Nicole Arbour’s video titled ‘Dear Fat People’, published on September 3rd has more than 5.6 million views and has created a firestorm on the internet. The hashtag GOTEAM is circulating twitter with photos of mainly girls’ bodies as a complaint against Nicole Arbour’s video with captions such as, “I refuse to apologise for my body to negative people like @Nicole Arbour” and “@Nicole Arbour I weigh 214 pounds but I love myself and I refuse to feel bad about it”.
Despite people calling it “boarderline bullying”, Nicole Arbour bears no remorse and stands her ground by saying that the video was meant to be amusing and silly but the points she wanted to send across are that the way to a positive body image are through exercise and healthy eating.
But what if that was the point? What if Nicole Arbour wanted to make a video with such striking language so as to influence the viewer and make her point more effective? She does in fact say that she is “not talking about people who have a little bit of cushion for the pushing” and she also excludes people with a specific health condition (which I assume includes eating disorders), as well as acknowledges that genetics plays a part to a certain degree.
But, rather, she is addressing people who can help themselves by eating less and eating healthier yet, they choose not to. I do believe that the language she used and the way she placed her words were too blunt for the sake of the video, considering that many people have watched her video, including very easily influenced young girls and boys, and might have hurt some people who have been trying so hard to lose weight. For example, she overexaggerates sitting next to an obese passenger on a plane and having to push his fat onto his side of the seat throughout the flight so as not to cram her in her seat.
However, the idea she is trying to deliver about overweight people compromising their health makes sense. In her video, she reports that “35% of North Americans are obese, that means you are so fat, you are effecting your own health”.
She talks about bad habits, meaning overeating and unhealthy eating, and that some people take their bodies for granted even though we will only ever have one body. She gives an amusing example with Smarties, where you can squash one and make it ugly and throw it away, but it is alright because you will still have many other Smarties, unlike with your body where you only have one which has to last you till the end. She further emphasises her point by saying that “if you want to be positive to your body, work out and eat well”.
I strongly believe that all that she said in her video all too bluntly was her attempt at a wake up call for people who are becoming overwieght yet keep eating without any control. In fact, she says in her video: “I am not saying all this to be an ***hole, but I am saying this because your friends should be saying this to you”. She ends her video by saying that “the truth is, I will actually love you not matter what but I really, really hope this bomb of truth exploding into your face will act as shrapnel that seeps into your soul, makes you want to be healthier so that we can enjoy you as human beings longer on this planet”.
Therefore, despite her blunt language and sharp humour, Nicole Arbour makes a good point. By eating healthy and in balanced proportions, one can live a longer and healthier life. I believe that her exaggerated comments were simply there to make a stronger impact on the reader and allow her video to be publicized.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXFgNhyP4-A
