Jacob Riis Beach hosts the day of body positivity and fun, in the city at the heart of the fat acceptance movement
Fat Beach Day events are springing up across the US in an effort to fight back against fat-phobia, reclaim safe spaces for the community and honor plus-size culture. Today, one of these celebrations is being held to coincide with Pride month at Jacob Riis Beach in New York, a location deeply ensconced in the city’s activism space.
I may be ignorant of this, but weren’t plus-sized people already allowed on beaches? I’ve been to beaches along the Gulf of Mexico all of my life and have seen plenty of fat people there, and gone with my friends who are fat and never seemed to have any trouble.
It’s not about being allowed or not. It’s about creating an inclusive space for plus size people to comfortably sunbathe without being oggled and judged for their size, a privilege that others have more frequently.
Great in theory, but fat people will always be oggled at and judged for their size. All this will do is make a big spectacle and draw attention to those who really just want to be left the fuck alone to live their lives.
It also adds to the HAES bullshit. Being obese is unhealthy, that’s not up for debate.
Imagine if they had a smokers acceptance day where we all had to give them a pat on the back for damaging their lungs. It’s so stupid.
No one has to accept or celebrate your lifestyle they just have to tolerate it.
And as you’re saying, if you want to be super fat, good for you, but people are going to look and that’s not their problem.
I agree with what you’ve said here.
At the same time, encouraging obese people to go outside and get some exercise without worrying about how they look to others seems like something to encourage.
If they can go out to the beach and it wasn’t so bad, maybe they can go out to the gym on another day.
This wouldn’t happen for everyone, but if it helps a few people, then I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing.
My city has one or two trans bars. Cis people are allowed of course. But most of the clientele is some flavor trans or nonbinary.
It makes me feel so much less conspicuous when I look out at the crowd and realize I don’t stick out at all. I imagine this could serve a similar function to fat people who want to go to the beach.
That makes sense and works because it’s in an enclosed and private space. Fat day at the beach will quickly turn into a zoo exhibit for cruel people because the world is horrible.
Again, correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s the price that ANYONE pays going to the beach? Generally, you are wearing more revealing clothing, or more accentuates your body parts (wet swimsuits do not hide much). So everyone can be ogled, in fact in my experience from my youth having lots of teenage boy friends, the more slim or conventionally attractive people tend to be ogled much more than those who are not.