When I think of obesity, I'm probably thinking of morbid obesity. The kind where doctors try to give you medication to lose weight because it's "out of control." I can't say for sure, but I think Australian culture is more harsh on the overweight than American. Or at least, I've noticed a difference on how much skinnier clothes and the "ideal" figure is.

I also think you're right in that there is something to compare. It might also be somewhat worse these days... I mean, when you're in kindergarten, no one picks on you for being the gay kid. But you have to suffer with the label "fat" all throughout your childhood. And people are less likely to believe that you're predisposed to be fat, even though "people are born gay." Gay seems to have mostly stopped being about willpower, but overweight people are still blamed for their "laziness."

Sometimes I wonder if my animosity towards authors who promote obesity as a healthy lifestyle is a misunderstanding. I haven't brought myself to read any of those books... for all I know, they could be exploring and revealing the myths about the persecution of the obese. I've always thought they were just writing excuses for the morbidly obese to become even fatter... so I really will have to open my mind and read what they have to say.

I mean, you're right. The way society views weight is unhealthy, but the way people treat each other... that's something I don't want to ignore.