The youtube video called "The Fat Rant" was very interesting. When I first watched it, I found it very entertaining and completely bought into it. It is great that Joy is trying to get overweight girls to love and embrace their bodies. She tells people to stop avoiding things just because of their weight. If they want to go to the Bahamas, they should not go just because they don't feel comfortable in their bathing suit. They should also avoid working out because they are afraid they will sweat a lot and people will make fun of them. The phrase "she should not be wearing that" is one that is said a lot in American culture and should be completely ignored.
However, after watching the Meme and Joy debate I definitely felt differently about the whole subject. Being a health major, it is hard to ignore the statistics about how much body weight influences disease including diabetes, heart disease, and risk for strokes and heart attacks. Joy said that she exercised a lot; however, when Meme asked her how often she said only about twice a week. Joy also said that she doesn't feel bad about eating junk food, but then she said she was a very healthy eater. Her whole story seemed very hypocritical to me and she changed her story many times. It is a great thing that she loves her body, however it seems that she is not doing everything in her power to reduce the medical risks that come with her lifestyle. Weight and appearance is socially constructed, but I feel like that is because being overweight is associated with higher risks of disease. Society feels that if people will not work hard enough to reduce their body weight, which in turn reduces risk of disease, they will not work hard enough in other areas of life.
On the other hand, I think that Meme is going about this the wrong way. She is criticizing other women for something that they may or may not be able to control. Women should stick together and not criticize each other every chance they get. Meme is obviously healthy and in good shape, and I'm sure those women that are overweight don't exactly feel good about themselves when a 100 pound girl is telling them how unhealthy their lifestyle is.
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