“Artists Are Using AI to Create Fat, Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Characters,” reads the headline.
“Fat, Black people deserve to be main characters capable of anything,” reads the sub-headline.
Yeah, capable of anything but self-control and touching their toes.
Look at this photo.
Yikes.
What exactly would someone that obese be “capable of” other than making Jabba the Hut feel better about himself?
Want to know what it would be nice to be capable of? Surviving to age 50.
In space, when your head gets stuck in the ice cream bucket, no one can hear you scream.
Get a load of this:
Rochelle Brock, a 27-year-old Brooklyn-based, size-inclusive beauty and lifestyle photographer, got into digital art via creating families on The Sims. Now, she uses Midjourney to explore both the quotidian aspects of fat, Black life and to create more majestic pieces that showcase fat, Black bodies in the form of angels, mermaids, and other mythical creatures.
This is my favorite:
Take Jervae, a 38-year-old, San Diego–based performance artist and spiritualist who uses Midjourney to make ethereal portraits of themself and other fat, Black femmes. “When using my own image prompts, I use descriptors like ‘imagine this image as a body of water’ or ‘imagine this as a poster for an alien nail salon’ to explore different versions of myself,” they said.
“Themself “and “they” is one person because, of course pronouns.
We’re ten days away from “Ben” and “Jerry” becoming pronouns.
Of course, it gets batter, I mean better:
“My AI work is an extension of me inviting myself and other fat, Black queer trans folks to see ourselves in the most expansive way possible,” said @fatniggaai, who added that she wasn’t particularly into sci-fi, but appreciated the worldbuilding aspect of it. “What I’m really interested in with my AI art is depictions of fat, Black queer and trans folks that are rooted in not being beautiful but rooted in being terrifying and looking very off-putting while also spilling over with agency.”
Everything is identity now, and every identity is celebrated now, including something as shallow and meaningless as skin color and as heart-stoppingly dangerous as morbid obesity.
Americans have every right to be fat. I want to be clear on that fact. Americans have every right to be morbidly obese and to celebrate that morbid obesity with pies and cakes, and Crisco sandwiches. Additionally, I would prefer to pay the higher health insurance costs associated with all this obesity than restrict people’s personal freedom. Block the sun all you want—you go, girl. You want to trade cream filling for 14 or more years of your life? This is America, sweetheart. No one should stop you.
What’s troubling is the establishment culture embracing this. Morally and intellectually, embracing obesity is no different than embracing anorexia, which is the opposite side of the same doing-something-unhealthy-to-be-happy-with-myself coin. It’s no different than embracing cigarette smoking.
While I don’t believe in restricting anyone’s personal freedom to live however they choose (as long as their choices don’t interfere with mine), society does have a moral and civic responsibility not to glorify what we know is deadly and self-destructive behavior. There is also a responsibility to educate the public on health hazards, and being overweight is as deadly or deadlier than smoking, driving without a seatbelt, or making a movie with Alec Baldwin.
No one is showing compassion by patting these men and women on the head with lies… Oh, you’re awesome. You’re beautiful, strong, perfect, and healthy! Facilitating an early death preceded by massive health issues is not compassion.
You want to be fat; go be fat. I won’t say a word. Godspeed. But when you start lying about how it’s strong and beautiful to be fat, I will say something.
Self-esteem is not found in narcissistic jargon about “agency” and “feeling seen.”
Self-esteem is found on the treadmill, sweetheart.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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