What is fatphobia?

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What is fat phobia? Thanks for asking. Being overweight is a stigma. While around 13% of the world's population are obese, they are largely absent from the public limelight and often find themselves the target of mockery or discrimination. Overweight people are humiliated and ostracized throughout their lives, having to put up with regular criticism about their lifestyle and appearance. This is what's known as fat phobia, a form of discrimination which can have a harmful effect on those on the receiving end.

Fat phobia is often left out of discussions on the struggle against different forms of discrimination, but it nevertheless causes real suffering on a daily basis. It can manifest itself in many different forms, for example, assuming that obese people make bad life choices, ranking people according to their weight, or claiming they are responsible for how they are. Fat phobia victims often end up believing they have no worth, because it's the message that's transmitted to them constantly. Putting themselves down in turn affects their self-esteem and quality of life. Sometimes they isolate from the rest of society, or take on unhealthy habits.

But why are overweight people rejected to such an extent? Modern Western society has led us to believe that a person's weight and figure play a major part in how attractive they are. Being obese is therefore equated with ugliness, inferiority, and even immorality. Fat phobia has become integrated into the general way of thinking for most people. Even those who aren't overweight obsess about not putting on extra pounds before the summer holiday season. Online algorithms also seem to now be pre-programmed with fat phobia. A number of plus size influencers have noticed that their posts are censored by social media platforms.

This is an example of a phenomenon known as shadow banning. American singer Lizzo accused TikTok of banning clips of her in a bikini when similar clips of other slimmer women were allowed to remain online. This is the kind of discrimination that can lead to body shaming and increase fat phobia. But whose side is social media on? Social networks can also be a force for good in the struggle against fat phobia. Communities have been created, forming the basis for discussion about the body. The subversive fat acceptance movement, which emerged at the end of the 1990s in the US, encourages overweight people to accept themselves as they are. It was directly inspired by the body positive movement, which is the theme of another past episode you should check out. Unfortunately, brands and businesses have sought to benefit from the momentum of fat acceptance in order to attract potential consumers.

Fat bodies are endorsed, but only if they are photogenic and marketable.

There you have it. Now you know what fat phobia is. In under three minutes, we answer your questions. What would you like to know about? Use the comments section to ask your questions on the podcast platform.