{"id":2212007,"date":"2024-04-03T07:36:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T11:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/will-calling-someone-fat-be-a-hate-crime-under-scotlands-dystopian-new-law\/"},"modified":"2024-04-03T07:36:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T11:36:24","slug":"will-calling-someone-fat-be-a-hate-crime-under-scotlands-dystopian-new-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/will-calling-someone-fat-be-a-hate-crime-under-scotlands-dystopian-new-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Could labeling someone as &#8216;fat&#8217; become a &#8216;hate crime&#8217; under Scotland&#8217;s new law?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwill-calling-someone-fat-be-a-hate-crime-under-scotlands-dystopian-new-law%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2212007&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Scotland&#8217;s \u200cnew law, effective this week, \u200bcould \u2062classify calling someone\u2063 &#8220;fat&#8221;\u2062 as a \u2063hate crime. J.K. Rowling \u2063challenged authorities under this law for using accurate pronouns for transgender individuals. The\u2064 legislation criminalizes \u200cacts of stirring up hatred, potentially extending to &#8220;fatphobia.&#8221; This move\u2062 intersects with the body positivity movement \u2063and\u200d efforts to \u2064combat discrimination based on appearance.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<figure>                         <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Calling someone \u201cfat\u201d may be a \u201chate crime\u201d under Scotland\u2019s dystopian new law that went into effect this week, which also criminalizes using accurate pronouns to refer to transgender-identifying people.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, J.K. Rowling, the famed author of the <em>Harry Potter<\/em> series, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/02\/j-k-rowling-dares-scottish-police-to-arrest-her-for-breaking-law-that-makes-it-a-hate-crime-to-call-a-man-a-man\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dared<\/a> authorities to arrest her under the new law with a series of posts correctly identifying as men even those who claim to be women.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn passing the Scottish Hate Crime Act, Scottish lawmakers seem to have placed higher value on the feelings of men performing their idea of femaleness, however misogynistically or opportunistically, than on the rights and freedoms of actual women and girls,\u201d Rowling wrote on X. \u201cThe new legislation is wide open to abuse by activists who wish to silence those of us speaking out about the dangers of eliminating women\u2019s and girls\u2019 single-sex spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The new law, enacted in 2021 and implemented Monday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/asp\/2021\/14\/part\/3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">criminalizes<\/a> acts \u201cstirring up hatred.\u201d People can be convicted if they\u2019re found to have behaved \u201cin a manner that a reasonable person would consider to be threatening, abusive or insulting,\u201d and can face a fine and up to seven years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>While Rowling is testing the law this week with social media posts critical of transgenderism, the new law could also be interpreted to criminalize so-called \u201cfatphobia.\u201d The body positivity movement is well underway in the United Kingdom, with prominent British influencers such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/meganjaynecrabbe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Megan Jayne Crabbe<\/a> leading the crusade to plant obesity at the top of the victim hierarchy. About two-thirds of Scottish adults are overweight, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.scot\/publications\/scottish-health-survey-2022-volume-1-main-report\/pages\/12\/#:~:text=Around%20two%2Dthirds%20of%20all%20adults%20were%20living%20with%20overweight,%25%20and%2030%25%20respectively).\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according <\/a>to the Scottish government.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Crabbe, the author of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Body-Positive-Power-Because-Happening\/dp\/158005823X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Body Positive Power<\/em><\/a>, lobbied Parliament to recognize \u201cfatphobia\u201d as an official form of prejudice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many of our insecurities are rooted in the fear of being too fat, and for people who do exist in larger bodies, fatphobia results in real world discrimination and harassment every day,\u201d Crabbe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-england-essex-49434537\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told <\/a>the BBC.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, \u201cfatphobia\u201d has an ever-expanding definition. York University\u2019s Glossary of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Terminology <a href=\"https:\/\/www.york.ac.uk\/about\/equality\/edi-glossary-terminology\/harassment-bullying-violence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">defines <\/a>\u201cfatphobia\u201d as \u201cA fear or dislike of fat or people who are perceived to be overweight, often leading to harassment and discrimination of individuals and groups.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFatphobia is considered as a structural issue as it manifests in denial of access to certain facilities and services, including healthcare, social stigmatisation and the normalising of bullying and hatred,\u201d the glossary says.<\/p>\n<p>In 2012, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image and Central YMCA published a joint <a href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/bodyimage\/docs\/reflections_on_body_image\/3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> demanding that policymakers elevate \u201cappearance-based discrimination\u201d to the same pedestal as discrimination against race and sex.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnder the Equalities Act 2010, it is illegal to harass, victimise or discriminate against anyone on the basis of a number of \u2018protected\u2019 characteristics, such as their race, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability,\u201d the Telegraph <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/health\/news\/9297496\/Calling-someone-fatty-could-become-a-hate-crime.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>. The parliamentary group proposed a \u201creview into the scale of the problem of appearance-based discrimination and how this would be best tackled,\u201d including possible amendments to include size.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t just happening in the U.K., however. Last year, New York City Mayor Eric Adams <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/05\/27\/new-york-city-mayor-makes-obesity-a-protected-class\/#:~:text=New%20York%20City%20Mayor%20Eric,to%20employment%20or%20public%20housing.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">declared<\/a> obesity a legally protected class, as activists demanded that weight discrimination be prosecuted on par with racial prejudice. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12845863\/Fat-Pride-America-culture-One-six-deaths-linked-obesity-liberal-states-banning-fatphobia-discrimination-law.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">According <\/a>to the Daily Mail, at the behest of \u201c\u2018fat pride\u2019 groups which have sometimes served as official advisers,\u201d other states including Colorado, New Jersey, Vermont, and Massachusetts are preparing to follow suit.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan&#8217;s email newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/socialjusticeredux.substack.com\/about\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scotland&#8217;s recent law change may classify calling someone &#8220;fat&#8221; as a hate crime. The law also forbids using correct pronouns for transgender people. J.K. Rowling challenged officials to arrest her under this law in a bold move<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2212008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/52446655093_8a862866aa_k-e1712091436855.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2212007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/52446655093_8a862866aa_k-e1712091436855.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2212007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2212008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2212007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2212007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2212007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}