the-love-boat asked: Why do you call what doctors do fat-shaming? If I went to the doctor's with a cane, or an open wound, or arrhythmia, I would expect the doctor to inquire about the status of that health condition. Obesity is the same.

thisisthinprivilege:

No you would expect that your doctor treat you for specific conditions that research shows has a causal relationship. What you wouldn’t expect is for a doctor to treat your open wound by giving you medicine for acid reflux or some other treatment that has nothing to do with why you came to see the doctor.

Fatness isn’t a “health condition” it’s a form of diversity. Yes, there are higher risks related to health and body size but there is no research that shows a causal relationship between body size and conditions that we are shown to have a higher risk of. Also higher risk does not mean inherently diseased. Social conditions like poverty, racism, sexism, inequality in general etc are also related to higher risk of disease due to lack of access to health behaviors, which includes stigma free medical care. If every time you go to the doctor your open wound is ignored or blamed for causing unrelated medical conditions that has not been proven to have a causal relationship that is stigma in action.

Mind you, your argument is predicated on the idea that my body is the same as an inanimate object, a wound and a heart defect. That is why fat people face stigma. You believe our bodies are comparable to things or conditions but are not part of who we are as people. That is dehumanizing and disgusting.

-FBP