bit of a rant, sorry!

As I said before, this is a very harsh way to nudge people in the right direction with their health, and it isn’t only heavier people who need to take that message on board. I am not as thin as I’d like to be, though I am happy to say that when I cut animal products out of my diet, losing weight became a lot easier. Though diet is only a part of a healthy lifestyle, exercise plays a very important role.

As for it’s portrayal of a woman, I didn’t really think of that perspective though perhaps this may be because women generally are more self concious of their bodies especially when it comes to the beach.

I hardly think to be frank that someone obese is going to become anorexic because of this ad, though I appreciate obese people may have other emotional issues and could lead them to feeling depressed. This is obviously a very sensitive issue and I wholeheartedly agree that it’s derogratory. My views were more to do do with meat eaters (on other sites) giving Vegetarianism/ Veganism a bad press and that if they gave it a try they would see health benefits.

My comment was what I was hoping to be a positive response, and when I mentioned the “truth” I meant the state of health of a person, not about the fact that Peta called people whales.

- Calling someone a “whale” is not “the truth;” it’s a mean-spirited, anti-fat slur.

- The image shows a woman, not a man. Women already receive most of the fat-shaming in our society, yet women’s bodies aren’t as easily damaged by excess fat as men’s bodies. It clearly comes across as anti-fat, not pro-health.

- I’m not obese, but I’m not a rail either. (my BMI is 24.4 right now) I won’t wear a swimsuit in front of strangers anymore. I’m too self-conscious. That’s directly related to how often I’ve been called fat or ugly. I might be a little more sensitive than other women, but I’m pretty sure my feelings are common.

- Because the billboard is focused on weight, not health, it triggers weight-loss reactions, not health-improvement reactions. That is, instead of promoting vegetarianism, for many people it promotes diet pills, anorexia, etc.

- Vegetarians are generally 10-20 pounds lighter than non-veg people. For someone who is obese, 10-20 pounds isn’t all that much. They might get healthier on a veg diet and lose some weight, but vegetarianism is not a panacea. They’re still going to get called anti-fat slurs by mean people who think it’s OK to call people “whales.”

I think this billboard has had a lot of press for the bad reasons, and has painted Peta as a fat hating organisation. I admit that if you were obese, you may find this offensive though can’t help but think; are people only offended by truth? In western society we are taught to avoid the truth to be “polite”. For example, we wouldn’t tell an overweight friend they looked awful in their new dress.

Though if we take this avoidance too far, I believe some people may live in denial about their weight, just as some thin though unfit people may ignore their health problems. I think although harsh, people of all shapes and sizes need to be more self aware of their diet and lifestyle.

I find the main problem is when trying to promote Vegetarian/Veganism is that it carries a lot of myths that I’m sure you have had to correct people on. When reading another blog about this particular billboard, the blog author wrote a blog on how unhealthy Vegetarian foods were(?!)He then proceeded to list food such as fries, Haagen Daaz, onion rings and in reading this was incredulous! I had to then point out that these foods were not vegeatarian, though they could be chosen to be eaten by veggies.

Not only this, but people’s eyes open wide, saying,” but what DO you eat as a Vegan??” imagining every supper a carrot on toast! If people were educated about the health risks as well as the moral factors of animal products from school age, it would be easier to integrate this lifestyle choice more prominently into society.

Unfortunately I feel though it is far from reach here in the UK as the government makes a fat profit from the farming industry that they would never agree to supporting such a cause. I just hope that with this movement continuing to grow, we can see more changes for the good.

And a response to nathan: I hear many vegans tell others that we should put ourselves in the animals place and think of the suffering they go through. Well if you were in the animals position any little bit would help on a factory farm. Nothing is ideal but each step is still a step forward.

a) My point in “Behaving Respectfully” was that if anyone wants to argue efficacy (rather than ethics) to prefer certain advocacy methods over others, AND they intend to actually convince people who have a different opinion, they need to appeal to the people they wish to convince by offering reliable proof that their preferred methods are more effective than the alternatives. Personal anecdotes won’t cut it.

b) My point in “Do It Anyway” was that no matter what method you choose, some people will complain. My point wasn’t that you ought to ignore valid criticism; my point was that you can’t let mere criticism stop you. If you advocate for animals, speak up! Don’t let anyone silence you.

c) My point in the post above is that PETA’s anti-fat billboard is mean-spirited because it focuses on fat as the negative quality in people, not on poor health or animal-eating. However, I won’t take a stand on whether or not I think it’s effective or whether or not the net benefit is worth the harm. And I’m not sure whether the end justifies the means. I’m not going to make that call here and now. I will say: I’d prefer PETA to use different methods than fat-shaming.

Sorry if that’s too much nuance and not enough of a hard-line, easy-to-understand stance, but that’s where I stand… in the gray areas.