BackStage

Obesity is suicide? See my original source for it here. No, I think shooting yourself in the head or hanging yourself (or, insert active method of making sure you no longer breathe) is suicide.

While the two male models are overweight, it seems that even a skinny woman will commit suicide if she eats some colorful candy.

Not only is being fat suicide, it’s suicide AND murder. What, looking at fat people can kill? Just being near one on the street is enough to die?

Solution? Bariatric surgery! Never mind that the surgery can actually kill you.

Update:

I have recently found out this is not an actual advertisement. Here are now a summary of my thoughts on this:

Two things:
1. While this is not a real ad, it is very telling that we (posters who commented on this on another cite) all thought that it was until someone pointed it out. This indicates that we could realistically see Bariatric surgery adopting this ad. It suggests that the idea of being overweight as suicide is something that already exists. Moreover, it is a connection that exists enough for this artist to come up with the idea and think nothing of it when he designs the shoot and equates obesity with suicide–and then puts this out into the world via his website.
2. I have lost someone very close to me to suicide. Suicide is not eating butter, sausage, or M&Ms. It’s taking immediate action on purpose to die–to take yourself out of this world and away from those that you love and love you. If I eat M&Ms, I am not purposely trying to end my life. In fact, I’m living my life by enjoying the food I eat. I am also not trying to kill everyone in a 100 foot radius by putting butter on my bread. The fact that the idea that overeating is suicide just goes further to show the kind of humor we attach to a real problem–suicide and suicide ideation.

I am no less upset that this is not a real ad–because, as we proved today–it really could be. It’s consistent with how American society views suicide and views obesity.

Thoughts?