Deconstructing Internalized Fatphobia

We’ve reached the time of year when people start thinking about New Year’s resolutions, and for many people, those goals involve losing weight. Many people believe that they are unworthy or unattractive because of their size, and the focus mainstream media puts on being thin makes it hard to break free from these negative thoughts.

Despite the body positivity movement, fatphobia remains rampant in our culture. In many cases, fatphobia becomes internalized. This can be incredibly harmful, as it involves buying into the messaging that a person is unworthy or unlovable because of their size.

What is Fatphobia?

Before beginning, it’s important to learn a little about the language used within the fat acceptance movement. While it has historically been used as a derogatory term, people within the fat acceptance movement are working to reclaim the word “fat” as a neutral descriptor of body size. For that reason, that’s the terminology I’ll be using throughout this post.

Fatphobia describes the often socially acceptable negative attitudes about fat people. This may include stereotypes and misconceptions that fat people are lazy, unintelligent or lack self-control and discipline. It appears in almost all types of media and affects which bodies we perceive as valuable or desirable.

Fatphobia is rooted in racism. According to Sabrina Strings, author of “Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia,” fatphobia is rooted in the transatlantic slave trade. During this time, colonists believed that Black people were “gluttonous” and “sensual” and that their love of food caused them to be fat.

European colonists claimed to be morally superior and valued moderation and self-control, which according to them, made them thin and the “superior race”. Fatness became seen as a sign of immorality and racial inferiority, and larger bodies were deemed undeserving of freedom.

Why is Fatphobia Harmful?

Fatphobia comes from the belief that weight is mostly controlled by diet and exercise, and that if someone tries hard enough, they should be able to manage their weight. However, research shows that weight is affected by many other factors, including genetics, health conditions, social and financial status, and certain medications. In other words, watching what you eat and exercising may not be enough to change your weight. 

There are many reasons fatphobia is harmful, but one of the biggest issues is how it represents a barrier to seeking health care services. Studies have shown that many health professionals have strong negative attitudes toward fat people. These attitudes are perceived by fat people and contribute to the creation of barriers to accessing health care.

When fat people do eventually seek care, fatphobia negatively impacts heath care treatment outcomes. A scoping review published in 2019 found that participants defined as having overweight or obesity experienced “contemptuous, patronizing, and/or disrespectful treatment from health professionals.” They found that patients with obesity often had all their health issues attributed to excess weight, even if the problems were unrelated to weight.

The review also found that fatphobia led to barriers to healthcare utilization, including unsolicited lectures about weight loss, feeling embarrassed about their weight, and inadequate hospital equipment (such as small gowns and blood pressure cuffs). Fatphobia among health professionals was also associated with avoidance or delay of preventive screening, maternity care, and general practitioner healthcare services.

In addition to adding barriers to accessing health care, fatphobia is also associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, poor body image, and poor self-esteem. Fatphobia is also associated with lower levels of exercise. In other words? Fatphobia isn’t helping anyone.

What is Internalized Fatphobia?

Internalized fatphobia is what happens when fat people buy into the message that because they’re fat, they don’t deserve the same opportunities or treatment as thin people.

While thin people may experience feelings of body dysmorphia, body dissatisfaction, and poor self-esteem, they don’t experience internalized fatphobia because they don’t experience the same type of oppression that fat people face every day.

People with internalized fatphobia may hold beliefs that fat people are:

·      Unattractive

·      Lazy or undisciplined

·      Less deserving of love or success

·      Less intelligent

·      Personally to blame for any health issues they experience

It’s common for a person’s behaviour to change because of internalized fatphobia. This could range from avoiding having their picture taken or looking in mirrors to turning down opportunities such as job interviews or dates due to beliefs about their weight. It can also lead to yo-yo dieting and self-punishment for not reaching a “goal weight.”

Internalized fatphobia is often a subconscious way to gain approval from a world that places value on being thin. It’s the hope that others will think “well, she may be fat, but at least she eats healthy/goes to the gym/is trying to lose weight” and thus lead to better treatment than their fat counterparts who are fighting simply to exist.

Tips for Deconstructing Internalized Fatphobia

I won’t lie. Breaking down internalized fatphobia isn’t easy. But there are several strategies you can use to unlearn the harmful messaging you’ve been fed your whole life.

Stop correlating weight and health with worth

Unfortunately, we live in a society that equates thinness with health and health with worth. Breaking free from that way of thinking can be one of the first steps toward dismantling internalized fatphobia. Realize that you are so much more than what your body looks like or what it can do. You deserve to exist in your current body, whatever form that takes. And you are worthy in your current body, no matter what society tries to tell you.

