forgotten at home mask.
