“There are things that no one ever told me about being fat growing up, like the fact that a large section of the internet and by default, of the world, hate the fact that you exist. And more often than not, it comes out in ways that aren’t explicitly hateful, which makes it even more confusing and upsetting.
Fatphobia (or weight stigma) is defined on Wikipedia as “bias or discriminatory behaviors targeted at individuals because of their weight.” On Urban Dictionary, it’s defined as “the intense fear or dislike of fat, becoming fat and fat bodies.” I think both of these definitions are true; society’s intense fear of becoming fat and fat people leads to discrimination against people living in larger bodies.
I was 11 the first time anyone ever commented on my weight. I had lived blissfully unawares of the fact that my body was deemed “different” than that of my friends. The first day of middle school, I got on the bus and one of my friends asked if I’d lost weight over the summer. (Spoiler alert: I hadn’t. I’d just grown boobs.) I remember saying no, and being confused about why she asked it like it was a good thing. That year I was bullied about my appearance by girls for the first time. And I’m one of the lucky ones, because I was able to spend my childhood free from the kind of comments that set someone up for a lifetime of dieting and self-hatred.
Fatphobia takes so many different forms in our lives, from the woman at the office who says she’s “bad” for eating a slice of cake, to people telling fat people online that they’re disgusting, to systemic failings in the medical system. Not all fatphobia is created equal, and it doesn’t affect all of us equally either. The reality is that things like restrictive seating, clothing sizes being unavailable, and aggression on public transport are harder for fatter people. Smaller to mid-fats have an easier time out and about in the world than super and infinifat people, and white fat folks have privilege compared to Black folks and other fat people of colour.
So we need to challenge these things. We need to call brands out on not being inclusive and boycott companies who aren’t willing to change and do the work, we need to bring corporations like Instagram to task for their fatphobic policies, and we need to support one another. We need to demand more embracive seating options, better and more thorough healthcare for fat bodies, and more diversity in virtually every single area of the media. I see all of the hard work that fat activists are doing on Instagram, Twitter, and out about in the world and I feel hopeful that things are shifting. It won’t be overnight, and it won’t be easy, but I truly do believe that one day things will be better for fat people. One day, fat people loving themselves will not be seen as a radical act, but rather the standard. We deserve all of the things that society has withheld from us for generations, the things we’ve been told are reserved for others - we’re taking them back.”
Written by: Sasha O’Marra / @newinheritors
Photo by: Rachel Ivy / @rachel.ivy.photography