I Used To Think These Weren't Related

Hey mama,

Depending on where you live, you might have been feeling like your life was slowly returning back to normal. Then things started looking abnormal again.

George Floyd. Minnesota. Nationwide riots. Violence. Rage. Racism. 

I got this text message from my friend who lives in Minnesota:
"Burned cars on the highway. Signs everywhere about the murder. Burning buildings, huge smoke clouds coming from St. Paul and Minneapolis. Things not going well here."

It's not good here. It's 2020 and racism in any form isn't ok. I'm horrified that innocent people are being killed. Our system has failed too many for far too long. 

Diet culture has it's roots in racism and the entire diet culture system is based on oppression. While it might seem superfluous to talk about food and body, it's important to see the connection. I know it's uncomfortable to consider that dieting and racism are related, but they two are connected. The belief that thinner is better and that larger bodied people should be eradicated is rooted in racist ideas. 

In doing research for my upcoming online course, Peace Out Diets, I learned that around the time of the women's suffrage movement, race and size became intertwined. Fat became associated with people lower on the evolutionary and racial scale. To put it bluntly, fat wasn't white. Around this time, white middle class was also looking for a mark of social status which came in body size compared to many stout immigrants.

Social injustice is, unfortunately, rampant in our culture. The fact that larger bodied individuals aren't being accommodated at restaurants, theme parks, doctor's offices, stores and offices isn't fair. The fact that weight loss surgeries can lead to death isn't fair. But the fact that innocent black men, women and teenagers are being murdered is absolutely beyond unfair and beyond comprehension. 

If you're feeling at a loss for what you can do to make a difference, you can do something. Here are five things to consider. 

1. You can create peace within yourself and share it with your corner of the world. Share peace with your family and send it out virtually.

2. You can learn about anti-racism and educate yourself on what it truly means to be anti-racist. The book,  White Fragility, might help.

3. You can stop supporting any system that praises any particular shape, gender or color, like the diet system. Don't contribute to your own oppression through dieting. Don't pretend that being thin gives you a false sense of being better than anybody else. EVERY BODY is born with value and worth. 

4. Use your financial freedom and voice to support causes and people who are doing important anti-racist work. Vote POC into important offices. Look around at your own community or workplace to see how it can become more inclusive. 

5. Teach your children about acceptance and that all people are equal. 

It's time for change. Be the change that our nation desperately needs.  

xoxo