Unlearning Fatphobia After the Pandemic
Graphic by Alessandro Corneglio
I could never truly see how so many people are afraid of getting fat until this pandemic. For most of my youth, my body fluctuated and was oftentimes a talking point for people in my family or in school. Personally, I loved how strong I was. I could bike for hours until my mom would yell for me to come inside. I loved to eat when my body told me it was hungry and needed fuel. It was strange because I did not see my body as something shameful or wrong until other people told me it was. The pandemic has been playing a similar role in my life.
I understand that it may feel like a loss of control over your body when you gain fat. I understand the fear that builds in your mind when you realize other people can see your fatness, the tugging at your shirt when it sticks to your belly or the romanticizing of our smaller bodies in old pictures. I just think we have to focus on looking at why these thoughts even exist and if we could unlearn them, shouldn't we?
As I mindlessly scroll my socials, I see the non-stop fatphobia from people reminiscing about their “pre-pandemic body” and the weight loss industry conveniently swooping in to sell us their new diet or workout gimmick that will prepare us for a “hot girl summer.” But how is reminiscing about our bodies before the pandemic fatphobic?! I can see how it may seem harmless but for the sake of every fat person let's follow that train of thought for a second.
So, we look at a photo from when we weighed less and we are sad because we think we look better, right? We look at our body now in disgust because it has more fat and we learned that in society that is not a good thing because we will be treated badly. From these thoughts, we can all see that social constructs make fatness something horrible and something we fear. Now, knowing that we have these preconceived notions of fatness it is easier to identify how we are further contributing to fatphobia. Whether it be intermittent fasting (not related to cultural practices) or the newest body shapewear, at what point do we take a second to look in the mirror and say “Hey, actually I don’t want to play into this anymore... I think my body’s existence is enough.”
During the pandemic, fat people were singled out through their BMI as more likely to get the virus when in reality BMI is an outdated and illogical measurement of individual health. According to fat activist and writer Aubrey Gordon, BMI was originally part of a project created in the 1800s to find the ideal human which the statisticians (yes- it was not even a doctor) decided was a white man. It reemerged in the 20th century by the U.S. when insurance companies were trying to figure out how to charge some customers more than others, so they revived BMI as a way to assess that and bring it back into healthcare settings. It was incredibly irresponsible for medical professionals to reinforce the idea that fat people are more susceptible to the virus without discussing race, socioeconomic status, or quality of care which are known social determinants of health that we know explain the health disparities between groups of people. The unfortunate truth is that when we refuse to address and unlearn our fatphobia it begins to bleed into all aspects in our life and how we discriminate against fat people in the world. Diet culture is insidious in how it amplifies the insecurities in folks since it uses the guise of health and wellness to conceal its fatphobia. Conflating size and health is incredibly irresponsible and harmful to both fat and thin people. According to The Emily Program, a University of Minnesota-affiliated eating disorders treatment program, they along with other clinics have seen an immense increase in patients all across the board. It was noted that the LGBTQ community accounts for a large number of the patients. People feel the effects of fixating on our bodies and the social constructs surrounding fatness and it is getting more and more dangerous as the pandemic ends.
I truly believe insight + action = change. I do not think all hope is lost and I believe people are capable of unlearning their fatphobia. I do not want to lie and say it will be a quick fix or that you won’t make mistakes. It requires compassion, education, and active questioning of our fatphobic minds to generate radical change. Unlearning fatphobia is a huge step towards radical self-acceptance, where our bodies are thanked for existing and serving us rather than scrutinized and discriminated against. Body neutrality is a great place to begin to reclaim your body and rewiring your thoughts with mantras may help.
Helpful mantras:
I am more than a body
I may not love my body, but I appreciate all the things it does for me
Feeling at peace with food and my body does more for my health than forcing down kale or restricting chocolate
Asking for help is an act of courage
Changing my body won’t make me accept it
Loving my body isn’t believing it looks good; It’s knowing my body IS good, regardless of how it looks
Graphic by Alessandro Corneglio