‘Fat-Shaming’ Iowa State Fair FB Page Is Mean And Not Hilarious, Say Detractors
A Facebook page showcasing the people and events at the Iowa State Fair is causing a stir. Though the Facebook page is supposedly in place to celebrate the goings-on at the annual Iowa State Fair, detractors say the page has become a venue for ridicule, fat-shaming, and online bullying.
The page is called People of the Iowa State Fair, and it shows the exhibited livestock, competitions, and fair food as one would expect. However, interspersed between these photos are an overt amount of photos of obese and odd individuals supplied by the Iowa State Fair’s Facebook Page followers.
To be fair, the site’s anonymous administrator has asked picture posters to “play nice,” but the pictures’ captions are what have so many in Iowa up in arms.
The creators of the People of the Iowa State Fair Facebook Page can’t claim total innocence, however. The very name of their site is awfully close to the infamous People of Walmart blog that features photos of unique and odd individuals shopping at the major retailer.
In one photo on the People of the Iowa State Fair Facebook page, a woman with a mullet-style haircut is shown from the rear. One commenter said, “There’s no way that’s a woman!” To which, another responded, “Joe Dirt’s Cousin,” referencing the David Spade film where he plays Joe Dirt, a character who sports a mullet.
In the end, it was a woman, and she was ready to fire back at her detractors. Sheryl Williamson said, “To the people that wrote comments I’m the person in the picture. First of all it’s [sic] sad that you have nothing better to do second it’s only hair and to the person who took it there’s something called asking.”
This man’s visage was so popular that it became the official profile picture of the People of the Iowa State Fair Facebook Page. A commenter said that this man won a themed beard growing contest.
These individuals either settled in for a mid-afternoon nap or decided to stay for the night:
Some of the photos were clearly taken in jest.
After the website’s initial inception in 2013, the administrator of the People of the Iowa State Fair Facebook Page defended his/her site, saying that it only reflected what was actually at the Iowa State Fair.
“This is Facebook, so if someone gets too far out of line they stand to face the consequences for their words. I do not feel that I must have and enforce my own matching set of standards when Facebook’s standards still apply here.”
A local spokeswoman intent on getting the site taken down talked to local station, WHOTV. Lori Chappel said:
“We keep getting back from them, ‘It doesn’t violate community standards.’ So they don’t do anything about it. It’s kind of a hurtful Facebook page.”
[Images via Facebook]
