Character Observations: Nicole Arbour (Dear Fat People) Part 1

Last week after I finished writing my blog post about societal judgment being a theme in my first novel, I turned on Facebook and saw a link posted by my cousin about someone named Nicole Arbour.

I'm a little... slow... when it comes to pop culture things. About two years ago I used to watch stuff on YouTube like Fine Bros., Grace Helbig, Minecraft vids, etc. and so I haven't always been out of touch. But I live in a house on a mountain and the internet is spotty, so without YouTube I've become slightly behind the times. I missed the original "Dear Fat People" video when it was viral and had to hear about it on Facebook like someone's grandmother.

Fun fact: I originally based parts of my lead character off of Grace Helbig's video blogging, but went in another direction. However, a new character in my second novel features some of those traits. Recycling!

I immediately knew I needed to write a post about this girl, but what? I thought about refuting her claims, but that's been done to death and honestly, I read a transcript of the video and the only word to describe her thoughts is vacuous. There's this part about smashing candy which, I guess, is supposed to be a metaphor for fat people abusing their bodies but... I don't know. She has one single premise backed up with no actual arguments that goes something like this:

"Fat shaming (which should be called "truth bombing") is good because it makes people stop eating too much."
-Nicole Arbour, definitely not me.

Really, go back and read the transcript, that's ALL she says. And that one premise gets a lot of traction in today's world because people don't think about it critically. Yet, it's pretty easy to debunk, watch:

Does yelling at bad drivers make them stop driving poorly? Does complaining about politicians make them any more honest and trustworthy? Does refusing to grant homosexuals a marriage permit make them suddenly straight? Does yelling at a crying baby in a restaurant make the child rethink their life choices? No. Being angry at someone is only useful if that person doesn't recognize the problem. But fat people recognize that their weight is an issue. Being angry about it doesn't change anything.

Or does it? Some people argue that efforts to change societal attitudes about weight, to stop so-called "fat shaming," are making fat people less likely to change. I guess you could make that argument, but I don't think it's particularly valid. For one, there is something called a "shame spiral" which is basically: 1) do something bad to yourself, 2) feel bad about it, 3) do that thing again, 4) repeat steps 2-4. If people already feel bad about their weight, and if that shame is making them more likely to overeat and less likely to exercise, then how is making them feel worse going to change anything?

How does fat shaming affect people who suffer from anorexia? Just throwing that out there...

People like Nicole Arbour and her followers don't actually sound like they want to help people. They say they do, but their demeanor doesn't fit with their rhetoric. Nicole Arbour spends a good third of her rant describing how she blames an overweight family for 1) making her wait in airport security, 2) her getting sweaty from walking in an airport, 3) making her sit next to an overweight kid. Seriously, one of her complaints about fat people is that she had to sit next to one! That's like me saying 'I don't hate black people, I just wish they would sit on a different half of the bus because I don't like the idea of my elbow accidentally brushing up against theirs.' (Nobody sits next to me on the bus; maybe I look scary? Kinda bums me out.) She argues that the child's fat was "on her lap" but the kid's story and basic physics call BS on that one. Even if she was somewhat uncomfortable sitting next to a larger person on a plane, which I confess is pretty frustrating because most people value their personal space, that doesn't excuse her vitriolic attitude both during and especially after the flight.

Which brings me to the point of this post... wait, what? 700+ words and I still haven't even gotten to the point? Actually, this is a problem with the 'stream of consciousness' style of this blog. I was going to talk about how I would craft a character like Nicole Arbour for use in one of my novels. But that's going to take this post way over 1000 words, which means we're looking at a two-parter.

Next week: Developing a backstory and characterization for Ms. Arbour. See you then!