I’ve been trying for months to write something about fatness: why clients in bigger bodies deserve particular attention, why my experience makes me better suited to serve fat clients than massage therapists in thinner bodies, and so on. The trouble is, there is SO much to say about anti-fat bias and how it affects us all. So why not make it a series?
We all either know someone who lives in a fat body, or we have the privilege to live in one ourselves. I am what the Health at Every Size (HAES) framework calls a “small fat,” which means I do not face issues that my larger brethren have to deal with (sometimes on a daily basis). To my mind, I have a responsibility to inform myself of these challenges and use my voice and privilege to advocate for eliminating anti-fat bias whenever possible.
Where do we see anti-fat bias, you might ask? To which I’ll reply: How many ads for weight loss do you see on a daily basis? How many comments do you hear from “well-meaning” loved ones about your body, or the bodies of others? What would the world look like if we could just stop all of that and let people be fat?
“But what about the obesity epidemic!” you might cry. We don’t have time to get into all of that in this first post, but I have a starting point to recommend. Your Fat Friend is a documentary directed by Jeanie Finlay that focuses on the life of Aubrey Gordon, who you may know from her book What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat or her podcast Maintenance Phase. It is free to stream on CBC Gem, and if you’re fat yourself or know someone who is (hi!), it’s a great watch. (Please note: the more anti-fat bias you have personally experienced, the more emotional this documentary may be to watch.)
I come from Louisiana, where Mardi Gras is celebrated the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The religious implications didn’t matter so much to me; Mardi Gras was the day we went to parades and tried to catch as much candy and doubloons as we could. Translated from French, it means “Fat Tuesday,” so here goes another element of my misspent Catholic youth that I’m reclaiming to make my own (only more queer and without the guilt lol).
It sounds like a lot to try to make the world and our society a better place for fat people, so I want to bring the focus down a bit. Let’s find community with others who share our struggles, or who struggle even harder simply because of how people treat their bodies. Let’s read about and listen to the experiences of fat folks to better understand how to respect and advocate for one another. And let’s please stop saying “obese” and “overweight” and other stigmatized terms; all bodies are beautiful and deserving of care.
Reminder: my holiday promo has been extended to January 31st (book a session at the regular or PINKPURPLE price and receive a promo code for 50% off a future session). Also if you pay by cash, e-transfer, or direct billing; you get $10 off your session before any additional discounts. I’m away from home next week, but back on January 28th.