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Photos Can't Escape It, Either
Photos Can't Escape It, Either
A while back here on BFB, I pointed out that even a photo of a fat person on a stock photo site could garner negative comments. I posted a comment calling the other people on the carpet, and there's been nothing there since. So it was interesting to me to see this image http://www.manipulation.com/003312.php . All told, it's a nice photo - great colors, nice aesthetics. Take a look in the comments, and you'll see some great stuff. Like, "That fat lady is obnoxious and it makes the pic ugly." And my favorite, "wow, that is quite the gastrapod." Now if you will, take a spin over here http://www.bluejake.com/archives/2005/01/19/chile_3.php . Again, very nice photos. Someone in the comments decides, though, to call one of the kids in the photo a "lard ass." The thing that infuriates me about this is that these are just photobloggers sharing their work, and even that genre of website can't escape fat discrimination and dumbass, uneducated comments. It's frustrating to see these photos and think that the only things some people come away with are, "Wow, look at that fat!" or "What a fat ass!" or similar. Photography, like other arts, has the potential to shape and mold peoples' worldviews. Fat positive photography is out there, but frankly the "headless fat woman" sells more. So what needs to be done to get a more positive image out there? And what do we do, besides commenting back, to fight this kind of gross ignorance? |
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whatever
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#3
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Paul McAleer wrote:
The thing that infuriates me about this is that these are just photobloggers sharing their work, and even that genre of website can't escape fat discrimination and dumbass, uneducated comments. It's frustrating to see these photos and think that the only things some people come away with are, "Wow, look at that fat!" or "What a fat ass!" or similar. It's human nature to find faults with others and to try to boost one's ego. That said, there's nothing healthy about being fat. -- -- Ben Thomas - Software Engineer - Melbourne, Australia My Digital World: Kodak DX6490, Canon i9950, Pioneer A05; Hitachi 37" HD plasma display, DGTEC 2000A, Denon 2800, H/K AVR4500, Whatmough Encore; Sony Ericsson K700i, Palm Tungsten T. Disclaimer: Opinions, conclusions, and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of my employer shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it. |
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On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 05:10:03 GMT, Ben Thomas
wrote: Paul McAleer wrote: The thing that infuriates me about this is that these are just photobloggers sharing their work, and even that genre of website can't escape fat discrimination and dumbass, uneducated comments. It's frustrating to see these photos and think that the only things some people come away with are, "Wow, look at that fat!" or "What a fat ass!" or similar. It's human nature to find faults with others and to try to boost one's ego. I think ego is a society thing. It's not core to our survival, but being wary / disgusted by fat people is. That said, there's nothing healthy about being fat. Indeed, the reason people respond to fat people like that is far beyond anything society did to us. It's human nature - the thing that (used to) keeps us alive (before society took over). The instant reaction most people have when coming in close contact with dead people, fat people or diseased people is that we find it revolting. Dead people can mean that something in the area is dangerous to humans, we find it naturally scary and don't want to stay there. This is self-preservation. Extremely fat people are useless for mating, are also larger than you and are possibly more capable of doing you harm. Diseased people are also possibly dangerous to be in contact with. Society actually tries to change these completely natural reactions (that you can see repeated in nature with other species). Of course, anyone can be de-sensitzed / trained / indoctrinated not to respond in this way, but it's always there in the background. As photographers, we should be aware of how the subject can affect the emotion of the viewer and so I wouldn't consider it off-topic for a general photography NG. -- Owamanga! |
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On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 05:10:03 GMT, Ben Thomas
wrote: Paul McAleer wrote: The thing that infuriates me about this is that these are just photobloggers sharing their work, and even that genre of website can't escape fat discrimination and dumbass, uneducated comments. It's frustrating to see these photos and think that the only things some people come away with are, "Wow, look at that fat!" or "What a fat ass!" or similar. It's human nature to find faults with others and to try to boost one's ego. I think ego is a society thing. It's not core to our survival, but being wary / disgusted by fat people is. That said, there's nothing healthy about being fat. Indeed, the reason people respond to fat people like that is far beyond anything society did to us. It's human nature - the thing that (used to) keeps us alive (before society took over). The instant reaction most people have when coming in close contact with dead people, fat people or diseased people is that we find it revolting. Dead people can mean that something in the area is dangerous to humans, we find it naturally scary and don't want to stay there. This is self-preservation. Extremely fat people are useless for mating, are also larger than you and are possibly more capable of doing you harm. Diseased people are also possibly dangerous to be in contact with. Society actually tries to change these completely natural reactions (that you can see repeated in nature with other species). Of course, anyone can be de-sensitzed / trained / indoctrinated not to respond in this way, but it's always there in the background. As photographers, we should be aware of how the subject can affect the emotion of the viewer and so I wouldn't consider it off-topic for a general photography NG. -- Owamanga! |
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On Tue, 25 Jan 2005, Ben Thomas wrote:
That said, there's nothing healthy about being fat. Fat protects against cancer. |
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#8
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The thing that infuriates me about this is that these are just
photobloggers sharing their work, and even that genre of website can't escape fat discrimination and dumbass, uneducated comments. What's uneducated about pointing out a fat person in the photo? It's frustrating to see these photos and think that the only things some people come away with are, "Wow, look at that fat!" or "What a fat ass!" or similar. People want to get a good feeling when looking at photos. Most people don't get a good feeling looking at a fat person. It's the science of attraction at work. "headless fat woman" sells more. So what needs to be done to get a more positive image out there? And what do we do, besides commenting back, to fight this kind of gross ignorance? There's nothing ignorant about it. People are attracted to what they're attracted to. If you want more positive comments, shoot pretty people. |
#9
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Larry Bud wrote:
People want to get a good feeling when looking at photos. Most people don't get a good feeling looking at a fat person. It's the science of attraction at work. So, the implication of this seems to say that people like a photo of someone else only if they're attracted to a person in the photo. If this implication has any foundation under it, then I would strongly suggest that adults refrain from looking at photos of children, lest they be attracted to the child. -- jer email reply - I am not a 'ten' |
#10
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On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 09:50:03 -0600, Jer wrote:
Larry Bud wrote: People want to get a good feeling when looking at photos. Most people don't get a good feeling looking at a fat person. It's the science of attraction at work. So, the implication of this seems to say that people like a photo of someone else only if they're attracted to a person in the photo. If this implication has any foundation under it, then I would strongly suggest that adults refrain from looking at photos of children, lest they be attracted to the child. I think you've introduced the notion of *sexual* attraction. Children are attractive to most people, without being *sexually* attractive. Youth is attractive, just like a flower is. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Its not illegal or immoral. The vast majority of babies are the most attractive members of the human race, and often have no signs of gender (so they are asexual). Partly because they have big eyes, and partly because are the least threatening. Generally, young people are more attractive than old, females are more attractive than males and healthy looking people are more attractive than jabba-the-huts. This is true regardless of your age, dimension or sexual orientation. -- Owamanga! |
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