#notyourgoodfatty

[Content Note: Fat bias.]

In fat advocacy, there's something called Playing the Good Fatty, which, first of all, is something even many of the most radical of fat advocates have done themselves before, so there's no need to feel terrible if you think, "Shit, I've done that" or "Shit, I do that." It's essentially the fat equivalent of Playing the Exceptional Woman—exceptionalizing yourself to gain acceptance with the privileged class.

Like the Exceptional Woman, who exists somewhere between a woman who explicitly seeks to uphold the Patriarchy and a fully-fledged feminist, the Good Fatty is someone who exists somewhere between the fat person with desperate desire to be thin and a fully-fledged radical fatty. It's a space many of us tend to occupy on our way to freedom, when we know we want more, but haven't quite jettisoned the self-loathing, or self-doubt, or shame, or willingness to offend in defense of our own humanity, in order to seek community.

Playing the Good Fatty might entail talking about how you totally eat healthy all the time, or totally work out regularly, or totally have "great numbers" (blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.), or totally make sure you wear clothes that aren't too revealing.

It's basically saying: I'm not one of THOSE fatties. You know, the ones we're always hearing about, with their eating whole pizzas and destroying the healthcare system and stuff.

The transition from Good Fatty to Radical Fatty is when you decide it doesn't matter why someone is fat. That fat people's rights aren't contingent on anything else but our humanity.

So, last night, Amanda Levitt and mazzie were having a supportive conversation that prompted mazzie to use #notyourgoodfatty in reply to Amanda. And the #notyourgoodfatty hashtag was born.

And it is AMAZING.

(I will note that, as always, there are people trolling the hashtag. Because of course there are. But fuck them.)

Last night, I fired off a few of my own #notyourgoodfatty tweets:

If you troll my body, I'll laugh contemptuously, not apologize, & not give an infinitesimal speck of shit what you think. #notyourgoodfatty (link)

I will not wear sleeves for your comfort. #notyourgoodfatty (link)

I will love my body so much that I decorate it with beautiful tattoos. And then wear clothes that show them off. #notyourgoodfatty (link)

I will never, ever, feel obliged to defend, justify, or itemize what I eat. #notyourgoodfatty (link)

I will never react to "calories in calories out!" with anything but mirthless laughter. #notyourgoodfatty (link)

If you think my fat says something about my character, I'll pretty definitely think you're a dipshit. #notyourgoodfatty (link)

I will laugh loud enough with my fat friends to make you give us dirty looks. #notyourgoodfatty (link)

I will never affect shame of myself to indulge fantasies that happiness is the exclusive province of the not-fat. #notyourgoodfatty (link)

I will be perfectly content with my fatness. #notyourgoodfatty (link)

I will take. up. space. #notyourgoodfatty (link)

* * *

See the entire (and ongoing!) hashtag here. Major fat-fives to mazzie and Amanda. LADIES. ♥