Our Nation's (Unhealthy0 Obsession
Hey mama,
Happy Memorial Day! If you're anything like me, you don't know whether it's Tuesday or Sunday these days, but hopefully you can pause today to honor those who've lost their lives while serving for our country.
Our country is in the midst of fighting a pandemic that will undoubtedly shift the way we live, work and socialize for months and likely years, yet fatphobic comments and obsessions with weight are still taking center stage.
Regardless of what side of center you sit with your politics, I hope you can recognize that Nancy Pelosi calling Donald Trump, "morbidly obese" is wrong. This was in response to Mr. Trump announcing that he's taking the drug, hydroxychloroquine, which is a drug traditionally used for malaria.
Here's her direct qoute: “He’s our president, and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and his, shall we say, weight group ... m*rbidly ob*se, they say”.
Regardless of what you think about the present, this fat-shaming commentary is wrong. There's simply no excuse for it and making these comments on a national stage only feeds our nation's diet culture machine and inadvertently shames every fat person in America. President Trump's body size has nothing to do with his questionable behavior, lies, or policies that further divide instead of unite our country. In addition, using so-called "medical terminology" to pathologize body size isn't research based and just perpetuates oppression of larger bodied people who desperate need and deserve the same care as people in smaller bodies. Even if Nancy Pelosi was making the comment based on so-called research about size and COVID-19 risk, there's no solid evidence that the two are related.
Body size also made headlines with Adele's IG post showing off her 100 pound weight loss. Comments (7 of her 35 million followers "liked" her post) flooded her account praising her for her "new" body. Yes, she and every other celebrity that lose weight, are entitled to do whatever they want with their body. Yes, having a platform that celebrity life offers makes your messages powerful. At the root of her weight loss is the message that thinner bodies are better which is the root of fatphobia (fear of being or becoming fat).
A thinner body isn't better. It can be really hard to see a talented, confident, strong woman who once celebrated her larger body and success without any apology for her size suddenly lose weight. When the singer was 23, she said in an interview with People, "I've never wanted to look like models on the cover of magazines. I represent the majority of women and I'm very proud of that." Worse, when the weight does come back (as it usually does for 95% of dieters), the fat-shamers will once again appear and she might be pressured to go on an endless diet/binge cycle. Yo-yo dieting is more damaging to an individual's health than if the individual had never dieted in the first place. Unfortunately, celebrities that lose weight somehow make it "ok" to include their weight loss attempts in an already watered down "body positive" world. If Adele defends her weight loss as a way to prevent disease, she's sending the wrong message because the reality is people of all sizes get cancer, heart disease and diabetes. There is no size that magically makes your health risks disappear and weight loss undoubtedly has dramatic negative affects on a person's mental, physical and emotional well-being.
If I had a magic wand, I'd make fatphobia, racism, agism and ablism disappear. It's disappointing to me that weight gets so much air time during a global pandemic. I'd rather see more of this and this. I hope that someday our society can shift to solving the actual problems (lying President) our country faces and celebrate art, albums, and creativity from all ages, sizes and abilities. That would be the best way to honor all people.
