Shame on the shamers

After the first 2016 presidential debate last week, some viewers of the event struggled to agree on which candidate had won. If the victor’s identity was ambiguous though, one thing was surely not: the fact that attacks on physical appearance and weight had emerged as a new norm in politics. Over the course of the debate, candidate Donald Trump made repeated jabs at a former Miss Universe winner, Alicia Machado, referring to her weight in an effort to discredit her endorsement of Hillary Clinton. Even before the debate, opponents of Trump had stooped to similarly low levels, relentlessly mocking some of his physical attributes. Such body-shaming is not a new phenomenon, but it is disappointing that it has metastasized its way into the political arena and found a home in presidential election campaigns. In today’s editorial, we examine both how body shaming emerged in US politics and how it can once again be relegated away from the political realm.

As is the case with many political trends, it is difficult to tell how fat-shaming became a mainstream phenomenon. One explanation for its emergence might be that campaigns, candidates and voters have taken notice of the proliferation of satirical cartoons that caricature politicians in grotesque ways and attempted to use those caricatures as rhetorical weapons. If that is truly the case, they ought to take a step back and remember to separate satire from reality. The traits of a satirically drawn image are not meant to be used in serious political discussion. Satire is a vehicle to advance ideas through humor: it is a rhetorical device, not an end argument. It is also not wholly to blame for political body-shaming. A fuller picture must also account for the fact that inappropriate body-judging has embedded itself into common discourse for decades, if not centuries. While it might be indecent and cruel for one person to refer to another person as “disgusting” because of his or her weight, it is not uncommon. Considering that, the emergence and mainstreaming of body shaming in political discussion is unsurprising, even if unfortunate.

In order to dispel body-shaming from common political rhetoric, people need to work to crush the theory that body-shaming is acceptable. Several notable commentators from the “alt-right” have claimed that body-shaming is totally fine since it simply verbalizes authentic thoughts. Several more have even suggested that body-shaming is meritorious because it is beneficial for overweight persons. The first of those points takes arguments about political correctness several steps too far—it suggests that because someone can point out physical flaws in people, they ought to. The second of those points ignores common decency. Even if it were true that fat-shaming helped with weight loss, it would still be unacceptable to viciously disparage people.

Ultimately, body-shamers ought to recognize that there is no correlation between weight and politics and as such, body-shaming has no place in politics. It is at best a form of lazy ad-hominem that ought to be refrained from. Those who find themselves constantly falling back on arguments related to peoples’ bodies should consider whether their empty attacks are indicative of a lack of legitimate criticisms. If so, they might find that a bit of research and some kinder words would not only make them more intelligible, but work to improve the silly tone of political discourse.