- Joined
- Jun 30, 2017
Fat Acceptance Movement / Fat Girlcows
- Thread starter AtroposHeart
- Start date
dismissfrogs
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2019
so is she getting fired yet?
JuniperFalls
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2018
Comfyfat got one thing right in her blog post:
I have already made the judgment that Comfy's "need" to snack all through the day is bullshit. No human with fat reserves as ample as J's "needs" to do that.
I have already made the judgment that Comfy's "need" to snack all through the day is bullshit. No human with fat reserves as ample as J's "needs" to do that.
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2019
She should be thanking whatever divine entity she believes in for landing a job - being a morbid obese, gender neutral snowflake that barely can walk or stand.Jay has a new blog post up on her website. It's about being a "superfat" in the work place. It's a long one.
Here are the highlights:
When you apply for a job, you think of your work experience. You update your resume, fill out the appropriate paperwork and wait for those calls. You prepare for your interviews; picking out a professional outfit or making a quick stop to the mall to purchase a nice blouse. You put your best foot forward. Sometimes you shoot your shot with that position that would be ideal but perhaps you’re not super qualified for. Other times, you apply for the positions that you’re clearly overqualified for, because money is tight and capitalism is a total bitch.
These are relatively manageable challenges for the average person looking for work. Some problem solving around sharing the car with your partner or child care might be required. Interview and first day jitters are common for a lot of us. But we do what is necessary because we need to get our needs met. We have to provide for ourselves and for our families in a world where the dollar is the only valid currency and the cost of living (and just being a human) continues to rise.
Imagine that in addition to these challenges, you’re met with numerous other obstacles in both finding and securing employment, based entirely on the size of your body. Imagine living in a world designed for bodies much smaller than yours and facing challenges that impact your ability to thrive.
This is reality for us fat folks. Especially us superfats. Whether it’s finding appropriate clothing, navigating spatial issues, or having limited mobility, being a superfat in the workplace is stressful.
I wouldn’t say it’s best practice to assume all fat folks have the same limited mobility issues. Some fat people are flexible, have great stamina, and the strongest knees. Some don’t. The reasons for this variance in mobility could be related to health and size, or they could not. We give thin people the grace to be varied in their experiences and abilities, so I just want to preface this by reminding folks of just that – we are all different. My experience is not guaranteed to be the universal fat experience. However, in a world where the fat experience is ignored and undervalued, it’s important to acknowledge that one-third of the US population is considered “overweight” and to be quite honest, there’s a whole shit ton of fat people out there that can relate.
The devastating state of my finances led me to reevaluate my work from home lifestyle. Back to the traditional workforce for me!
(Corrissa's 300 dollars worth of junk food is not going to buy itself.)
Sifting through the slew of job postings on this website and the next, I started getting discouraged. How can I best set myself up for success? Which kinds of jobs should I be applying to? At this point, I was pretty tight on cash, and needed to find something stable and also reasonably accessible as a fat person. I can’t stand on my feet for more than half an hour without feeling excruciating pain. I can’t walk long distances, stairs, or fit in tight spaces. Anything with high customer traffic that wouldn’t allow me to take very frequent breaks to sit down will not work. This pretty much cuts out all sales, retail, and food service positions.
(You're just being lazy Jay. A lot of fatties work those kind of jobs.)
I finally started taking chances on applying for positions within the social work field. Surely, that field is much more likely to be able to provide accommodations for my limited mobility and size. But in reflection of multiple interviews, I came up against another obstacle.
What If They Don’t Want To Hire Me Because I’m Fat?
Let’s say, for funsies, that a person of size with limited mobility like myself does in fact land that job that ticks all the right boxes. I pushed through the initial interview – the big reveal of my true size and somehow the weight bias didn’t thwart me. No sighs of relief just yet. Every moment following will require extra thought, preparation, advocacy, and most of all – vulnerability.
What To Wear And How Will It Be Perceived?
It often surprises me when I talk to thin people about buying clothes and they don’t already know that I can’t shop in-store. I cannot. I’m not exaggerating, there are no options. Suggestions about just popping over to Walmart for some cheap dress pants are irrelevant to me. Most if not all clothing stores do not carry my size in pants, shirts, sweaters, coats, underwear, tank tops etc. Nothing. If I need a blouse or a button up, I have to shop online. This means it not only costs more, but the fit is unpredictable and last minute purchases are impossible. Being a superfat, I’m further limited by which online stores even carry my size. I can count on one hand the stores that do and most of the time, those stores only have a few items in my size listed. (Walmart clothing is not good enough, for our "superfat" Jay.)
