White woman pretends to be black for prestige

[Capetan Mihali]

This story is weird all around. Also, why did her parents rat her out?

It's just like Imitation of Life!

[Caliga]

I feel a little bit bad for her at this point.  She clearly has profound mental issues.. had 'em before and they've got to be ten times worse now.

[merithyn]

I feel a little bit bad for her at this point.  She clearly has profound mental issues.. had 'em before and they've got to be ten times worse now.

Where did you hear that?

[Caliga]

To assume a totally new identity (even if it's motivated by some kind of personal gain) and in the process alienate your family suggests mental health issues to me... and whatever is there can't be helped by the worldwide media pressure and scrutiny.

[Razgovory]

That is true. That being said, I think there is a lot of victimhood projection going on with minorities that is quite psychologically unhealthy. I noticed that when someone is not nice to me (and they know I am gay), my first mental reaction is that it must be so because I am gay. Only later I realise that perhaps I have been an asshole to them. So at least white straight people have this thing going for them - if someone dislikes you, you can correctly guess this is probably because you are unlikeable, and not because they are discriminating against you.

I've been the target of plenty of hostility from blacks on account of race.

On a related note, I mentioned to several lesbian acquaintances that I'm so glad man-hating is no longer the defining characteristic of lesbianism.  They're so much better company now.

Yeah, Koreans and Blacks don't mix well.

[Martinus]

To assume a totally new identity (even if it's motivated by some kind of personal gain) and in the process alienate your family suggests mental health issues to me... and whatever is there can't be helped by the worldwide media pressure and scrutiny.

Not necessarily. Especially regarding the part about alienating your family - if your lifestyle choices end up alienating your family, it could be your family, not you, who have mental issues.

[Martinus]

Raz, not going to respond to you line by line - enough to say that "fat acceptance" and obesity are different things to transgenderism. Being fat is not a part of your identity the same way gender, sexuality or religion are. It's more akin to being a cutter, an alcoholic or a sex addict. So glorifying it is both harmful for yourself and for others as it gives a bad example. Noone has become gay or transgendered by "conversion" - but people do tend become obese by following others' lifestyles.

It sounds like you are just deciding what things you want to say are someone's identity and things that are not. After all, a person can be an alcoholic yet refrain from further drinking much in the same way that you could be a homosexual and yet refrain from having gay sex.

Again, as I said to dps earlier, this could be a mind-provoking analogy in some abstract academic debate, if we did not have the body of psychiatry and psychology telling us these things are not comparable, and one is a part of your identity while the other is a disorder.

[Ideologue]

This story is weird all around. Also, why did her parents rat her out?

It's just like Imitation of Life!

I've been watching a lot of Douglas Sirk movies.  They're all pretty swell.  I don't know if my favorite so far is All That Heaven Allows or Magnificent Obsession.

[garbon]

Raz, not going to respond to you line by line - enough to say that "fat acceptance" and obesity are different things to transgenderism. Being fat is not a part of your identity the same way gender, sexuality or religion are. It's more akin to being a cutter, an alcoholic or a sex addict. So glorifying it is both harmful for yourself and for others as it gives a bad example. Noone has become gay or transgendered by "conversion" - but people do tend become obese by following others' lifestyles.

It sounds like you are just deciding what things you want to say are someone's identity and things that are not. After all, a person can be an alcoholic yet refrain from further drinking much in the same way that you could be a homosexual and yet refrain from having gay sex.

Again, as I said to dps earlier, this could be a mind-provoking analogy in some abstract academic debate, if we did not have the body of psychiatry and psychology telling us these things are not comparable, and one is a part of your identity while the other is a disorder.

Psych, you mean that which used to classify homosexuality as a disorder?

So here's an honest question - is being a bear (in the sense of hairy/fat gay man) not an identity? Is that a disorder?

[Martinus]

Are you saying that only because science has been wrong about something in the past, we should ignore anything it says right now when we have no reason to believe the contrary?

If so, you could do well as a creationist.

[Martinus]

And being a bear is not about being fat/obese as much as it is about being large. I am not saying everyone should have (or even want to have) a perfectly sculpted body and a healthy dose of self-acceptance is better for you than body dysmorphia, anorexia or obsession with plastic surgeries - but "fat acceptance" to me goes too much into the opposite extreme, by promoting generally unhealthy lifestyles.

It's like a difference between being non-monogamous and being a promiscuous bug-chaser, or a difference between being a conneisseur of fine wines and being an alcoholic. I guess what I am saying is that you should strive for moderation.

[garbon]

And being a bear is not about being fat/obese as much as it is about being large. I am not saying everyone should have (or even want to have) a perfectly sculpted body and a healthy dose of self-acceptance is better for you than body dysmorphia, anorexia or obsession with plastic surgeries - but "fat acceptance" to me goes too much into the opposite extreme, by promoting generally unhealthy lifestyles.

It's like a difference between being non-monogamous and being a promiscuous bug-chaser, or a difference between being a conneisseur of fine wines and being an alcoholic. I guess what I am saying is that you should strive for moderation.

Being a bear is not about moderation and most bears are fat. After all, that stems from a rejection of the pressures to be a gym-toned gay man. Instead pushes more that it is alright to be comfortable in one's plus sized body. Is really and awfully lot like fat acceptance though you seem to want to paint on group as extremists and the other as striving for moderation.

[garbon]

Are you saying that only because science has been wrong about something in the past, we should ignore anything it says right now when we have no reason to believe the contrary?

If so, you could do well as a creationist.

No, of course not. But then psychology has only been an ally for about 40 years so I'd be skeptical of what it has to say regarding more recent movements and what constitutes an identity. Things evolve and it takes a while for psychology and society to follow.

[Brazen]

[Razgovory]

Raz, not going to respond to you line by line - enough to say that "fat acceptance" and obesity are different things to transgenderism. Being fat is not a part of your identity the same way gender, sexuality or religion are. It's more akin to being a cutter, an alcoholic or a sex addict. So glorifying it is both harmful for yourself and for others as it gives a bad example. Noone has become gay or transgendered by "conversion" - but people do tend become obese by following others' lifestyles.

It sounds like you are just deciding what things you want to say are someone's identity and things that are not. After all, a person can be an alcoholic yet refrain from further drinking much in the same way that you could be a homosexual and yet refrain from having gay sex.

Again, as I said to dps earlier, this could be a mind-provoking analogy in some abstract academic debate, if we did not have the body of psychiatry and psychology telling us these things are not comparable, and one is a part of your identity while the other is a disorder.

?  This is a weird appeal to authority since Transsexualism is a recognized mental illness.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_identity_disorder  It's a little odd that it's thrown in with LGB issues since the pathology seems different.  Homosexuality has to do with sexual attraction while Transexualism seems to be a form of body dysmorphism.