Podcast recommendation: Maintenance Phase. It's fascinating, well-researched, clever discussion of the subterfuge and flat out lies told by the wellness and weight-loss industries, and people who have been taken in by them.
The first episode, "What's Our Deal?" by itself made me think about some things I hadn't delved into much before.
I already knew that "healthy" is not a binary property, of people or to a great extent food, and that it cannot be assessed simply by one's weight or appearance. I also knew that fatphobia is a form of bigotry that stems largely from moral disgust (the phenomenon of an otherwise amoral item or feature taking on a moral dimension in people's eyes because it disgusts them).
But what I hadn't thought about as much is the moral panic dimension of fatphobia, the extent to which it pervades (and perverts) American culture in particular. It does this by making EVERYONE more concerned about being fat than being healthy, and sparked entire industries catering to this concern by marketing products and services of dubious or no benefit in terms of losing weight, some of which not only are counterproductive in that they contribute to weight gain, but are actually hazardous to your health.
I know diets don't work. I know why. I know that exercise won't help you lose weight if you don't change your diet (which is not the same as dieting). I know that exercise and a nutritious diet are important anyway, even if you don't lose a pound or actually gain weight, because being healthier is better than being less healthy.
I also know that how healthy you are AND how much you weigh are really nobody's business except your own and your doctor's.
But what I hadn't thought about so much is that "none of your business" is really the weakest argument against fat-shaming.
The stronger argument is that regardless of your reasoning, whether it's insecurity about your own weight, a desire to feel superior, and/or a deeply misguided belief that you are acting out of concern, bullying people about their weight is, in fact, bullying.
The evidence also shows that it doesn't work, and shaming fat people only tends to make them fatter, but that doesn't supersede the basic fact that it's bullying. And good, decent people don't bully others. Being fat doesn't deprive a person of a shred of dignity or render them less deserving of respect, and those who are not fat should take every possible opportunity to remind fat-shamers of this fact.
And also listen to this podcast because the predatory nature of the wellness and weight loss industries is profoundly depressing, but also fascinating and, when presented by Mike and Aubrey, terribly funny.