Hedonist or Libertine?
A few days ago, Lovertine Lady, posed the following question on my "Libertine FAQ" post:
Thinking a bit more, I mused over the emotional overreactions that many people have about obesity and fat people in general. Instead of simply stating rationally that it would be a good idea for people to eat right and engage in moderate exercise for their health, I regularly see people referring to "lazy slobs who never get off the couch" in the same tones one would use to talk about people who beat their small children. Their level of disgust has always baffled me.
But after considering the idea of hedonism, I realized that fatness represents excess, a sort of a "food libertinism", to many people, regardless of whether or not the fat person in question is actually engaging in compulsive overeating. Having too much of a good time, whether it's with sex, food, or whatever, offends the moral sensibilities of many people in our culture, heavy with Puritan and Calvinist roots. Subconsciously, the overreaction many people have to overweight is no doubt actually a visceral revulsion of hedonism, or the implication of it, rather than overweight, per se.
Thoughts?
Absolutely. I think the majority of folks who get upset seeing an
overweight person are thinking that this person goes home sits on their
couch and laughing while slamming bag after bag of Doritos. Not usually
the case in my opinion.
Hmmmm... This might be a time it's best to stay quiet, but... NAH! I lived
for many years with a morbidly obese individual and I know how much one has
to eat to get that way and all of the shame-based behaviors that go along
with it. It is, in my opinion, no different than being an alcoholic or a
drug addict, and often arises out of the same inner demons. It's an illness
that requires treatment, and it kills. JHMO.
I wasn't really referring to the morbidly obese, sophmom. I was referring
to just the average overweight person, which in today's society, is anyone
who weighs more than current fashion ideals in some people's eyes.
Some great points.
I think you've nailed it....a libertine is more conscious and three
dimensional than a hedonist.
Back when my blog was originally called the Libertine Muse I was constantly
criticized for referring to myself as a Libertine. Apparently there is a
whole group of people that believe as a libertine with little sexual
restraints, we don't find anything wrong with child molestors or having sex
with children. As a rebuttal I wrote a post titled, "What is a libertine"
and spent a great deal of time arguing against that particular point of
view in one specific forum. After the release of movies like Quills and
The Libertine, I think people have forgotten about the other aspects of
Libertinism. great post.
