And liberty, everywhere.
In Dundee, Scotland, fat kids from a non-neglectful household are being put up for adoption by the state because their parents failed to ‘slim them down.’
Fuck.
I’ve written a few times about how the loss of the individual right to body autonomy and the moral panic over fat can lead to such an outcome, that it was one of the many steps on the road of divesting fat people of their civil rights — that is, in criminalizing fatness.
For everyone who thinks fat hate and fatphobia is no big deal, and is just a personal health issue, please read this and think again.
This is absolutely horrible. There are 2 things that might not be so bad to come from this however:
1. It’s resolved and the kids get to stay with their parents, the best thing that could happen.
2. People will learn what happens when you tell children they are too fat to have a loving family. People might end up questioning their prejudices about fat people, and wonder if it’s really worth it to destroy children’s lives, just so they can feel self-righteous about being thin.
The really sad thing about this is that these kids are going to be taken from their loving parents, given to other people to raise on the condition that they “slim these kids down” and what happens when the kids don’t get slim with the adoptive parents? Are they going to be removed again, and given to another set of people to be slimmed down, ad infinitum?
Vesta you have a very good point. Hopefully things will be resolved before that has to happen.
Scotland apparently wishes to gain the title “Land of Eating Disorders.” Because that’s what they’re setting these kids up for. That and probably depression and suicide ideation. Way to go, Scotland!