Body Positivity

[MWil23]

@JoshstraDaymus I actually covered this in my sociology class not long ago. The entire premise of "Dad bod" is actually extremely offensive to me as a father. The lumpy connotation that somehow it's okay to use that terminology, when imagine if I referred to a lumpy female as having a "mom bod" would label me a misogynist.  Granted, I feel as though it's become acceptable in society to play into the "fact" that men do/should swallow their appearance insecurities, etc. despite marketing telling us otherwise is laughable.

For example, I always find the "before" and "after" pictures in hair loss (Bosley) hilarious. Before he's a bald loser who has a frown, and afterwards, he's got a full head of hair, 6 pack abs, and bikini babe coming through his hair.

So, suck it up, be a man, swallow your emotions, as I refer to you (you all inclusive, not you Josh!) as having a dad bod, but thankfully "you're a nice guy".

[mission27]

18 hours ago, Ty21 said:

I do. 
 

I was 340 lbs at my worst, 204 now. I agree with not fat shaming, as losing weight is difficult (achievable but difficult). Celebrating obesity though is a different story (plus size models), fat people that are happy fat and don’t want to improve themselves at all isn’t something I necessarily support. Being overweight takes years off your life and doesn’t really benefit anyone outside of less stress from a lazier lifestyle. I am neutral on all political issues that don’t involve me (including gay rights, transgender rights, etc) because they don’t involve me. So ultimately make whatever decision you feel makes you happy. 

Surprised to see we 100% agree on this tbh

Body positivity is a good thing within normal bounds, but body positivity for the morbidly obese is like enabling and supporting an alcoholic or drug addict 

[MookieMonstah]

I've talked a lot about this with friends recently with all the Zion fat shaming. I mean, this is a 20 year old kid and the media is just teeing off on him left and right. Even going as far as to blatantly lie about his weight, Zion is not even close to 330 pounds. You think the media would EVER do this to a female athlete?

[BobbyPhil1781]

1 hour ago, mission27 said:

Body positivity is a good thing within normal bounds, but body positivity for the morbidly obese is like enabling and supporting an alcoholic or drug addict 

This is where I'm at as well. I'm willing to bet not everyone reading this is the healthiest person on the planet or is in the absolute best shape. That line you drew really does need to be defined though. People being comfortable in their skin is important but when we start glorifying people that are hundreds of pounds overweight, that is a problem, and it needs to be stopped. OP Is absolutely right that men are never perceived this way b/c men's mental health is really being tossed aside in a lot of ways but that doesn't mean it's not needed. 

Edited December 9, 2021 by BobbyPhil1781

[mission27]

2 hours ago, MookieMonstah said:

I've talked a lot about this with friends recently with all the Zion fat shaming. I mean, this is a 20 year old kid and the media is just teeing off on him left and right. Even going as far as to blatantly lie about his weight, Zion is not even close to 330 pounds. You think the media would EVER do this to a female athlete?

He's a professional athlete making millions who has struggled to stay on the court, staying in shape is basically his whole job, I think its fair for fans and the media to question whether his fitness and conditioning is contributing to that and whether he's doing enough to rehab.  He's not just some random 20-year-old kid.

[Daniel]

Yeah, toxic masculinity sucks.

[TOUCAN]

 

2 minutes ago, Daniel said:

Yeah, toxic masculinity sucks.

It really does boil down to this doesn't it?

[TOUCAN]

I think alot of you guys here are misconstruing the point of the thread, you're taking it as we should be applauding people for being morbidly obese. That's not the case. Here's the thing, there are fat people on this planet and that's just how it is. You don't need to comment on them give them feedback unless they ask for it, or anything at all. This thread is more about the differential between the two sexes.

[MWil23]

1 minute ago, JoshstraDaymus said:

4 minutes ago, Daniel said:

Yeah, toxic masculinity sucks.

It really does boil down to this doesn't it?

I'll be honest, I've seen just as many females make these comments and do these things as I've seen guys do as well.

[TOUCAN]

12 minutes ago, mission27 said:

He's a professional athlete making millions who has struggled to stay on the court, staying in shape is basically his whole job, I think its fair for fans and the media to question whether his fitness and conditioning is contributing to that and whether he's doing enough to rehab.  He's not just some random 20-year-old kid.

That's not what the media has been doing and you know it. They've legitimately been making fun of the guy.

[TOUCAN]

Just now, MWil23 said:

I'll be honest, I've seen just as many females make these comments and do these things as I've seen guys do as well.

Double standards are crappy too

[TOUCAN]

But @MWil23the ideals of toxic masculinity aren't just limited to males making comments, it could have permeated from their upbringing. It's also baked into the bread of the society.

[MWil23]

Just now, JoshstraDaymus said:

But @MWil23the ideals of toxic masculinity aren't just limited to males making comments, it could have permeated from their upbringing. It's also baked into the bread of the society.

I think "baked into the bread of society" is more or less my biggest issue. How many Sit-Coms do we see revolving around some "ugly" or "overweight" guy landing a girl "out of his league" and basing all subsequent jokes, humor, etc. around it? And for the record, I don't always find this offensive, but that fine line is there for sure.

[Daniel]

Just now, JoshstraDaymus said:

 

It really does boil down to this doesn't it?

Pretty much.  It's the same cultural pressure on both genders, but it has been more extreme to women until very recently.  While you won't see a guy without abs as a leading man in a rom com, you will see them.  Usually as comic characters, but they're still there.  It's why the whole fat-guy-hot-wife was a thing.  It was on a lot of sitcoms.

There's thankfully been more pushback now on body standards, but that has been mostly put forward by women, largely because the pressure was stronger there.  The pushback for men on that seems to mostly center around being able to show emotions sometimes, which is a positive, but there needs to be more for men on unhealthy body image.

Of course, things like anorexia and bulimia are way, way less common in men, but more stigmatized when they exist.

My whole thing with weight is to tell people to target health, not body sculpting.  You can be chubby and healthy.  Health should be the goal, and as long as that's the goal, do your own thing on what you look like.  My wife likes my gut.  At least in winter.

[MWil23]

2 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

I think "baked into the bread of society" is more or less my biggest issue. How many Sit-Coms do we see revolving around some "ugly" or "overweight" guy landing a girl "out of his league" and basing all subsequent jokes, humor, etc. around it? And for the record, I don't always find this offensive, but that fine line is there for sure.

 

1 minute ago, Daniel said:

Pretty much.  It's the same cultural pressure on both genders, but it has been more extreme to women until very recently.  While you won't see a guy without abs as a leading man in a rom com, you will see them.  Usually as comic characters, but they're still there.  It's why the whole fat-guy-hot-wife was a thing.  It was on a lot of sitcoms.

EXACTLY