You might have seen in the papers or online over the last few days that Steve Miller (weight-loss ‘expert’) has declared the 7th January ‘Tell a Friend They’re Fat Day’. Because we all know that shaming someone about their body is the best way to get them to lose weight… #sigh.
Of course, I hate the idea of this day and feel like it is a complete waste of time. Not only does it help to ‘concrete’ the idea that another persons body is your business but it promotes the idea of bullying – neither of which I agree with. In fact the idea is so ludicrous that even The Daily Telegraph are against it, which in itself says something.
In a valiant attempt to overcome this Slink Magazine have announced ‘Tell a Friend They’re Fab Day’ also taking place on the 7th January. The idea behind it being to turn the day into something positive, which is an amazing idea!
However, I was trying to find a way to blog and promote it in a way that I felt comfortable with. I don’t necessarily agree with the idea of rather than telling someone they are fat, you should tell someone they are fab. It sort of, in a round about way it promotes the idea that fat is bad because we’re denying talking about it. For me, telling me I am fat is as worthwhile as telling me I have brown hair & I’d love a campaign that promoted this idea for everyone. However, I love the idea of telling people they are brilliant and I had every intention of posting about it, as soon as I worked out exactly how I felt about it.
 |
And then this happened. A fab post by The Arched Eyebrow which summed up how I felt about it. She has declared the day ‘Tell A Fat Friend They’re Fab Day’… Which I shall be doing! I shall also be telling my thin friends that they are fab & so are their bodies.
As Bethany points out, the whole idea behind Steves campaign is to make people shameful about their bodies, so pointing out that people have a fab personality isn’t the only way that we should be fighting this. Instead we should be giving people the power to say Yes, I am fat but I am bloody fabulous as well! I am sure we have all had the ‘Nooo you’re not fat, you’re fabulous‘ line given to us once or twice, but the truth is that I AM FAT (and fab!) and there is nothing wrong with that.
Anyway, there are links to all the campaigns in the post so have a read up and see how you feel about them all! I’ll be getting involved in the #YouAreFab and the #TellAFatFriendTheyreFabDay because I think all of my friends are fabulous and I love an excuse to tell them so!
I’d love to know your views!
Debz xx
Debz Louise is a plus-size blogger based in Yorkshire. Behind many nationwide campaigns such as #WeaAreTheThey & winner of Best Blogger at the UK Plus Size Awards, she talkas about life as a plus-size 40-something woman in South Yorkshire.
