For many of us, the story we've been told about fat bodies seems pretty logical: being fat is unhealthy. We know that society stigmatizes fat people because they “choose to be fat” and “drain public resources.” Others who view body diversity more favourably would argue that it’s not the fault of people in bigger bodies that they are the way they are (because fatness is a “disease”), but it’s still important to be healthy, i.e. in a smaller body. We are taught that concerns about weight are rooted in science, medicine, and a desire to improve individual and population health outcomes.
Anti-fatness didn’t begin with medicine. In reality, the beliefs that fat people are unhealthy as well as lazy, unintelligent, undisciplined, unattractive or less worthy have deep roots in religion, the enslavement of Black bodies, colonialism, “scientific” racism, sexism and social control. It was never about health.
The following timeline follows the evolution of those beliefs from ancient times to the present day.
Thanks to the work of Black scholars, including Dr. Sabrina Strings, we know that anti-fatness comes from anti-Blackness as well as other oppressive forces. But WHY were certain beliefs about Black bodies created? Who started the myths, and what were they saying? How do those stereotypes about fat Black bodies manifest today? We are going back thousands of years to see where all this nonsense started. Using a variety of sources, including, of course, the go-to book for talking about this Fear of the Black Body by Sabrina Strings, as well as Belly of the Beast by Da’Shaun L. Harrison and concepts from bell hooks, Patricia Hill Collins, and more. TW: O words, anti-Blackness, slavery, sexism, brief mention of sexual assault, general white fuckery.
How many of these do you resonate with? On my show, The Fierce Fatty Podcast, I go into these even deeper on episode 205 "Stages of Fat Identity: Signs You’re Thriving or Trapped." You can also hear the signs that perhaps you're still struggling with anti-fat and diet culture beliefs. If you’ve lived your whole life being told that fat is bad and dieting will be your salvation, then unlearning those messages can be hard. This episode will give you a roadmap to track your progress and celebrate your journey so far!
How many of these do you resonate with? On my show, The Fierce Fatty Podcast, I go into these even deeper on episode 205 "Stages of Fat Identity: Signs You’re Thriving or Trapped." You can also hear the signs that perhaps you're still struggling with anti-fat and diet culture beliefs. If you’ve lived your whole life being told that fat is bad and dieting will be your salvation, then unlearning those messages can be hard. This episode will give you a roadmap to track your progress and celebrate your journey so far!
In episode 205 of the Fierce Fatty Podcast, "205: Stages of Fat Identity: Signs You’re Thriving or Trapped," I shared the details on the stages of fat identity, from “ugh, why am I fat?” to “heck yes, I’m fabulous, unapologetically me!” I also covered the 21 signs that maybe you're struggling with anti-fat bias and have internalized those messages. Go check out the episode (#205) to get all that juicy info anywhere you listen to podcasts.
