“The Politics of Fat: Body Autonomy, Shame, and Feminist Reclamation”

The Body Isn’t Neutral—It’s Political

The world tells fat people: shrink.

Be smaller. Eat less. Apologize more.

Your body is not a trend.

It’s not a problem to solve.

It’s not a moral failing.

And it is most definitely not separate from feminism.

Because feminism that fights for bodily autonomy while upholding fatphobia is contradictory at best—and violent at worst.

Fatphobia Isn’t Just Rude—It’s Structural

Fatphobia is embedded in:

• Healthcare systems that ignore fat patients’ symptoms

• Airlines that refuse to accommodate diverse bodies

• Fashion industries that cap their sizes at exclusion

• Employment spaces where fat workers are paid and promoted less

• Media that erases or ridicules fat characters

This isn’t about “preference.”

It’s prejudice with consequences.

Where Fatphobia and Misogyny Intersect

Women are told their value lies in:

• Beauty

• Thinness

• Youth

• Desirability

Fat women challenge this hierarchy by existing unapologetically.

And they are punished for it through:

• Medical gaslighting

• Dating exclusion

• Lower wages

• Public harassment

This isn’t a matter of health.

It’s a matter of power and control.

Fat Bodies Have Always Existed—And Been Feared

Historically, fatness has meant:

• Abundance

• Power

• Wealth

• Fertility

But with colonization, capitalism, and white supremacy came body policing.

Thinness became synonymous with:

• Control

• “Civility”

• Whiteness

• Moral superiority

This shift wasn’t accidental.

It was strategic.

The White, Able-Bodied, Thin Ideal

Let’s be real: the “ideal woman” has a very narrow profile.

She is:

• Thin

• White or white-passing

• Able-bodied

• Symmetrical

• Cisgender

• Conventionally attractive

Everyone else is measured against her—and found lacking.

Fat liberation challenges the entire architecture of beauty and worth.

The Diet Industry: A Billion-Dollar Lie

The global diet and weight loss industry is worth over $250 billion.

Its core messages:

• Thinness = discipline

• Fatness = failure

• “Before and after” = morality tale

But science says:

• 95% of diets fail long-term

• Weight cycling is more harmful than sustained fatness

• BMI is a flawed, racist tool

The industry profits when you hate yourself.

Feminism demands that we fight back.

Healthcare Is Not Exempt

Fat people are routinely:

• Misdiagnosed or undiagnosed

• Told to lose weight instead of treated

• Shamed out of seeking help

• Denied surgeries or screenings

This is medical neglect.

Not healthcare.

Feminist healthcare must be:

• Size-inclusive

• Anti-bias

• Respectful of autonomy

• Rooted in harm reduction, not coercion

Fatphobia Hurts Everyone—But Not Equally

Fatphobia intersects with:

• Racism: Black, brown, and Indigenous bodies are hyper-policed

• Transphobia: Fat trans folks face barriers to gender-affirming care

• Ableism: Fat people with disabilities are doubly dismissed

• Classism: Access to “health” is often tied to wealth

To fight fatphobia is to fight every system that ranks bodies.

What About Health?

Let’s dismantle this false binary:

“You can’t glorify obesity!”

“What about health?!”

Health is:

• Individual

• Fluid

• Not a moral requirement for respect

• Not visually measurable

Fat people don’t owe you a BMI chart to deserve dignity.

Feminism says: Your body, your business.

Representation Is More Than Just Inclusion

We don’t just need:

• One fat character in a show

• One plus-size model in a brand

• One viral “body positive” post

We need:

• Fat leads in rom-coms

• Fat athletes celebrated, not ridiculed

• Fat folks in politics, science, fashion, art

• Fat people telling their own stories

Representation isn’t permission.

It’s power.

From Body Positivity to Fat Liberation

The body positivity movement began as a fat, Black, radical fight.

But then:

• Brands co-opted it

• Thin influencers diluted it

• “All bodies are beautiful” became a hashtag—without addressing power

It’s time to return to the roots:

• Fat visibility

• Fat autonomy

• Fat joy

• Liberation—not tolerance

The Workplace Isn’t Neutral, Either

Fat people are:

• Less likely to be hired

• Less likely to be promoted

• More likely to be seen as “lazy” or “unprofessional”

• Expected to prove their competence in ways thin people aren’t

Feminism in the workplace must mean:

• No body shaming dress codes

• Size-inclusive uniforms

• Anti-discrimination policies that include body size

Feminism Must Stop Using Fatness as a Warning

Even in “progressive” spaces, fatphobia lingers.

You’ll hear:

• “I felt so fat today.”

• “She let herself go.”

• “At least I’m not that size.”

These are microaggressions that reveal internalized shame.

Liberation means examining your own language, not just others’.

Fat Liberation Is About More Than Just Size

It’s about:

• Rest as resistance

• Nourishment without shame

• Refusing to center productivity or appearance as worth

• Disrupting the idea that some bodies deserve more access, care, or rights

This is a feminist issue.

It always has been.

What Can You Do?

If you want to be in solidarity:

• Check your language: Words shape culture. Be mindful of jokes, compliments, and “concerns.”

• Diversify your media: Follow fat creators, authors, activists, and artists.

• Buy from inclusive brands: Support companies that carry extended sizes and represent body diversity authentically.

• Push for policy: Advocate for anti-fat discrimination protections at work, in schools, and in healthcare.

• Unlearn diet culture: Read books like “Fearing the Black Body” by Sabrina Strings and “What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat” by Aubrey Gordon.

• Uplift—not speak over: Center fat voices in every conversation about body politics.

Your Worth Has No Weight Limit

The fight against fatphobia is not about aesthetics.

It’s about survival.

It’s about equity.

It’s about liberation.

Feminism that demands choice must also demand freedom from shame.

Because every body—fat, thin, disabled, trans, racialized, aging, nonconforming—deserves the full spectrum of dignity, access, and joy.

Let’s build a movement where no body is collateral.