BRAVE: Chunky Feminists Are Now ‘Coming Out As Fat’

Chunky feminists rivaling the bravery of the Allied troops storming the beaches of Normandy are finally “coming out as fat.”

Feminists are pushing the unhealthy fat movement forward by declaring their fatness publicly, in the same fashion as a gay person might “come out,” in an attempt to remove the stigma from obesity.

The trend has been making big waves in recent months with intersectional feminist sites hopping on the fat bandwagon, but there have been feminists coming out as fat since at least 2011.

Writing for feminist site Ravishly, Christine Schoenwald explained that coming out as fat is mostly about owning and accepting your fatness, and no longer “pretending” to be thin:

I can’t be fat-incognito any longer; it’s exhausting and pointless. Pretending to be something you’re not isn’t easy, and when all people have to do is look at you to know that you’re lying, it’s ridiculous.

I need to come clean and let out the secret, that isn’t a secret, out. It’s important for me to see who I am clearly, to look in mirrors, to stand up for myself, and demand respect.

“Being fat is being defiant, even if you hardly think of yourself as a rebel,” declared the feminist.

“My problem is that there isn’t a thin woman inside me dying to get out, there’s another fat woman, and she needs to be released before we both suffocate and die. Trying to push her down, and the feelings she inspires, debilitates me,” she continued.

Schoenwald acknowledged that coming out as fat is not equivalent to coming out as an LGBT person, but noted the real struggles of being fat.

“I’m not saying that my coming out as fat is the same or as traumatic as it can be for a person who is LGBT,” she wrote. “My mother already knows that I’m fat and wouldn’t disown me because of my weight, but that’s not to say that my weight hasn’t affected how she sees and treats me (which isn’t always kind).”

By describing herself as fat, Schoenwald claims it allows others to know her “on a deeper level.”

“By being more open about myself and my body, my friends and I have been able to talk about topics that were forbidden before,” she said. “I no longer have to pretend not to like dessert or mention that I went to the gym for 6 hours to try to validate my existence.”

While obese people should not be mocked or ridiculed merely for their appearance, the fat movement has some serious problems — namely, heart disease. The idea that being obese is a moral good or somehow totally devoid of health risks while being celebrated is asinine. Perhaps it would be healthier, both emotionally and physically, if we promoted kindness without pushing poor health (i.e. obesity) as the new norm.