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i want to talk about a Content Warning i heard on a podcast today, and how it succeeded and how it didn't.
this is about fatness and fat politics.
this is about fatness and fat politics.
Maximum Fun is a podcast company and it's pretty fantastic. right now it's their yearly fund drive (like pbs but fabulous and not boring). the drive brings extra content.
john hodgman and jordan morris put out a free ep of shootin' the bries, a podcast about cheese. amazing.
john hodgman and jordan morris put out a free ep of shootin' the bries, a podcast about cheese. amazing.
at the beginning, jordan gives a CW that there will be some dieting talk. he gives the rough start time and end time of the diet talk. his tone is warm and respectful.
the CW is well done, useful, and specific. it's KIND.
it's thoughtful and kind. but it's not political.
it's thoughtful and kind. but it's not political.
people will find the CW useful.
but it takes no stand, and i can't help but thinking it's odd (not unusual -- believe me, i know) to be so sensitive in that way and yet be either uninformed or resistant to the next step, which would be: don't have diet talk on your podcast.
but it takes no stand, and i can't help but thinking it's odd (not unusual -- believe me, i know) to be so sensitive in that way and yet be either uninformed or resistant to the next step, which would be: don't have diet talk on your podcast.
having diet talk and giving a CW for it portrays diet talk as potentially fraught for individuals. the CW acknowledges vulnerability, but it ignores the bigger picture: we live in a world that detests fatness, and this detestation harms people.
it sounds as if some people are vulnerable and protecting them is honorable but the harm must all be coming from individual aspects of the individual vulnerable people's lives.
fat hate is a structural oppression. it is infused into every institution we have. fat politics is social justice. it needs addressing as such.
(fat activists are not bothered with telling anyone whether or not to do intentional weight loss. if you hear that we are, it's false -- it's a straw man. we don't do that.)
i'm talking about what gets DISCUSSED publicly, uncritically, on platforms.
a CW takes a teeny step -- like it knows "hmm, someplace nearby here is potential harm, let's try to mitigate" -- but it must go farther.
a CW takes a teeny step -- like it knows "hmm, someplace nearby here is potential harm, let's try to mitigate" -- but it must go farther.
one of the quickest things people think at this point is, "but fat is unhealthy!"
it's... not. fat stigma is. being turned away from health care because you're fat is unhealthy.
it's... not. fat stigma is. being turned away from health care because you're fat is unhealthy.
trans health care and reproductive health care are especially held for ransom until patients lose weight. fat covid patients are told at the ER, "oh, YOU have trouble breathing? gee i wonder why" and turned away.
fat patients are turned away from health care daily. for strep. for allergies. for a broken wrist. for cancers that kill them because they go uninvestigated.
fat patients are told we are lying to doctors. every day.
fat patients are told we are lying to doctors. every day.
those are unhealthy. body fat isn't.
the studies you're thinking of -- they're built on sand. built on sand, built on each other, and built on over a century of people finding us visually repulsive. this is a whole field and a different discussion.
the studies you're thinking of -- they're built on sand. built on sand, built on each other, and built on over a century of people finding us visually repulsive. this is a whole field and a different discussion.
fat stigma is connected at the (cultural) cellular level with ableism, classism, racism, anti-Blackness.
getting lower wages and salaries, being mistreated in schools and courts and jobs, having your kids taken away from you, all because you're fat -- those are unhealthy. racism makes people sick. anti-fat bias makes people sick.
fat politics is social justice.
a CW about diet talk isn't enough. diet talk supports the status quo. don't have it on the show at all.
a CW about diet talk isn't enough. diet talk supports the status quo. don't have it on the show at all.
i would like to humbly and very lovingly invite @Jordan_Morris @hodgman @JesseThorn @hallublin @MarkGags and everyone over there at dear @MaxFunHQ to come learn about fat politics.
bad phrasing on my part. i meant that fat activists DON'T tell people whether or not to do intentional weight loss. your body, your call. https://twitter.com/tommyinboots/status/1391211429328470020
we're here to examine and reveal the structural oppression of fat people. this includes the ways that science and medicine have it all wrong regarding fatness.
but i'd never tell someone not to try intentional weight loss if they want to -- because i know what's being withheld.
but i'd never tell someone not to try intentional weight loss if they want to -- because i know what's being withheld.
if you're anti-racism, you need to support fat politics.
if you're against police violence, you need to support fat politics.
if you want trans people to get all the health care they need, including trans-specific health care, you need to support fat politics.
if you're against police violence, you need to support fat politics.
if you want trans people to get all the health care they need, including trans-specific health care, you need to support fat politics.
every day trans people are refused trans-specific health care and told "come back when you're thin."
eric garner's own defense attorney argued -- on the record -- that his fatness caused his death.
eric garner's own defense attorney argued -- on the record -- that his fatness caused his death.
