141. How to Face Fatfobia, with Kate Manne
It’s true, we’re not a one size fits all society, but individuals deemed as overweight, obese, or fat can face a rush to judgment and unfair treatment based solely on their larger body size. Today’s guest Kate Manne discusses with us the topic of How to Face Fatphobia. Kate shares with us some fascinating historical origins of the Body Mass Index (BMI); ways fat phobia shows up in areas of society including in medical treatment; and other relevant topics tackled in her book, released in January 2024, titled, Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia.
Kate’s new book: Unshrinking: How to Face Fatfobia
Quotes from this episode:
“What we have is people, again, me included, historically trapped in this cycle of weight loss and regain, which not only is this huge waste of energy and money and effort and bandwidth and creativity, but it also has independent health harms.”
“Some of us are bigger than others, and that diversity of shape and size is actually a really normal and natural part of human diversity.”
TALK BIG QUESTIONS
Use these prompts to have the opposite of small talk in your real life.
Have you or someone close to you ever experienced fatphobia? In what ways? How did you or they respond to it?
Have you ever avoided medical care because of fear of judgment or bias?
Did you ever find yourself trying a fad diet, exercise regime, or drug in order to lose weight? How did you feel afterwards?
