Maybe I just need to develop a finer sense of humor but this really pissed me off. I admit to being way over sensitive about weight issues. After all a lifetime of being mocked for my weight has rubbed me a little raw. But when H showed me a picture of someone he knew using this app, I was horrified. "Seriously?" I said "That's an Apple app? What would people say if there was an app that made you look black or brown?" We know what would happen and it is righteous response. But why is there not more outcry over the Fatbooth application? Why is okay to make a joke out of being fat? Because let's face it this is an app not made to be sympathetic or whatever but to mock. And I"m sure that there are many who think I need to chill out. It's just a joke. Cause hey fat people are funny right?
But I have to wonder if there are other fat people out there who just found this hurtful. I'm not a funny fat girl. I never was and likely never will be. I am not jolly like Santa although my belly does jiggle like jelly when I laugh. Maybe my sense of humor over fat jokes was lost in Jr. High because those jokes weren't supposed to make me laugh. They were supposed to make others laugh...at me. When I see some idiot making himself fat, I think of stupid jock boys who used to laugh at me in the hall way. Who would moo and oink as I walked past their lockers, head down, shoulders hunched forward. The boys who told the joke about what you did when you had sex with a fat girl...you know the "roll her in flour" joke. That joke and those sounds pierced through my bookish armor. Pushing me into ever more dysfunctional relationships with food and dieting. And when I see that app, I know it's those boys who likely this is such a funny thing. Let's see what I'd like as a fat person. Harhar.
Hopefully my rant is for nothing as the app appears unpopular. I just wish it was unpopular due to its offensive nature as opposed to it's lack of fun.
2 comments:
That is a horrible application. I do not understand the humor in making fun of 'fat' people.
At the risk of sounding bitchy (though that is not my intent), I feel the need to point out that we are all made fun of in Jr. High. If you're not fat, then those kids will find something else to make fun of. That age is just mean.
I was never fat. I was always ridiculously thin no matter what I did. People made fun of me for being too skinny, and my family was poor so they doubled it and said things like, "I bet her free lunch is the only thing she eats all day. That's why she's so skinny. Her family can't afford to feed her."
Or the larger girls would mercilessly tease me for not having any boobs...so I'd call them fat in response. Calling me flat hurt my feelings and I wanted to lash out too. It wasn't right, but I think it was a fairly natural response for a 12 year old.
Anyway, I guess my point is we all have our battle scars from middle school. Those mean things other kids say stick with you. Being called flat for years and years made me feel somehow less than 'woman,' not feminine enough. I even considered a boob job for a while in college (seriously, I had a savings account for it).
Fortunately, college changed my attitude about a lot of things--including the need to change my body to feel better about myself. Ok I've rambled too long now...I hope my comment was in some way useful.
I agree that Jr. High can be merciless but this mocking followed me through college. The incidents I am thinking of in the post all happened in high school where really one should know better:P
And mainly the post isn't about bullying although it could have been. That example was more of a way of talking about who I thought would likely find this app horribly funny.
I think the difference between the Jr. High teasing of everyone, and being fat is that being fat carries all kinds of prejudice. Studies have shown that fat people are discriminated against. They are thought to be less competent, less likely to be hired over a thin person, etc. That is what bothers me the most.
As for my self, on a personal level, I am fine with my body 90% of the time. But being fine has taken a long time to come to.
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