S04.E01: Knocked Up?

[VedaPierce]

On January 26, 2017 at 9:31 PM, AnJen said:

I'll step right up as a person whose disdain for Whitney comes partially because of weight. If Whitney admitted her weight was a problem, acknowledged that she clearly binge eats high-calorie food, or did anything other than cry about how her problems aren't her fault and get angry at people who try to help her out, I wouldn't care what she weighed. 

But as an obese person with PCOS myself, I care a hell of a lot about the lies Whitney tells about her body to the people watching. 

10% of all women have PCOS and 65% of women with PCOS are obese. And the message that Whitney sends over and over and over is that nothing is her fault, PCOS controls her life, and that everyone who thinks she's capable of having any level of control over her body is "bullying" her.

It's bullshit and it's dangerous bullshit at that. If I'd found Whitney 5 years earlier I would've bought what she was selling hook, line, and sinker cause it's so easy. It takes all responsibility off me. I can just keep overeating myself into an early grave because hey, PCOS right? Nothing I can do, right? Fat and fabulous, right? 

Except, no. I do have control over my body. I've lost over 100lbs without killing myself at the gym or removing any of the foods I love from my life. And no, nothing about being super morbidly obese was fun or fabulous. My back used to ache constantly. I would get winded just walking across campus. I couldn't run and play with my nieces. I was embarrassed to eat in front of anyone in case they judged me so I'd secretly binge eat. I was depressed. I hated myself. 

I'm glad I realized I was lying to myself before a charismatic personality like Whitney became semi-famous and told me that my problems were all out of my control. Because I know women who found Whitney first, and I've watched their lives deteriorate as they internalized her message: not their fault, out of their control, just be happy with mediocrity, celebrate your fatness. 

I've posted about one girl here before; she's clearly depressed. She's eating herself into early grave. She's covering up her emotions with food and fake positivity. She's using the internet to find validation and confidence that she doesn't have in herself, which in her case means since she discovered Whitney and her no body shame movement, she posts a bunch of "sexy" videos of herself jiggling her fat rolls or eating food. The people who like and comment are either other morbidly obese women seeking similar validation or men with a fat fetish. It's not "empowering" to be viewed as an object.

Whitney isn't awful because she's fat, she's awful because of the message she's sending to other women about their ability to control their weight and their lives. Women with PCOS already have a much higher risk of depression, and 65% of women with PCOS are morbidly obese, which is also associated with depression. Whitney's message preys on those women. It finds them in their low point and confirms everything they think about themselves. "You can never change, you'll always be fat." 

She's earning her living off of shoving people down before they even realize they're capable of pulling themselves up. 

She's also crass, obnoxious, self-centered, treats her friends and family terribly, refuses to apologize to anyone, makes everything about herself, creates contention between people she claims to love for her own amusement, yells at anyone who disagrees with her (over anything) but starts crying and playing a victim when they defend themselves, and uses her internet fame to try to get people to bully anyone she feels has "wronged" her.

You're free to feel however you want about her; so are the rest of us.

I know I'm a year late and a dollar short, but I just discovered this disaster...and I just had to say that you are a PHENOMINAL writer! Your summation is perfection.