Weight stigma is so entrenched that fat jokes are considered acceptable fodder
Weight stigma is so entrenched that fat jokes are considered acceptable fodder for insurance comp…
The experiences of larger fat people are very, very different from those of smaller fat people and average-sized people.
The experiences of larger fat people are very, very different from those of smaller fat people and average-sized people. If you’ve never experienced, seen or heard of a particular type of weight stigma or an experience a fat person is describing, there’s a good chance you’re simply not fat enough to be treated that way….
Should healthcare providers be excused for weight stigma in medicine?
“They don’t know any better.” When I talk about weight stigma/weight bias and fatphobia in healthcare, that’s often the excuse that people make to me on behalf of healthcare providers. “That’s how they were taught.” In 2022, that excuse just isn’t good enough any more. Not only do we have a half-century of evidence that…
{activism} Being fat is having your very existence considered to be dangerous.
Being fat is having your very existence considered to be dangerous. Any sort of visibility whatsoever — from walking down the street to posting a selfie online — is considered dangerous because we might encourage others to look like us. (See: “glorifying o*”) Our bodies are considered, against all actual evidence, to be inherently diseased,…
{end weight stigma} Confidence isn’t a cure-all.
It’s important to understand that confidence isn’t a cure-all. One of the big issues with “just be confident and advocate for yourself! Don’t let anything stop you from fulfilling your dreams!” is that for fat folks, it simply doesn’t work that way. Sure, what a good friend calls “Confidence Magick” is helpful as each of…
{body image} You are worthy of rest.
You are worthy of rest. Up until a couple of years ago, I was forever getting sick, mostly colds and respiratory stuff. Once I got it, I’d be miserable for weeks, and if a cough settled in, well, it was staying for at least a month. So I was sick basically all the time. I…
{changing the world} Thin privilege is being held to lower dress and grooming standards to look “acceptable.”
An ongoing series about the privileges of thinness in a world filled with diet culture.
{body liberation} What about fat animals?
The question “What about fat animals?” comes up pretty regularly in body liberation spaces.
Thin privilege is not being told you’ll never find love or romance until you change your body size.
An ongoing series about the privileges of thinness in a world filled with diet culture.
I wish I could just talk about loving your body.
I wish I could just talk about loving your body. I really do, y’all. I would be perfectly content to post pretty photos and talk about why you should paint your stretch marks with glitter. (Which is totally worth doing, by the way.) But I can’t reconcile myself to staying safe and dainty and quiet….
We live in a society that pressures fat people to self harm in order to survive.
An ongoing series about the privileges of thinness in a world filled with diet culture.
Thin privilege is never having to choose between wearing a seat belt or a coat.
An ongoing series about the privileges of thinness in a world filled with diet culture.
It’s hard to love your fat butt when it doesn’t fit in an airplane seat.
One of the things I consistently hear from folks in larger bodies is that they can make a certain amount of progress on their body acceptance journeys, but then get tripped up by infrastructure.
Thin privilege is not having your body automatically medicalized or pathologized by healthcare professionals.
An ongoing series about the privileges of thinness in a world filled with diet culture.
What would your life look like if you minded your own body business?
Your worth is not dependent on your health. That meme about how “your weight is not your worth” goes around a lot, and it’s true! But your health is also not your worth. You don’t gain worthiness points for being closer to the pop culture vision of “health.” and you don’t lose worthiness points for…
Thin privilege is being held to lower dress and grooming standards to look “acceptable” socially, professionally or in public.
An ongoing series about the privileges of thinness in a world filled with diet culture.
What would your life look like if you minded your own body business?
What would your life look like if you just…didn’t worry about what other people’s bodies looked like or were doing? What could you focus on if you didn’t feel the need to judge the clothing or body size or expression of the people walking past you in public? What might it look like if the…
Let’s talk about research.
Let’s talk about research. When it comes to weight and health, everyone’s a scientist. People who haven’t picked up a textbook in twenty years are suddenly confident that they know more about fat people’s bodies than the fat people themselves do. What’s more, they know just what fat people should be doing (or not doing)…
Thin privilege is not having your body used as a shorthand for a long list of negative qualities, characteristics and traits.
Thin privilege is not having your body used as a shorthand for a long list of negative qualities, characteristics and traits. Dolores Umbridge. Ursula. Kingpin. Jabba the Hut. The Dursleys. Fat lawyers and politicians in 150 years of political cartoons. It’s no coincidence that so many villains in books and movies are fat. Their weight…
State of the sleep, September 26
My CPAP machine, which I’ve named Whistler, and I have reached a truce, more or less. My sleep and energy levels are mostly back to normal, and I’m so grateful. That doesn’t mean I sleep perfectly every night, but it’s so, so improved from the sleep deprivation hell I went through last winter. I settled…
Learning While Fat: A guest post from author Ali Owens
The desk top stops at a sharp slant, unable to lie flat because of my belly and thighs in the way, and the angle is such that I will not be able to set anything on it, use my laptop, or even take handwritten notes.
Thin privilege is never being denied the ability to immigrate due to your body size.
Thin privilege is never being denied the ability to immigrate due to your body size.
Origins of Weight Stigma #3: Political Power
Why do people hate and fear fat bodies? Weight stigma — also known as fatphobia, fatmisia, anti-fatness and fat hatred — ties into threads of power and profit going back centuries. Let’s look at one of the factors: Political power. We have a recent example of a fat man as the U.S. President, but here…
Origins of Weight Stigma #2: Racism
Why do people hate and fear fat bodies? Weight stigma — also known as fatphobia, fatmisia, anti-fatness and fat hatred — ties into threads of power and profit going back centuries. Let’s look at one of the primary factors: Racism. As ably described in great depth in Sabrina Strings’ recent book Fearing the Black Body,…
Fat people MUST be treated as the experts on our own lives, bodies and oppression.
Fat people MUST be treated as the experts on our own lives, bodies and oppression. Must. Here are 5 reasons to learn about weight stigma from fat people. 1. Learning about weight stigma from people with thin privilege deprives the people most affected by fat hatred of the opportunity to speak authentically about our lived…
Park Rangers, Young Lovers, Fatphobia and Resilience
I went on a trip! It was lovely! At least, most of it was. People in small bodies go out in public and come home with lovely memories. People in fat bodies go out in public and come home with thorns among the roses. The Young Lovers This is the couple who wanted my spot…