About the BBC show "Who Are You Calling Fat?"

Today is the day for the first episode of "Who Are You Calling Fat?" on BBC 2 at 9pm.


I am super excited for you to tune in and see some radical fat positivity! If you're not in the UK, I'm sorry, you probably can't see the show for a while, sad face.


Disclaimer: there are fatphobic fat people in the house and so you will be exposed to fatphobia. Don't watch if this triggers you. Although they are not aggressively fatphobic, just run of the mill bigotry. Also, from the very first scene to the last there are many mentions of the O Words.


I and the show have been getting a lot of attention from the press. 


I am the "polarizing" character.


We hear all the time that the British press make up stories and lie, and I believed it, but now I see it in action and it's BANANAS!


Some articles have been coming out that totally misrepresent my views. Journalists aren't immune to fatphobia like the rest of us.


Also, the show is edited in a way to cut core issues down to soundbites (because they have to for time purposes), and people will take what they want from that.

Some will take from it that:

  1. I don't care about health and people who do are bad

  2. I think people who diet or have stomach amputation surgery are bad people

  3. I don't think that there is any chance fat people can ever get diabetes

  4. I don't believe in any weight-related science

  5. I am a narcissist/arrogant/egotistical for thinking my body is ok/good/attractive

  6. Intuitive eating = being greedy and eating "unhealthy" food all the time

  7. We shouldn’t teach kids about food


The actual reality and truth is:

  1. Health is not binary and focusing on physical health to the detriment of mental health is problematic. Also, believing healthy bodies are more important than unhealthy bodies is all kinds of fucked-up (aka healthism). If being healthy is important to you, that’s great. If it’s not, that’s great too, you’re not morally inferior. The way that people are able to express their fatphobia with fake concern is to say “BuT wHaT aBoUt THeIr hEaLtH?!?!?!” and I’m not here for that fatphobic fuckery because if you actually cared about fat people’s health then you would care about their mental health, which you are damaging with your bigotry which in turn also damages their physical health. Fake concern, see?

  2. Do what you want with your body, Your body, your choice. The pressure to be thin is so immense that dieting and surgery make absolute sense as a response. But don't spread the message that diets are reliable (and are healthful) and that surgery is not a barbaric and violent act of fatphobia with often deadly outcomes and life-changing risks. I use the term “stomach amputation” because it is critical to remind people what exactly is happening and how shocking it is. Amputating a totally healthy organ in order to be thinner/healthier? That is heinous, primitive and in the future I am sure will be banned.

  3. Fat people are more likely to get type 2 diabetes than straight-sized people. We know this. This is not in contention. We also don't know WHY this is the case. What is in contention is if we should keep shaming fat people on the off chance they get diabetes when we know shame directly harms and kills fat people and makes them fatter (not that there is anything wrong with being fatter).

  4. The science I don't believe in is studies paid for by weight-loss companies to show their diets are magical and will make you lose 5000lbs in 15 minutes. There is not one single study EVER to show any diet works. Also what I don't support is the idea that correlations equals causation. It doesn't. We all know correlation doesn't equal causation.

  5. Any time a woman says her body is ok when she lives in a body that society tells her it is not ok then our sexist society comes to the conclusion that this person is arrogant and needs to brought down a peg or two. We need to celebrate confidence in marginalized identities not denigrate it.

  6. Intuitive eating is 100% not about being greedy. It's eating in a way that heals our relationship with food and our bodies. It's eating as if you've never been fucked up by diet culture.

  7. The vast majority way in which we currently teach kids (and adults) about food is steeped in diet culture and fear-mongering. Teaching kids about “good” and “bad” food, as well as portion control and any other rules, is actively harming them. They are being taught how to be disordered around food. What would be helpful is if we could have HAES informed, non-diet dieticians/nutritionists teach about intuitive eating and how to have food peace (this includes eating foods that feel good both physically and emotionally). This could help undo the harm that we all face living in our fatphobic society.

Sooooo keep those points in your mind when you watch tonight and understand things are spun in ways to make entertaining tv, which of course, I expected to happen.


Wanna work more on getting yourself to a place of body confidence?


I have created a free live webinar masterclass that will help: The 4 Simple Steps to Feel Confident in Your Body and Around Food ... Even If You Believe It's Not Possible. 



>>>CLICK HERE TO SAVE YOUR VIRTUAL SEAT<<<



Join me for this free virtual masterclass, and together let's change the belief that you need to live in shame, and help change the stories for other folks out there who don't believe they measure up either.



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Fatty hugs,


Victoria