Regardless of the store displaying this, I have to applaud them for finally using a model that isn’t the ideal, a fiction with our planet’s majority. I can’t remember the exact story but Tanya Gold from the The Guardian (whoops, The Telegraph, she was in my paper of record later on) expressed her opinion regarding this. It resulted in her being insulted, criticized, etc. Nevermind she readily admitted to not being svelte or model-level gorgeous. The whole debacle appeared to be part of the ongoing war between fat acceptance v. defeating the obesity pandemic (centered in the US but growing in the UK). How? Mrs. Gold proposed the mannequin was the retailer trying to normalize an unhealthy physique. Ergo, the nasty people accused her of fat shaming.
Ugh! It’s not cognitive dissonance, a popular and overused phrase alongside “with all due respect” (screw you without it coming across as so, still does morons) or “basically…” (ummm, no, it just is that, so remove the redundant word please)…excuse me, sidetracked by how irritated I get by lazy speakers. Again, it is possible to be of two minds about obesity without being compared to moronic GOP voters who elect assholes responsible for destroying their economic security. Obesity or being overweight isn’t a binary matter.
Firstly, I think the mannequin is a step in the right direction toward the acceptance of body types. There are people who are quite athletic and disciplined gym attendees yet they retain a non-Hollywood shape/size. At least they can see what the gear will look like and to me it says, “Hey, let’s help you overcome your objection to improving your life because you don’t think you’re entitled to these outfits.” I applaud everyone who makes the effort to hit the gym I belong to. It’s work, period! If the author or people want to mock a non-living thing, so be it. Stores use all kinds of weird things to get us to buy crap.
Secondly, the counter argument. Of course fat shaming people isn’t helping anybody but I don’t think it’s all coming from a malicious place. The West is suffering from weight issues which has led to a rise in type-two diabetes, blown-out knees, back pain and heart disease, self-inflicted illnesses. It can be hard to motivate someone you care about, someone you love, etc., to take action before it’s too late. Thus, it comes off as a verbal assault through guilt, shame and/or threats, real or perceived. Live and let live is a good strategy to follow but I have to side with Science. We cannot allow our fellow humans slowly commit suicide in addition to all the environmental, social and economic damage we’re collectively doing by our mostly inactive lifestyles.
As for those assholes who cheered on Palin as she drank a Big Gulp at the podium, claiming it’s their right to kill themselves, so a sugar tax is unconstitutional (it isn’t). Remember, your claim is still reined in by the cliché of your right to swing your fist around ends at the edge someone else’s face. Your unnaturally occurring diabetes through negligence and binge watching should result in paying a higher premium to offset the rest of us carrying your lazy asses. Years ago, my employer finally did this to smokers. A hypocritical Libertarian (is there any other?) complained this was discrimination aimed at him. My rebuttal entailed why the hike was too low given that smokers have to use more sick days on average (breathing-based illnesses) and few ever follow their work schedule due to their smoke breaks throughout the day. A lawyer friend joked about saying someone should sue to get porn-viewing breaks to sate their addiction. It all circles back to why the people I’m mocking don’t want a Bismarckian healthcare system/solution. A huge element in them is prevention via diet and exercise over America’s “give me a cure when I’m screwed” approach. Prevention saves money as well as lives in the long run. However, prevention requires “work” and “effort,” two words not in the Trumpkin lexicon while the strategy is anathema to the bloated, corporate oligarchs running healthcare insurance.
To circle back. Should we mock fat people? Obviously not. Children do this and they’re sociopaths. Teens and young adults do this because they’re insecure assholes. On the other hand, we shouldn’t pity them, keep your concerns about their well being to yourself is for the best. What we should do is encourage and praise everyone getting to the gym, raising their heart rate for 30-plus minutes a day due to all the good effects exercise has on combatting depression, silencing anxiety, improving your heart’s resilience, slowing dementia and the list goes on. What their body resembles is irrelevant, the gym is helping the inside more.