Pure awesome.” That’s how thirty-one-year-old Marianne Kirby describes herself. Weighing in at a hefty 319 pounds, Kirby likes what she sees when she looks in the mirror. Twenty-one-year-old Marianne Gregg feels the same way. Though Gregg is considerably lighter than Kirby, she uses the “F word” freely when describing herself. According to Gregg, “I’m not necessarily curvy and not chubby. I’m fat. I’m 220 pounds.”

Gregg and Kirby are part of a small but growing “fat acceptance” movement in the United States where being fat is a physical characteristic to be celebrated. Members of this new movement not only accept their bodies and embrace them. It’s okay for them to be fat as long as their mental and spiritual health remains intact. They are not embarrassed by their size; they are unconcerned how others might perceive them. Both women are actively trying to change the diet-crazed culture “one fat girl at a time.” Kirby founded the website, TheRound.com and recently authored a book entitled Lessons from the Fatosphere; Gregg writes a blog called “Young, Fat and Fabulous” that is dedicated to plus-sized women pursuing careers in fashion.

But Gregg and Kirby have their critics. The National Action Against Obesity says that promoting this type of lifestyle is “reckless” and can lead to dire health consequences. Rebecca Puhl, a weight expert at Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, agrees but acknowledges that fad dieting can also lead to physical and psychological complications.

Although Gregg and Kirby have accepted their fatness, they are not against being physically healthy. To the contrary, Gregg admits that she tries to eat a balanced diet and watch her calorie intake, and Kirby remains active: jogging, roller skating, and doing Pilates and yoga. The message that Gregg and Kirby want to convey is that being fat is fine. It does not mean they are lazy or smelly. Instead, they are just fat.

Question

1. What role does weight play in your impression of others?

2. Does your attribution of how a person became fat affect your perceptions? Explain.