Ending Fatphobia to End Violence
During 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, from November 25 to December 10, we call on everyone to take action.
A collection of resources shared during Kira-Lynn Ferderber’s Instagram live conversation for 16 Days of Activism. Watch the whole convo here (link).
Mähsi cho to Kira-Lynn Ferderber and SPARCC Sarasota for sharing knowledge. These links are based on her workshop Ending Fatphobia in Our Shelters.
If you missed our insta chat, check it out here:
Let’s start with cake
DEFINITIONS
Body positivity:
Body-positive activists believe that size is just one of the many ways that our bodies are placed in a power and desirability hierarchy and are working alongside all social justice movements to bring attention to the intersectional problems across race, gender, sexuality, and physical capability.
Fat acceptance:
The fat acceptance movement (also known as fat pride, fat empowerment, and fat activism) is a social movement seeking to change anti-fat bias in social attitudes by raising awareness among the general public about the obstacles faced by fat people.
Fat liberation:
“To me, fat liberation is understanding that is it not my fat body that has failed; it is the culture that has failed for oppressing this body. To me, fat liberation is knowing that my body is not wrong because it is fat; it is the culture that is wrong for discriminating against and stigmatizing my body.”
Health at Every Size principles help us advance social justice, create an inclusive and respectful community, and support people of all sizes in finding compassionate ways to take care of themselves.
From HAES Community
Weight Bias in Healthcare
Stigmatization and discrimination can be seen in:
Verbal and emotional discrimination, when individuals are teased, insulted, made fun of or rejected by their friends, family and peers (e.g. weight-based bullying in schools and employment settings)
Physical discrimination, when individuals are assaulted or harassed because of their weight
Barriers in day-to-day life (e.g., undersized chairs in public locations or lack of appropriate-sized medical equipment such as blood pressure cuffs and patient gowns)
Denial of access to healthcare (e.g. when treatments for obesity are not available or not reimbursed by health plans)
From Obesity Canada
Lets talk about lizzo
“If people actually loved Lizzo from a place of sincerity, then oversized women in the real world would be openly admired, protected, and valued.”
Amity Nathaniel, ‘Love Your Fat Friends As Much As You Pretend to Love Lizzo’
“Negative body talk and diet talk may feel gratifying to us in the moment, but for those around us it can have lasting negative impacts. Those with eating disorders and body dysmorphia may be triggered into a relapse of dangerous behaviors we’ve long struggled to escape.”
Your Fat Friend, ‘It's Time for a Culture of Consent Around Body Talk’
End CRFI’s
Fatphobia and Rape Culture
“Not only is it important to be aware of fatphobia and healthism to create more trauma-informed spaces, but it is also imperative that we consider the ways fat folks experience discrimination at rates thin folks do not. This discrimination allows power imbalances to occur, and power imbalances are what allow sexual violence to happen.”
Sarah Bear, New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, ‘“Should You Be Wearing That?”: Fatphobia’s Connection to Rape Culture’
Fatphobia and trauma
“THEN THE PANDEMIC HIT, and even people on social media who had seemed onboard with fat acceptance began talking about their bodies with a disdain I hadn’t heard in a while.”
Erika Thorkelson, ‘Fat Shaming Shouldn’t Be Part of Our “New Normal”’
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