Meet Nicole Arbour. This Canadian “comedian”/ actress recently uploaded an offensive video entitled “Dear Fat People” to YouTube. When this fat shaming video was removed due to it’s cruel nature and harmful “fat shaming” attitude, Arbour claimed censorship.
Soon after, this story blew up and everyone began to chime in. Pat Mills, director of the 2014 film “Guidence”, a body positive film aimed at empowering youth, stated that “[‘Dear Fat People’] is an unfunny and cruel fat-shaming video that guises itself about being about ‘health’…It’s fat phobic and awful”.
“Dear Fat People” simply isn’t funny. Health is about loving our bodies and everything it can do, regardless of the number on our jeans. Body shaming of any kind is not okay, and is often harmful, both mentally and physically. Body shaming encourages low self esteem and in some cases, is a contributing factor leading to an individual’s eating disorder. Eating disorders cause many long term health problems such as loss of reproductive function, decreased bone density, and even a shorter lifespan. So, while Arbour preaches “health”, in reality, her words are harming the health of others.
Both Arbour and Mills have spoken to Times regarding “Dear Fat People”. Arbour continues to refuse to apologize.
What do you think of Arbour’s video?