Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia

body shame was a tool of White supremacist, capitalist patriarchy.

Another facet of this enforced shrinking is that those with fat bodies are deemed somehow incapable of knowing what is best for them.

The diet, fitness, and so-called wellness industries hence profit handsomely from the fatphobic hierarchies that make certain body types highly desirable, yet unachievable, for most people in our calorie-abundant social environment.

Fatphobia is an inherently structural phenomenon, which sees people in fatter bodies navigating a different world, containing numerous distinct material, social, and institutional barriers to our flourishing.