The Legacy Of Fat/body-positivity Is Turning Out To Be Not Much Different Than The History Of The Feminist

“The legacy of fat/body-positivity is turning out to be not much different than the history of the feminist movement that it relies on to support its stances: one that prioritizes and privileges white women. Representations of fat white women have become commercially accessible and visible – for example reality shows to reveal the complexities of their lives and magazine covers intended to convince women that they can indeed be fat and confident. Meanwhile, fat Black women’s representation in mass media is relegated to comedy (where our bodies become part of the act itself); and we all hold our breaths, waiting for the latest Precious joke to pass while simultaneously praying that Gabby Sidibe‘s current major role won’t be her last. And while trendy fashion bloggers like Gabi Fresh and Essie Golden are certainly beginning to push the boundaries on fat Black girl visibility in a way that isn’t strictly satirical/degrading, they are limited to the beauty subgenre (because for us the presentation must always be on point). Meanwhile, Rebel Wilson graced the cover of ELLE. http://mckpasta.com/post/119409095251/pay-attention-to-how-rebel-wilson-is-received When Tess Holliday–considered by some to be the first plus-sized supermodel, and arguably one of the most visible figures in the movement to promote body acceptance–proudly touted that Black men “love” her, she indirectly supported an assumption that most fat Black girls know not to be true: that Black communities treat fat women better than other communities do. We are in a body-positivity era that is ignoring women of color and Black women and doing so by resting on the false notion that for Black girls and women, being fat is somehow easier. In what feels like an asinine case of “reverse” psychology, body-positive white woman are subtly suggesting that not having to deal with fat shaming is a privilege that only Black women are afforded. Per usual, people are reaching for their piece of the oppression pie (pun intended). It is oft cited and mentioned that studies show that Black women have higher self-esteem and body image. However, high self esteem does not equal less fat-shaming, fatphobia, or other violence against fat Black women. For one, even if it were true that Black communities were more accepting of their fat women (which it isn’t), Black women don’t live in a cultural vacuum where they only engage and are affected by other Black people! Remember when that fat, Black woman went to yoga to mind her own damn business and then became the porous object to absorb all of Jen Carson’s white guilt? That’s a perfect example of how Blackness can’t save us from fatphobia (and certainly not white tears). And even within our communities fatphobia can wreck havoc on the lives of fat Black women. Just this past weekend I was at a music festival where I met one of my favorite cast members (a Black woman) from reality show “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta.” All was going well and I was thrilled at how kind and down to earth she was until she told me that I was too cute to be too fat. A few years ago, when word got out that I was sexually assaulted (by a Black man), people in the neighborhood where it occurred doubted that it could have happened because I’m so big that there’s no way I couldn’t/shouldn’t have fought back to avoid the attack. So please, let’s stop go ahead and set the record straight that Blackness is not the neutralizer of fatness. We need to get comfortable with and accept that Black women are also facing fat discrimination, are also participating in body acceptance movements, and also deserve to be represented.”

— STOP EXCLUDING BLACK WOMEN FROM FAT ACCEPTANCE MOVEMENTS by SESALI B.  (via tierracita)

Hello, I recently got diagnosed with pcos. My whole life I’ve been raise to be a girl, when I was 18 I decided I wanted to go by they/them and be agender. I’m 20 now and was wondering if having pcos means I’ve been intersex my whole life and not even now it. I’ve just seen it brought up a lot in pcos groups and I never even thought about that. I’m just a little confused is all. My doctor didn’t really give me any information about that.

If it helps, while there are people who will try to push you out of intersex spaces for having PCOS, there are also plenty of others who accept us into intersex spaces. As for your doctor not mentioning it, I can only imagine it has something to do with medical bias against intersex people and the field's need to erase us all. See, if PCOS, a very common condition, is intersex, that means intersex people are even less rare. They want to sweep intersex people under the rug, in order to enforce their idea of 'binary sex'. That all being said though, it is ultimately up to you whether you want to use the intersex label due to having PCOS. I personally believe that PCOS, by default, makes one intersex, but I'm not one to enforce labels.

The icing on the cake here is that I, myself identify as transfem and a trans woman to some extent. I don't talk about it often because I know for a fact that some dingus will appear in my asks pissing themself over my usage of the terms as an 'AFAB' intersex person (and by the way, I don't give a rat's ass about perisex AFAB people using the terms transfem or trans woman either), but it is what it is.

Regardless, I mention this because again it truly is the icing on the cake. You are going into somebody's inbox claiming they're hiding behind allyship and hate trans women, just because they don't uncritically support the terms you dickride. You, my dear anon, are going after a member of the very community you claim to care about in your desperation to protect the sacred binary you love so much.

Not to mention that regardless of if the terms were truly created by intersex people, news flash: people can harm their own communities. It happens so. Fucking. Much.

Please get your head out of your ass, because at least then you'll be plucking something useful out of it for once.

TME and TMA where terms invented by intersex people, what the fuck are you on? If you hate trans women so much you can just say that. Don't try to hide behind allyship.

I am trans and intersex myself. Many intersex people have come out against this 'progressive' binary, not just myself. Stop bitching at me about 'hating trans women' because I don't like something that actively hurts me and my community. Hope this helped!

neuropronouns are exclusive to neurodivergents right?

Nope! Anybody can use neopronouns.

@aroace-safespace-forall

hey black stripe for romantic individuals who go against the traditional culture of romance is pretty based actually. i wish we still talked about that

LOL some TERF (literally a TERF, if they weren't they definitely sounded like one) went to one of my posts and screamed at me about how 'homosexuality isn't about gender nonsense'... And only picked at the lesbianism part of the post. Typical, really.

Anyways, repeating myself here but: lesbians can be men, lesbians can like men, lesbians can date men. This does NOT mean every lesbian HAS to do these things. Being queer is all about the freedom of identity.