In the article "Fat and Happy?" from the book Never Satisfied, Hillel Schwartz questions why society views fat people as unacceptable and unfitting. He argues that if it were not for "fellow citizens" mocking them for their obesity, the obese would be perfectly fine with themselves (179). Stating that many people discriminate against the obese, Schwartz points out the physicians that give facts about obesity that are very deceptive. Schwartz claims that a fat society is preferably a culture that is not judgmental; conversely, the blame should not be loaded on society but should have some blame on the people who are actually obese. While Schwartz has a strong claim regarding the acceptance of the overweight, the absence of support and lack of evidence used in his article defeats the purpose of his argument to blame society for the mistreatment of the obese.
Schwartz explains how society remains unpressed with the obese and will not tolerate their kind any longer. Society's judgment towards the obese then pressures them to make their bodies satisfactory so they can then fit in. They try to lose weight, only then to gain it right back, which is known as a failure of dieting. Schwartz not only disagrees with dieting, but he refers to the people who diet as "cannibals" because they continually starve themselves and burn their own body fat (185). This affects the confidence the obese have, with the only thought that they know is they are failures. Yet society is not the only attacker; Schwartz explains that doctors, with little knowledge of nutrition, tell patients that being fat causes diseases. Schwartz states that professionals are intolerant of the obese, and physicians act as if "examining fat people is challenging" (181). He concludes by stating that the world will turn into a better, free place if everyone if fat.
Initially, Schwartz writes to inform society that bullying the obese about their weight affects them physically and mentally. For example, a stewardess was fired for barely exceeding the weight limit of her profession. Schwartz's solution to end discrimination is for everybody to be fat, allowing everyone to be equal and not judge one another. If everyone were obese, then society would just pick a different trait to judge others ...
