Last week, the Washington Post published one doctor's remembrance of the emotions associated with treating a morbidly obese patient. The doctor was condemned for purported "fat-shaming." Is your doctor really fat-shaming you?
The Washington Post piece, by Edward Thompson, is meant to evoke in the reader a sense of "there but for the grace of god go I" towards a man that weighs 600 pounds. If read with an ungenerous spirit, its tone in some places could be seen as harsh. Yet the backlash is not unique to this story; stories abound online of "fat shaming" experiences in doctor's offices across the country. Among some of the more prominent proponents of the fat acceptance movement, the idea that doctors routinely fat-shame their obese patients has reached the status of conventional wisdom.
Common sense tells us that there are most certainly some doctors with poor bedside manner. There are most certainly doctors who have made rude remarks and acted callously towards their obese patients. There is most certainly a need for doctors to be trained to act and speak with sensitivity, both to avoid turning off their own patients, and for the sake of manners. And it is most certainly a fact that it is not easy being an obese person. Empathy for those who face serious challenges in life is a hallmark of common human decency.
if you're fat and you know it clap your hands
Your Doctor Is Probably Not Fat-Shaming You
The Washington Post piece, by Edward Thompson, is meant to evoke in the reader a sense of "there but for the grace of god go I" towards a man that weighs 600 pounds. If read with an ungenerous spirit, its tone in some places could be seen as harsh. Yet the backlash is not unique to this story; stories abound online of "fat shaming" experiences in doctor's offices across the country. Among some of the more prominent proponents of the fat acceptance movement, the idea that doctors routinely fat-shame their obese patients has reached the status of conventional wisdom.
Common sense tells us that there are most certainly some doctors with poor bedside manner. There are most certainly doctors who have made rude remarks and acted callously towards their obese patients. There is most certainly a need for doctors to be trained to act and speak with sensitivity, both to avoid turning off their own patients, and for the sake of manners. And it is most certainly a fact that it is not easy being an obese person. Empathy for those who face serious challenges in life is a hallmark of common human decency.
if you're fat and you know it clap your hands
Your Doctor Is Probably Not Fat-Shaming You