The scene takes place in the bus. A kid points at a woman with a grimace: "Yuck, the fat lady." Her mother laughs. When you're fat, you sometimes have to pay for a second seat on a plane, endure the stares at the supermarket checkout and TV shows that show you like crazy. Grossophobia is a racism widely regarded as legitimate, even in movies and cartoons, in which the fat guy is often the bad guy, the slacker or the funny idiot. "Grossophobia is systematized, summarizes Anouch of the Gras Politique association. It is present in all strata of society. " We are taught that you have to be thin to be accepted and this injunction runs deep in our brains.
Gosh !
The magazine pages are full of size 34 models of all ages. Women whose stomachs have remained flat after pregnancy and menopause. How do they do it? "People are convinced that it is a question of will, and that the fat person is their fault", explains Anouch. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course, but this belief allows some to make hurtful remarks in public. "They feel legitimized by the public health discourse on obesity, adds psychologist Sylvie Benkemoun, president of the G.R.O.S *. Especially since we keep telling envy that the big ones are expensive for Social Security. " Some caregivers also show contempt and reduce all pathologies to overweight, without any real knowledge on the subject. Do they know that the overwhelming majority of obese people suffer from an eating disorder?
No doubt we should not seek a rational explanation for a phenomenon rooted in the unconscious: deep in our brains, the fat is the weak who cannot control themselves in the face of the sin of gluttony. However, it takes extraordinary tenacity to continue to participate, day after day, in a society that insults you and denies your suffering. At a time when obesity is gaining ground every day, perhaps we should rather ask ourselves: what do we eat and who should we really blame?
These associations which put all their weight in the battle
They also provide support to people in pain and identify lists of benevolent nursing staff.
• Bold Politics (graspolitique.wordpress.com).
• Allegro Fortissimo (allegrofortissimo.com).
• League Against Obesity (liguecontrelobesite.org).
*Think Tank on Obesity and Overweight, a caregiver association.
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