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Fat Liberation Month

By now we have all heard of diet culture and body positivity. Most people, through personal experience, understand the negative consequences of the societal pressures to be thin, muscular, or shaped like an hourglass. We feel some hope when we see more variety in body shapes and sizes in pop culture like Lizzo or the singular fat person in the Barbie movie, Sharon Rooney. While these can all be tolerable entry points to understanding societal and personal biases about fatness, it is just the tip of the ice berg. 

What lies beneath is a titanic sinking block of anti-fatness and oppression. Anti-fatness refers to the “web of beliefs, interpersonal practices, institutional policies that are designed to keep fat people on the margins,” as explained by Aubrey Gordon when interviewed by NPR. It negatively impacts people of all shapes and sizes but especially fat people. 

Anti-fatness can have serious mental, physical, social, legal, and financial consequences for those who are targeted. Anti-fatness can show up at work, the doctor’s office, in court, on a flight, in a public restroom, or at a family gathering. Since the effects are so widespread, we all are at risk for holding implicit anti-fat bias.

We cannot simply “anti-diet” or “body positive” ourselves out of an implicit bias. It takes discomfort, vulnerability, and compassion to explore our beliefs about fatness. August is the perfect month to start your journey as it is Fat Liberation Month (FLM)! Below are some resources to get you started: 

Books:

Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings

Belly of The Beat by Da’Shaun L. Harrison

The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor

What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon

“You Just Need To Lose Weight” and 19 Other Myths About Fat People by Aubrey Gordon

Fat Politics: The Real Story Behind America’s Obesity Epidemic by J. Eric Oliver

Podcasts:

Maintenance Phase by Michael Hobbes and Aubrey Gordon

Fat Joy by Sophia Apostol 

The Body Grievers Club by Brianna Campos

Organizations and Websites:

naafa.org

asdah.org/health-at-every-size-haes-approach

cswd.org

gewichtsdiskriminierung.de/der-verein/ueber-uns

nolose.org

haeshealthsheets.com

As always, I and the rest of Elle Studio’s Registered Dietitians and Body Image Therapists, are here to help you on your personal journey. One in which getting to the other side is truly liberating. 

Elisa Salvat is a Registered Dietitian at Elle, specializing in eating disorders and body image issues. Learn more about her background and request to work with her if your needs match her areas of expertise.