Not denying there are a lot of fat fans, or that you have some very valid points, but you know what? I personally have much less of a problem with the 'enabling' attitude you were talking about than I do with the mindset so readily found elsewhere, the one that assumes if you're female, and over a size 8-10, you must be on a diet, or at least ashamed of the fact you're not. And that if you are overweight, that's bad not for health reasons, but because you don't look like they assume you want to look - and clearly would rather be skinny so you can wear the latest fashions.

Fandom might not be a supportive place if you're on a diet, or trying to get more exercise, but it's also one of the few places you'll see people wearing what they want, costuming as their favourite character or just whatever clothes they like personally, and not being judged for it on the grounds that fat people should go out of their way to hide their lumpy selves. I'm not saying that's always a good thing either, I've seen some spandex abuse at cons that'll be seared into my brain forever, but even if I don't like how some people look dressed as $character, I like that they like how they look that way. Am I making any sense?

I see a lot of this at work, so it's kind of a sore point - I'm sick of being congratulated when my pants are loose and having pretty girls tell me mournfully about a dress they really want but they have to lose a few more kilos to even think about buying it.