Apparently this video below has the fatvocates and agony aunts of the interwebz twisting their pearls.
People are "shocked", "appalled", "offended" and "disgusted" by this video because it portrays a family of over-eaters as pigs. People are deriding Dear Prudence and even calling for the animator to be disciplined or fired. Prudence has since released an apology and the video has been removed from the column. It still exists in the Slate V archives and people are calling for that removal too. Frankly I hope Slate stands strong and doesn't cower before this wave of angry keyboard pounding.
Before I offer my two cents, here's the video:
Girl with Endless Appetite
Now, as an obese person who has battled the issue all my life, I guess I'm supposed to be just as mad and insulted about this as the legions of internet commenters. I'm not. My family was a horrible example of health and diet and a large part of my issues with food now stem from the dietary Chernobyl of my younger years. These parents have taken a perfectly fine parental desire (to see their child love herself for what's inside) and ran it right over the cliff of Mashed Potato Mountain. It is not ok to let her wreck the "outside" to show how little she values conventional beauty standards. One of my favorite things to compare this too would be saying: "Oh, that only LOOKS like a crack house! Inside they have Ming Vases, Persian Rugs and a Jacuzzi!" Would you by a decrepit, rotten house based on the supposed treasures within? Most likely not. Likewise, this little girl is selling herself short by destroying her body and her parents are cheering it on, all in the name of "it's what's inside that counts." This is not Ok. This is how you make people like me. I do not wish this struggle on anyone, let alone innocent children who's parents think that love means never saying no to fried chicken and dilly bars.
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