As stated previously, common perceptions of fat people are that we are lazy and unprofessional. A way to combat this in a traditional workplace where the dress code is business casual, is to upgrade our wardrobe and make sure we’re looking professional. But have you ever noticed that the standards for thin people to be considered professional versus fat people don’t really align? A thin person can wear a cardigan over a v-neck tee and look business casual. The same outfit would be perceived as dressed down or even “frumpy” on a fat person. Dress pants in straight sizes seem to have all the proportions correct. Meanwhile, fat people are drowning in our dress pants because whoever’s designing them believes our ankles are the same width as our thighs, (typically not the case). How are we supposed to adhere to rules not made with us in mind?
The Seating Situation
Navigating unfamiliar spaces brings on a lot of anxiety for many superfats. Personally, I was really worried about what kind of work space I would have at my new job, considering I’d be spending damn near 8 hours of my day there. Will the chairs have arms? Will they be sturdy? Almost every superfat has a story about a time when a chair crumbled beneath them. My worst fear is always that on my first day, I’ll crush a chair in front of all my new coworkers and I’ll have to first, struggle to get up off of the floor and then immediately find a bathroom to go cry in out of embarrassment. Not fun.
And even if that worst case scenario doesn’t happen, what would finding appropriate seating look like? Not every workplace has funding to provide appropriate chairs for varied individuals. Nor are they required to prioritize that need. Further, how might you feel sharing this need with a superior you’ve just met, drawing attention to something so vulnerable to judgement?
A Superfat In The Workplace Who Eats
Is it true that thin people judge what a fat person chooses to eat? Yes. We’re human, we make judgments about people. Our society is obsessed with diet culture and thinness. We place moral implications on decisions related to food. We value health and beauty standards above all else. It would be naive to think that a fat person could eat whatever they wanted, however much they wanted, without their thin peers making judgments about what they should/shouldn’t be consuming, or why they’re consuming it.
This is why I consistently have anxiety about groceries every single week. I worry a lot about what my peers think about the foods I bring in. I fear that they’ll make judgments about my need to snack throughout the day. I’m afraid they’ll deem me a “bad fatty,” if I decide to bring food that I’m supposed to feel guilty about eating. But then, if I bring items that are typically seen as healthy, I worry they’ll make the wrong conclusions and decide to engage in conversations with me about dieting (yes, this does happen).
What can I bring for snacks that will feel satisfying? What will make the least noise and draw the least amount of attention? How can I make sure my meal looks balanced? Do I want it to be balanced for my own benefit or to try and control how I am perceived about the food I eat?
Establishing myself as A Fatty Who Eats Freely in the workplace requires courage and a lot of work. I have to be strong in my values and even repeat them to myself in times of insecurity. This is a lot of unnecessary stress and emotional labor.
Am I Going To Be Put In Physically Demanding Situations?
Its nearly impossible to anticipate every potential physical activity that’ll be involved in a new job. Still, you can gather the basics. How big is the property? Will I be expected to regularly walk long distances? Is there a lot of driving involved? How much standing will there be?
The thing is, the definition of what is “physically demanding” is subjective. And I think the general public expects fat folks to suffer through more pain and discomfort than thin people. The narrative is that we did this to ourselves, so we should suffer through until we fix the problem; our fatness. Again, forcing us to feel like we have to shrink to the space instead of make the space safer for everyone.
It’s terrifying trying to advocate for ourselves knowing that most people feel this way about us and our bodies. I have been in numerous situations where I’ve pushed myself past my limits, injured my body, and even had a full meltdown because I forced myself to endure pain that my thin counterparts wouldn’t even entertain suffering through. Expecting that everyone will be able to participate in the same level of activity, without leaving room for accommodations, does not create a fair and ethical workplace.
Okay, But…Who Cares?
Unfortunately, internalized fatphobia, shame, and fear leaves fat folks feeling like they have to shrink to fit the space – both figuratively and literally. Make our bodies smaller as well as our voices. We often stay silent to remain safe instead of demanding that we be valued for our worth and that our needs get met. And honestly, I’m one of those people a lot of the time.
“Even The Most Progressive Activists Forget To Include Fat People As A Marginalized Group Needing Such Advocacy.”
So what am I asking you to do exactly? If you’re reading this post, you’re probably someone who cares about social justice. You may even advocate for social change to protect our most vulnerable populations. The problem is, many of these discussions leave out the fat experience. Even the most progressive activists forget to include fat people as a marginalized group needing such advocacy.
