Tell me: What do you feel when you hear the word “fat”? Common answers might be insulted, shocked, embarrassed, or called out?
Over the past few years, body-positive thinkers have made an effort to reclaim the word. Instead of viewing the word with negative connotations, using it as intended meant taking away the powerful sting that came with it. Though it might sound jarring at first, dismantling the sense of shame society places on bigger bodies seemed like the first and most necessary step to breaking down fatphobia as a whole. Brands even hopped on the bandwagon of self-love by expanding their size ranges, using plus-size models in advertisements, and sending more SMS reminders of inclusivity than truly necessary.
But, in recent months, the internet has truly taken a shift in how we view and treat plus-size people. From bodychecking on social media, the scary-quick rise in GLP-1 usage, and the massive shift to not-so-inclusive wellness culture, skinny is making its comeback as the beauty standard here in the States.Â
A prominent example of this can be seen in the rise of the ‘heroin chic’ aesthetic within Hollywood at the moment. Jokes flooded in on TikTok after the release of Wicked because nearly all of their female leads became alarmingly thin. Think about it. One of the largest pieces of contemporary art marketed to young girls showcased adult women at obviously unhealthy weights.Â
The Ozempic takeover is not limited to the Wicked cast, either. Celebrities like La Toya Jackson, Amy Schumer, Meghan Trainor, and even Jelly Roll have all lost a considerable amount of weight within recent months.Â
Now, I’m not here to persuade you to be for or against the usage of GLP-1s. My issue is embedded within the social ramifications that come with our celebrity figures adopting the ultra-skinny aesthetic. As much progress as we’ve seen with body positivity, our society is completely laced with fatphobia on all levels. The average woman’s weight in America today sits around a size 16. Yet, there is a struggle still to find inclusive clothing in our most common sizes. Many brands shrink their clothes, or don’t offer larger sizes at all, in an effort to limit visibility of larger bodies repping their brands. Medical professionals constantly provide lower-quality care to fat patients because they assume their issues are inherently tied to their body size. Social media has lost its decorum when it comes to how we treat fat people. From backhanded compliments to blatant displays of discrimination, former inclusive spaces are turning their backs on people a few pants sizes bigger than them.
What’s even worse is that society does not take the crisis of fatphobia nearly as seriously as we should. When we talk of racism, sexism, or homophobia, there seems to be a much more obvious opposition to that type of behavior. Why? Because any logical, respectable person realizes that any form of hatred is never acceptable in any capacity. Yet, when it comes to shaming our neighbors based on a number, suddenly that core value flies out of the window.Â
To make matters even worse, most people know nothing about the racist origins of fatphobia. We can all think back to art we’ve seen in museums or in a world history class in high school. Many royal, wealthy, high-class people had bigger bodies because of the simple explanation that they had access to food. The ability to gain weight was a display of your wealth, not a measure of health or social lacking. Thin people in art were often portrayed as poor, servants, and sickly, which most likely was due to food scarcity and a low-class status. Yet over time, the mixture of Black and White races introduced a new body standard to society, which was the one considered desirable.Â
In an attempt to further separate White and Black society, the naturally larger, curvier, and fuller bodies of Black people were demonized and labeled undesirable. White women quickly aimed to lose weight in order to deviate as far as possible from their perceived inferiors. Somehow this deeply racist origin didn’t carry across generations like fatphobia has. It is a rampant form of discrete racism that all people take part in, shamelessly, on a daily basis.
As we know, time and trends move in a circular fashion. Trends come, politics change, values shift, and what was once modern no longer makes sense. The rise in conservatism undoubtedly plays a role in the wave of hate we are experiencing. The push to “clean girl aesthetic,” overuse of the word “chic,” women leaning towards the TradWife and SAHM lifestyle, and so much more all point towards the society that fully adopted fatphobia, no questions asked.Â
But we need to ask ourselves, who are we truly benefiting with this shift? Though fatphobia is aimed at bigger people, it hurts absolutely everyone in the cycle. The need to be skinny as we know actively harms young girls in the most formative years of their lives. Eating disorders, negative relationships with food, and body dysmorphia leave deep emotional scars on people regardless of size, age, or race. This issue is bigger than the ego boost you get from body checking the next person. It will take a collective effort to heal this wounded part of our history and to let us see bodies for all they are; a body.