There’s a reason why accusations of being “fat” and “slutty” are essentially the same, and it’s not because people are virtuously concerned about your health or well-being.

But we all know it’s not about health. If I started smoking, I’d get less guff over it from the great unwashed concern trolls of the world than if I put on 50 pounds, though the latter in safer beyond a shadow of a doubt.

I never liked this kind of argument, either. I know exactly how I got fat — I ate too much and exercised too little. There’s nothing terribly wrong with my metabolism, and while I can blame some of the gain I’ve undergone on Prozac (I gained 20 pounds in a month without altering my diet or exercise habits), the rest of it was due to a combination of eating too much, drinking too much and not exercising enough. I certainly have reasons for each of those — between an ankle/knee injury that kept me from exercising and a bad breakup/9/11/putting my dog down/mother dying/roommate from hell/more bad breakups/family bullshit/career crisis not at all helped by the spiraling depression that went unmedicated due to wanting to avoid further weight gain and just not having insurance.

But in the end, it really doesn’t matter. I can take responsibility for my present weight (because really — who else had anything to do with it?) and still stand up and demand that I be treated as a human being. Because I shouldn’t have to pass a behavior test to get treated with dignity at the doctor, or be able to protest the kind of nasty move that Old Navy did, booting the plus-sized section out of the store an onto the internet.

And so there’s that temptation when the concern trolls come by to say, no, uh-uh, I’m not responsible for my weight…never realizing that we’re hinting that maybe, some others are.

You’re right, we need to stop buying into it.

I suppose one of the best responses to one of those trolls is simply, “What’s it to you?” That, or bunny videos. And if I could figure out how to post videos in comments, I’d definitely do that.

Zuzu has some thoughtful points about the recent fat bashing comment-fest at Feministing. She observes that in the face of the fat-kills-you-unhealthy-fatty rant that people begin to try to absolve themselves from the sin of Fat (be a “worthy fa…

But like you said — and like I said on Feministing — should I need a note from my frigging doctor saying I have a metabolic disorder before I get to be free of prejudice? Why is it okay for skinny people to spend all night on a frigging barstool inhaling 1500 calories worth of alcohol and stagger into work the next day with a hangover four times a week, but if I eat so much as one chocolate eclair in a month I’m responsible for bankrupting the entire healthcare system and destroying the planet through global warming to boot? (I really LOVE the “fatties are ruining the environment” meme too, lemme tell ya. I’m SO sure Michelle Malkin is protecting the planet so much effectively than I am.) Why are thin people, and only thin people, allowed to be “not perfect” when it comes to how they spend their spare time, while we fatasses are treated like not very bright children who have to prove we’ve done all our homework and not bitten anyone at school before we’re allowed outside to play?