So I just read this, which mentions wonderful people in our movement like @DaShaunLH, @danceswithfat, @iofthetigress, and Sandra Solovay, which is a step up from normal reporting on fat stigma, but you know what?

I still hate it. https://twitter.com/latimes/status/1391117126547689478

I’m over articles that assert the author’s bewilderment at the idea that fat people fight for our rights and then justify that bewilderment by respouting fatphobic bullshit. It’s two-sidesism but about bodies instead of political ideology

“Bougon’s medical record at Kaiser shows shes’s morbidly obese; as an activist, she prefers the word “fat””

Come on. Really?

And then this:

“Studies link higher body mass index or BMI with increased risk for severe COVID-19, with increased rates of hospitalization”
Like... you’re not gonna problematize this statement? Even though there’s an easily findable article from @chr1styharrison crushes it?

This is that article btw: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/story/covid-19-does-not-discriminate-by-body-weight/amp

And then there’s these parts, which literally set it up so readers can be like “HAHA stupid fat people. Of course you can’t be fat and healthy. Look, even this doctor who knows about weight stigma said so!!”

Mind you, all of these are from the first half. Once Ragen is mentioned the tone changes. That’s when all the people I mentioned in my first tweet come in and give their (amazing, wonderful) rebuttals.

But it’s already too late.

That’s because when you spend the first half of an article regurgitating bigoted bullshit, then the second half that questions that bullshit isn’t very powerful, nor will it penetrate the consciousness that has already been fortified by the fatphobic bullshit in the first half!!

From my experience, I can tell you that most people know on some level that fat people are treated badly. Many will tell you that fat bodies disgust them and may even be ashamed of that bias.

But they will continue hurting us. Because “awareness” is never enough.

Awareness of weight stigma will not save our lives. It won’t. Because even when someone’s aware of their bias, they will 1) think that it’s justified because “fat is bad” and 2) use weight stigma as reasoning for why fat people should lose weight.

Do fat people a favor and don’t fucking write about us if you’re going to do the bullshit in these articles. Just hire fat liberationists to write this shit. We know more than you and aren’t horrible.

AND ONE LAST THING:

“The fat acceptance movement argues it is possible to be healthy at any size”

That’s literally not what our movement is. It’s not. please shut the fuck up.