The Power of the Negative Case

This may be one of the shortest and simplist posts I have every written. That is because bigotry is a behavior is simple:

1. Create a perception about a group of people that applies to the entire group. This is called stereotyping.
2. Upon meeting someone from the group (or perceived to be from the group), only notice those things that confirm the perception in #1. This is called stigmatization.
3. Treat that person according to the perception, not the reality of the individual. Usually that treatment will be detrimental to the individual in some way. This is called discrimination.

A vast diversity exists among human beings and when respected, that diversity can open up worlds. So the groups or axes of inequality that are on the receiving in of the above behavior can vary greatly in their history, their language, their self-awareness, their cohesiveness and their collaboration with others in their group. But the behavior we call bigotry works pretty much the same way no matter who the target may be or for what reason.

How to fight this?

A fundamental way is to consider the negative case. By the negative case, I mean that if a person with sterotypical perceptions, as in #1 above, meets just one example of a member of the group who does not act as anticipated, the whole process begins to fall apart.

In the 1920s and 30s, the "Chicago School," a group of well-known scholars from University of Chicago, began studying groups of people who were typically seen in stereotypical ways. By discovering and demonstrating how complex and diverse these communities were, they essentially challenged the bigotry aimed at these groups.

Essentially, if "not all" of "those people" act in a specific way is recognized, then the stereotypes lose their power.

So, you may be asking, what does this have to do with fatism?

Well, fat people who do not fit the stereotype exist. If you cannot recognize that this weakens the argument that fat kills (a statement that is made more frequently and more universally with each passing day of the war on obesity), then you are not interested in the truth, but rather you are hanging on to your own prejudices.

But if you can see that, in fact, cases of fat people who do not fit the stereotype actually have significance in the current public discourse, then you can see why it is better to let go of fat as a disease or symptom (and with it the word "obesity") and open up to the possibility of the wonderful variety of human shapes and forms.

Harmony can come from diversity as more and more voices are heard and embraced. And maybe since instead of it being over when the fat ladies sing, we can find a beginning.

Wishing you a happy Spring.