I read another awesome article on the Sociological Images blog today. (Is that blog the best, or what?) It was written by a woman named Ragan Chastain who is overweight, but healthy by every objective measure, and how much crap she has taken for saying that out loud on the internet.
Chastain's biggest mistake was to try and reason with the internet. And, in a broader sense, to try and reason with people about fat at all. If you are surprised by the vehemence of the vitriol which was hurled her way for the crime of daring to be unashamed about being fat, then you must be new to the world. (Welcome! Have a seat!)
(It must be noted that for a certain segment of society, making a declarative sentence (such as "I am overweight but healthy") is like waving a cape before a bull. Any time you use a declarative sentence on the internet, some pedant will come along and correct you. This is the main conversational mode on the internet: correcting other people. It is a particular folly of youth that if one fact can be disputed, an entire argument collapses. Or so they imagine.)
Obesity certainly CAN be a health issue. It often indicates that something is wrong, either with caloric intake, or exercise level, or thyroid levels, or whatever. But obesity is simply a symptom, and like all symptoms, sometimes it happens in perfectly healthy people.
But unlike so many other personal failings, being fat becomes a public issue. Obesity in women is something that particularly drives people into a froth of outrage and anger, where it doesn't in men. The reason for this is obvious: women are expected to serve as set dressing. When we are in public, we are an element of the environment, and as such we are required to perform to a certain set of expectations.
For example, many people require that all women smile all the time. If you happen not to be smiling, a surprising number of people will accost you on the street and urge you to do so. Note that they do not urge you to be happy (the pre-condition for smiling) but to smile (the outward sign of a pleasant demeanor).
Women's bodies are subject to public scrutiny. And nothing gets people going like a woman who refuses to subject herself to that scrutiny. To a woman who says "No," and even worse, one who politely but firmly insists that you are wrong, and wrong to do so.
And for that reason, we salute you, Ragan Chastain! Keep dancing, because you're beautiful, and you are making the world a better place.