As you're undoubtedly aware, there have been a couple of high-profile media storms about weight-related comments this week. The first came from Steve Allen, a veteran radio presenter currently working on LBC. He described Tilly Ramsey, daughter of chef Gordon Ramsey, as "a chubby little thing". As she is only 19 and in no way chubby, this is completely unacceptable. It's also important to point out it wouldn't matter if she were extremely fat! It is still not ok!
The second came from Lord Robathan, a former member of the House of Lords. This extremely privileged member of society who went to public school and is an alumnus of Oxford University and has likely never experienced a second of food anxiety in his life said:
"Is it not time, perhaps, to revert to the situation when I was young, when it was not socially acceptable to be grossly overweight and push individual responsibility?
The government's policy should tell people they must not eat so much."
Glory Alleluia! All of us who thought weight management was so complicated have been saved by a rich member of the ultra privileged. What a complete load of shit! Has this man ever gone shopping for food? Does he have even the vaguest idea of what food costs? Or does he have a wife, or more likely a member of staff, who does this for him? Does he cook? Does he understand nutrition and what a balanced plate looks like? I suspect not, so why is he talking about it!?!
Middle-aged white men need to learn to shut up about weight-related issues. Actually, I think they need to shut up completely for a while. Here's why.
They Have Never Been Judged On Appearance
While there has been a shift in recent years, all the pressure to look a certain way fell on women for decades. Since the 1920s in particular, thinness has become idealised. It was held up as the ultimate goal all women should strive for, and women considered themselves failures if they had fat bodies, regardless of how impressive their other achievements were.
This was not the case for men, and it seems extremely unlikely that a radio presenter and a member of the House of Lords have ever been publicly shamed about anything until now, but if they were, it was definitely not their weight. They cannot understand for a millisecond the harm these kinds of comments can make, and what's worse, they don't care.
Not all middle-aged white men are lucky at these two, but most never think about their bodies or the weight they're carrying.
They Have Privilege
One of the great things about the internet is the ability to challenge inequality and highlight privilege. I m not saying that if you have privilege, you can never express an opinion, but I suspect many middle-aged white men don't realise how privileged they are and how patronising they can often be.
I know middle-aged white men can be as poor as anyone. However, as white, male, cisgender and living in a rich country like Britain, they are at the top of the societal food chain. They are automatically given the benefit of the doubt in most situations. They are not subject to microaggressions due to their race, and society does not belittle them due to their gender.
Middle-aged white men operate from a place of privilege, so who are they to judge someone less fortunate? There is a proven link between poverty and "obesity". It's nowhere near as simple as "just eat less". There are economic, demographic, sociological, genetic and racial factors, and effective weight-loss strategies cannot be condensed into a sound bite.
When you are speaking from a place of power, criticising others is both abusive and demonstrates you are part of a big problem in society.
They've Had The Mic Long Enough
The reality is middle-aged white men have been the most listened-to
segment of society for a long time now. A few examples for you?
Piers Morgan
Jeremy Clarkson
Steve Allen
Johnathon Dimbleby
Andrew Marr
Jeremy Vine
James May
Boris Johnson
Jacob Rees-Mogg
Nigel Farage
Donald Trump
I am not saying all these men are awful people, or bigoted or inherently bad (although some definitely are), just that their voices carry huge weight in our society, and it needs to end.
We Must Have Change
Instead of them continuing to speak for others about issues that they have never experienced and cannot understand, why not give these people a platform to speak for themselves?
Why don't these men have the humility to admit they can't understand what it's like:
To be a person of colour
To be differently-abled
To be a woman.
That they don't understand what it's like to be fat-shamed,
Or slut-shamed,
To need an abortion
To be vilified for their appearance
To be pulled over and hassled by police for no other reason than the colour of their skin
Since the earliest days of television and radio, these men have had their say. Men of their colour, gender, age and race have dominated media in the west. Because they make up a considerable percentage of governments, they impose their beliefs on the rest of us.
We need this to change. We need them to step into the background. You've all had your say long enough. How about we let someone else talk now? So maybe the title of this article shouldn't be middle-aged white men need to shut up about weight. Maybe it should be middle-aged white men need to shut up about everything.