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Francisco Yun
Professor Vana Derohanessian
English 115
26 October 2014
Fat? Shame on You!
About a month ago, I was looking through the featured section on Instagram and
noticed a picture upload by PETA (fig. 1). By showcasing a shocking demonstration of a nearly
naked woman on a food plate to relate animals we eat to ourselves, PETA tries to scare local
pedestrians to become vegan. PETA, or the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is a
company that specifically targets those who eat meat or products from animals and raise
awareness for animal cruelty. Because of this, PETA also campaigns for people to convert to the
vegan or vegetarian way of life. They believe that you can become healthier by becoming vegan
or vegetarian. However, PETA does not always do so in a civilized and polite manner. Based on
my observations of social media, PETA is misrepresenting the nature of our society by
portraying Americans as fat-shamers. Looking down and publicly making fun of those who are
overweight is never okay, but it seems PETA does not grasp that idea.
There has always been a misconception that Americans are fat. This is something that
many other countries think of our due to the fact that we have so many fast food restaurant
chains such as McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, and countless more. When
every country around the world makes fun of us must we stoop down to making fun of
ourselves? Many health-friendly organizations, such as PETA, in our own country look down
on those who are obese by over-exaggerating that being fat is unhealthy. Because of the
stereotypes that other countries throw at us, organizations, like PETA, are determined to change

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our image by fat-shaming people. They blatantly make fun of the fact that fat people are
considered grotesque and ugly in order for people who are overweight to feel bad about
themselves and make a change for the better. Our society has placed being skinny a perfect
image of beauty. Because we want people to fit that image, we openly shame those who do not.
Advertisers of PETA try to create eye-catching advertisements that they believe to be humorous,
but actually look down on the overweight population.
PETA has always had a series of offensive fat-shaming advertisements. However, their
campaigns are not always appealing to everyone. In the early month of 1999, PETA released a
campaign that said: Dont Be Fat! Call PETA For Free Veggie Recipes. Although this
advertisement does have good intentions of trying to get people to eat healthier, they are being
inaccurate by only stating that eating vegetables is the only way to become skinny. They are
trying to make an advertisement that is funny and catches peoples attention; however, by
choosing to launch an advertisement with an inaccurate statement, they are receiving the bad
kind of attention. Many people who happen to be overweight were furious at the offensiveness of
this advertisement, especially the organization NAAFA, National Association to Advance Fat
Acceptance. A NAAFA spokesman responded to this advertisement by simply saying, We are
absolutely outraged over the Dont be Fat campaign. The folks at PETA need to hear from a lot
of fat people on this one. NAAFA was most definitely not the only one who felt this way.
Instead of making people think Oh. I dont want to be fat. I should be vegetarian, which is
what I believe PETA wanted to convey, it created the response, How dare PETA suggest that
only vegetarians are skinny? The idea that PETA saying the only way to be skinny is to be
vegetarian is very unpleasant and incorrect. So, not only does it offend overweight people, but it
also, as unintentional is it may be, labels skinny people as vegetarian. Everyone, including

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PETA, should know that to become skinny doesnt require a person to become vegetarian; to
become skinny, one should make healthy life choices, exercise regularly, and eat right. Not only
is this advertisement inaccurate, it is also very rude. Although PETA tried to make a humorous
advertisement to attract people to become vegetarian, they ended up offending thousands of
people. However, PETA did not stop there.
Over the years, PETA continues to launch more advertisements that are deemed as
offensive and inaccurate. PETA put up a billboard advertisement (fig. 2) in April 2011, located
in Merthyr Tydfil, displaying a young, fat boy eating a burger with the caption, Feeding kids
meat is child abuse. PETA suggests that by feeding children meat, you are essentially causing
them to become obese. This statement that PETA tries to convey is extremely distorted and
belligerent. Local officials even label this advertisement as crude and unbecoming. Councilor
Jeff Edwards, leader of Merthyr council, said, "It sounds totally inappropriate and offensive - and
if it is causing offence then it should be taken down." A spokeswoman from the council added on
by saying, Unfortunately, the message conveyed in this advert is portrayed as stereotypically
offensive and is blatantly inaccurate. PETA is not taking into account that child obesity comes
from over-feeding, not only due to the consumption of meat. Meat is actually healthy and good
for you if eaten appropriately. The spokeswoman continues to say, From a children's services
point of view, this advert is at the very least ill-conceived - and at worst may cause distress to an
already vulnerable group of children, young people and their families." Although PETA
attempted to appeal to families in order to save their children from obesity, they ended up
insulting those families that do feed their kids meat.
However, even though PETA issues these offensive advertisements, they still have a
large following and many supporters. Many people still agree and still support PETAs

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advertisements, as unpleasant and false they might be. In the example of the feeding kids meat
is child abuse advertisements (fig. 2), PETA does bring up some good points that might be the
reason some people still support these advertisements. A spokeswoman from PETA responded to
the spokeswoman from the Merthyr council by saying, Obesity is far more prevalent in meateaters than in vegetarians and vegans, and obesity in childhood is strongly linked to obesity and
its associated health risks in adulthood. Large numbers of British children are now suffering the
ills of high-calorie, meat-rich diets. Although this may be true, PETA is still at fault for creating
something that offends many people. PETA does have good intentions; however, they are going
about it the wrong way. If PETAs main purpose was to catch peoples attention and create
publicity for their cause, its working very well, but in doing so they also attract naysayers to
their cause. PETA could have chosen to be more cautious about what kind of attention they
receive but chose to, instead, take the radical route.
Fat-shaming is a horrible campaign strategy. Not only do they create outrage, but they are
sometimes inaccurate, as shown in PETAs fat-shaming advertisements. It is a good idea that
PETA chooses to create awareness for obesity in America and persuade people to become
healthier, but they overdo it to the point of having a negative effect on a portion of the public.
They take the idea of being fat is unhealthy to far and misrepresent their purpose of creating a
healthier and animal-friendly country. PETA may have many followers and devotees to their
cause; however, we cannot ignore the rest of the population that is offended and against what
PETA over-exaggerates. I think we can all agree that being overweight is very unhealthy and one
should better their eating habits in order to become healthier; nevertheless, PETA takes this
stand-point far too extremely and makes a mountain out of a mole hill. This method of fat-

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shaming is very unacceptable and inappropriate, and, I believe, should never be attempted in our
society.

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Works Cited
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Try To Relate To Who Is On Your Plate.
Go Vegan. Instagram, 17 September 2014. Photograph. 18 September 2014.
Smith, Aidan. "Sure I Like Pork, But Don't Call Me Porky." The Scotsman [Scotland] 15 Jan.
1999: 14. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
"Thigh Thunder." The New York Post 10 Jan. 1999: 6. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
Wright, Benjamin. "Outrage over 'fat Kid' Vegetarian Ad; Animal Rights Group Offends with
'abuse' Claim." South Wales Echo 8 Apr. 2011, First ed., News sec.: 9. LexisNexis
Academic. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
"'Meat Is Child Abuse' Posters Cause Outrage; News Bulletin." The Daily Telegraph (2011): 2.
LexisNexis Academic. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

Fig. 1

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Fig. 2