Consider the experiences of people whose bodies differ from your own

Fatness exists on a spectrum and depending on which end of the spectrum you fall on, you’ll have different experiences.

For example, I’m considered to be on the “small-fat” end of the spectrum. While I’ve experienced fatphobia from the medical system, I have no trouble using public transit or buying clothes in plus-size stores, and I haven’t been denied opportunities because of my size.

On the other hand, people who fall at the larger end of the fat spectrum may be shut out of public transportation and even plus-size brands because of their size. We can’t forget to advocate for those facing much more severe mistreatment than ourselves.

Consider adopting a Health at Every Size® (HAES®) philosophy.

The Health at Every Size® movement affirms a holistic definition of health and believes that pursuing health is not a moral imperative or obligation. It supports the idea that a person’s health status should never be used to judge or oppress a person.

HAES® includes the following principles:

·      Weight inclusivity: Reject the idea of idealizing or pathologizing certain body types

·      Health enhancement: Improve access to services that can improve a person’s well-being.

·      Eating for well-being: Eating should be based on hunger, satiety, nutritional needs, and pleasure – not weight control.

·      Respectful care: Working to end weight discrimination

·      Life-enhancing movement: Physical activity that people of all sizes and abilities can engage in, in the amount that they choose.

 

Unfollow

Social media can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it allows you to find a community of like-minded people who can build you up. On the other hand, it can also expose you to idealized beauty standards that can wear away at your self-esteem. And let’s not forget the keyboard warriors who make it their mission to make people feel miserable when they post something outside of what they perceive is “desirable.”

If you’re struggling with internalized fatphobia, it’s worth reflecting on whether your social media habits are driving some of those feelings. If they are, it might be worth doing a “social media detox” (taking some time off social media) to see how you feel. Once you hop back on, unfollow any accounts that were contributing to those negative feelings.

Talk Back to Yourself

Raise your hand if you’ve ever talked to yourself in a way you would never even imagine talking to a friend. Unfortunately, many of us have an inner dialogue that is negative and demeaning.

The next time you have a negative thought about your body, try to respond with a compassionate thought. Here are a few examples:

Thought: My thighs are too big

Replace it with: My legs take me where I need to go.

Thought: I feel fat

Replace it with: Fat isn’t a feeling. What I’m really feeling is anger/sadness/frustration/other difficult emotions. What I need at this moment is to treat myself with kindness and use self-care strategies to help myself feel better.

Thought: I’m so bad for eating that cookie

Replace it with: I’m honouring my body and my cravings. Food isn’t good or bad, and I’m not a bad person for eating the foods that I’m craving.

Thought: I’m upset with how much I weigh

Replace it with: Weight is just a number, and it doesn’t define my worth.

 

If you’re struggling with negative self-talk, it may be worth working with a therapist who is HAES-oriented and fat-affirming to help you work through your thought patterns.

Curb Diet Talk

With the New Year right around the corner, there’s a lot of talk about dieting and weight loss. These health resolutions are fueled by diet culture.

Diet talk can include conversations about restricting food or exercising to achieve weight loss. It can also include comments on people’s size, weight, or food intake. When we engage in diet talk, we reinforce the oppressive diet culture that places value on thinness over well-being.

The next time someone tries to engage you in diet talk, try the following responses:

·      “Can we talk about something else?”

·      “I’m trying to avoid talking about diets.”

·      “That comment makes me uncomfortable.”

·      “I’m trying to eat intuitively, and that means giving myself to permission to eat all foods without shame or judgment.”

·      “Thank you, however, I would prefer compliments that aren’t related to my weight.”

As you start to opt out of diet talk, you may find it easier to start accepting your body as it is rather than fighting to change it.

Read work by Fat Liberationists

Choosing to consume material that is written by fat liberationists can make for incredibly uplifting and life-changing reads. Some fantastic books include:

·      Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls: A Handbook for Unapologetic Living by Jes Baker

·      The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor

·      Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings

·      Land Whale by Jes Baker

·      The Body Liberation Project: How Understanding Racism and Diet Culture Helps Cultivate Joy and Build Collective Freedom by Chrissy King

Final Thoughts

If you’ve grown up surrounded by the diet mentality and glorification of thin bodies, it’s not easy to change how you think overnight, especially when you face very real oppression because of your body size. Breaking free from internalized fatphobia is one of the first and most impactful steps you can take in your body liberation journey.

Wherever you are in your journey, you deserve to treat yourself and your body with love and kindness. Remember, your weight is not your worth.

Looking for more information on healing body image? Check out my Body Image Workbook for journal prompts, affirmations, coloring pages, and exercises to help you make peace with your body.