“Claiming someones marriage is against your religion is like being angry at someone for eating a donut because you’re on a diet”
I’ve seen variations of this line a few times today (some variations on the fat associated food) and I find it really problematic. While not quite as bigoted as those who make cracks about banning “fat marriage” to analogize fatness to gayness, its still based a false premise and the denial of the reality of fat stigma. For this analogy to work, it presuppose that the second example would be preposterous, but ask any fat person and they’ll surely be able to correct that misconception. Fact is, lots of folks get mad at us for eating because they are on a diet. I mean, I’m a little taken aback at even needing to point that out. Shaming fat people for eating is a major part of how fat stigmatization is practiced.
Indeed, its hard not to feel like those who coined this phrase probably felt the same as Dan Savage in his attacks on fat marriage where there is an implication that fat people are a more worthy target than gay people. Why hassle gays when fatties get a free ride? They just refuse to acknowledge the insidious depths of fat hatred and fat shaming because ultimately they agree with its principles. What they refuse to see is that this is exactly how marriage equality opponents look at gays and lesbians. They don’t see their bigotry for what it is because they feel entitled to it. They want to privilege their prejudices as “just how it is”.
So, sure, opposing marriage equality is a lot like food shaming fat people. Just don’t think for a second that they aren’t both active injustices. Those who feel entitled to their bigotries never fail to also feel entitled to enforce them.