Link to blog post: https://comfyfat.com/2019/12/23/superfat-in-the-workplace/
But is she ? No - she's complaining every week on the internet about how mean her coworkers are talking about diets; and how they don't put up with her pronoum nonsense ...
She should give her spot for someone who would be more grateful to have a job.
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2019
Imagine working with someone like Jay and have to watch her stuffing her face everyday with snacks. It would cross my mind - maybe today is the day this bitch will have an heart attack and how on earth we'll gonna move her.
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2019
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2017
Kristin Chirico is now claiming her boyfriend is "non binary". Of course she's a Northwestern grad. Some of the most insufferable people I've known are.
- Joined
- May 15, 2018
No, she's just from Ohio. She also refers to academia as "academica," lol.
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2019
Do you find that weird? That's supposed to be in the rarefied air even among the more prestigious institutions, so one would hope it would turn out decent people. I don't mean "nice," since I personally don't care about nice. I mean people willing and able to integrate well into society, which means fucking faking it well in public if necessary.
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2018
dismissfrogs
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2019
but... the chins amount is the same.... i just.... i dont know anymore. this blob woman has broken my brain
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2019
It's transforming soon its head will just be a giant mouth and chins.
LetThemEatCake
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2019
I had to look up who this is. Oh, the fat girl off Buzzfeed. Lovely. I'm going to read 'husband as non-binary' announcement as either a pose to get woke points or the guy basically on his way to coming out as a cock-chaser or troon.
Place your bets, Kiwis.
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2018
Fucking hell, this whole thing reads like someone so far up their own ass they have no idea how common their experience is for a huge portion of the population, including the dreaded Thins, and simultaneously how absolutely rare their group is (all things considered). There's zero perspective.
Cardigans and t-shirts are considered pretty casual for anyone. Dressy side of casual, but casual or even frumpy depending on the items.
Dress pants are a nightmare for a lot of people. Also, people who can wear straight sizes have more luck because their body shapes are easier to predict than wildcard superfats.
Despite her commentary on one-third of the population being overweight, she seems to not understand how much bigger she is than simply overweight. She is, ironically, part of a tiny minority. Nobody with any sense will cater to a tiny minority.
Thin people judge each other, too, especially when it comes to food, and especially in offices. This is normal and not because you're the size of a hippo and always eating.
I used to work with a huge lady who felt the need to eat all day. When she left, we had to replace her mouse and keyboard because of all of the food grime caked on. We still found little bits of food that fell in corners for a few weeks. She was universally hated.
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2017
That's not her husband, that's just some beta Buzzfeed guy. This fat dude is her husband:
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2019
When I saw the first guy, my immediate thought was how can she not see that this dude is gay? Now that I know this is actually her husband, he looks autistic to me, so it's a vote for trooning out. And she'll totally be down with it because she'll get to be a lesbian. It's not very progressive to be a boring cis het married couple these days. But, non-binary is just a detour on the way to troon town.
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2019
He's got 'Troon mit Girldick' written all over him.
edit: Ah, wrong picture, but the bet still stands.
LetThemEatCake
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2019
Ah, I stand corrected! A schlubby, overweight neckbeard type eh. Troon it is.
- Joined
- May 15, 2018
Kristin made a video a few years ago about how he (they/it?) loves fat women:
He "came out" as enby during Pride. I remember posting about it here.
And Kristin is a total sour bitch on Twitter all the time.
- Joined
- May 16, 2019
No, you are a total bitch. Capitalism is what generates enough surplus food to stuff your morbidly obese face.
You want to see some real fatphobia? Try snacking all day in a Communist country, especially after one of their frequent famines. I'm sure the local commissars would love to hear your complaints about how unaccommodating the chairs are while they read over your groceries requisition.
Well what the fuck kind of currency do you expect there to be? Gold coins? Painted beads? You want to buy your pizzas and femme shrimp with labor notes? (Good luck; by your own admission, you're incapable of performing the kind of useful labor that would let you survive without currency or capitalism.)
Fair point that the cost of living keeps going up, but guess what happens if you eliminate the dollar system that causes it? The ability to pay for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and all other federal level entitlements collapses. Including the ability to pay for the health care and desperate measures needed to keep your bitch ass alive when the inevitable weight-related illnesses start ravaging your bloated carcass.
As a frustrated man once said, "fat drunk and stupid is no way to go through life". Going all out on two of those while skipping the middle one doesn't make things any better.