Mary Ray Worley’s “Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance” contains Worley’s views on modern society’s views on obesity and why these views should be combated. Worley is a member of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, which is a program which advocates for the end of discrimination against obese people. Worley wrote the article in regard to her experience with the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. In her article, Mary Ray Worley brings up commonly mentioned antifat stereotypes and argues that fat people are just as capable as the rest of society at performing any task; therefore, fat people should be accepting of their own bodies. Worley begins her narrative by stating that most Americans believe that being
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Working out with a goal in mind that is not to lose weight allows for an individual to realize that their body is a blessing and can accomplish many things despite how it is shaped. Worley finishes her narrative by reasserting that by forging a relationship of appreciation with an individual’s own body, one can live their life feeling happy and at peace with their body. Throughout her article, Worley utilizes anecdotal evidence in order to provide her readers with a sense of empathy for what she has dealt with as a fat person. However, Mary Ray Worley ineffectively convinces the reader that fat people should be accepting of their owns bodies through her lack of clarity in defining key terms and usage of non …show more content…
Worley states that “Fat people are often taunted in public and are pressured by family members to lose weight”(Worley 364). While Worley may be correct in her assertion that certain obese individuals feel as though they are being pressured to take care of themselves, she ultimately fails in specifying what group of people is being targeted. The word “fat” is a vague term used to describe anybody or anything that exhibits a visible percentage of extra body mass. Moreover, the word “fat” has become so commonly used in the English language that multiple dictionaries have varying definitions. For instance, Webster’s Dictionary defines fat as “the soft flesh on the bellies of people and animals” (Webster’s) while Collin’s dictionary defines fat as “a person has a lot of flesh on their body” (Collins). With so many varying definitions, it is necessary for Worley to state what she means when she says an individual is “fat.” Without Worley defining the word “fat,” it can be assumed that she is talking about individuals who have been diagnosed as obese facing ridicule from their families. In this case, it is possible that the families want for the obese individual to be healthier. On the contrary, the same sentence could be interpreted as meaning that an individual with only a slightly above average weight could be ridiculed by their family, which could be viewed as harsher
Working out with a goal in mind that is not to lose weight allows for an individual to realize that their body is a blessing and can accomplish many things despite how it is shaped. Worley finishes her narrative by reasserting that by forging a relationship of appreciation with an individual’s own body, one can live their life feeling happy and at peace with their body. Throughout her article, Worley utilizes anecdotal evidence in order to provide her readers with a sense of empathy for what she has dealt with as a fat person. However, Mary Ray Worley ineffectively convinces the reader that fat people should be accepting of their owns bodies through her lack of clarity in defining key terms and usage of non …show more content…
Worley states that “Fat people are often taunted in public and are pressured by family members to lose weight”(Worley 364). While Worley may be correct in her assertion that certain obese individuals feel as though they are being pressured to take care of themselves, she ultimately fails in specifying what group of people is being targeted. The word “fat” is a vague term used to describe anybody or anything that exhibits a visible percentage of extra body mass. Moreover, the word “fat” has become so commonly used in the English language that multiple dictionaries have varying definitions. For instance, Webster’s Dictionary defines fat as “the soft flesh on the bellies of people and animals” (Webster’s) while Collin’s dictionary defines fat as “a person has a lot of flesh on their body” (Collins). With so many varying definitions, it is necessary for Worley to state what she means when she says an individual is “fat.” Without Worley defining the word “fat,” it can be assumed that she is talking about individuals who have been diagnosed as obese facing ridicule from their families. In this case, it is possible that the families want for the obese individual to be healthier. On the contrary, the same sentence could be interpreted as meaning that an individual with only a slightly above average weight could be ridiculed by their family, which could be viewed as harsher