S3M1 - MoF Mini: Fat Liberation - Transcript

Released June 17th, 2020. For complete episode info, visit this page!

[POP INTRO THEME FADES IN]

Saraya Boghani: Welcome to a Matter of Fat Mini!

Cat Polivoda: A cute lil’ minisode! 

SB: Matter of Fat is a body positive podcast with Midwest sensibilities. 

CP: We talk about a lot of different things on the pod, and sometimes we use words, phrases, or concepts that might be unfamiliar, or could use a deeper dive. We’re using this Matter of Fat mini to address fat liberation. 

SB: But who are we?

CP: I’m Cat Polivoda, a local fat feminist and shop owner—

SB: —and I’m Saraya Boghani, a fat, multiracial, Minneapolitan millennial.

CP: Y’know, two of your favorite fat, Midwestern gals who are ready to dive into—

CP+SB: —fat liberation!

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SB: Fat liberation is a core value of Matter of Fat. So we wanted to take a minute to talk about what it is, and why we talk about it so gosh darn much. 

CP: First, a definition:

Fat liberation is a movement that pushes back against fatphobia, fat bias, and size-based discrimination in public and private domains, and demands equity and inclusion for people living in larger bodies.

SB: Let’s break down fat liberation with a history of the movement, a reality check of where we are today, and share a bit about what it means to us. 

CP: Okay, so a radical liberatory movement doesn’t start out of nothing. We need to note that we’re giving a brief, US-centric overview that will inevitably some things out. 

SB: Yeah! We’ve pulled together this timeline with the help of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance—or NAAFA, as we’ll refer to it—Sarah Fishman’s account of the Fat Underground, and articles written by Sarah Simon for Ms. magazine and Evette Dionne for Bitch magazine. 

CP: Alright, let’s get into it. 

SB: Ok! So, the roots of current day fat liberation and acceptance started in the 1960s. Picture this: it’s a 1967 New York City summer day with 500 people coming together in Central Park for a “fat-in” protest. 

CP: Yes! 

SB: Excellent. The people at the “fat-in” denounce the social more that fat people should feel or be guilty for their bodies. We’ve got signs, we’ve got people burning diet books—and uh, people burning pictures of the famous model Twiggy.  

CP: (laughs) Ok, well, I don’t know if I agree with the idea of burning pictures of Twiggy, but! I guess, it was the time, right?

SB: Yeah, not my style, but the fat-in protest was portentous, because a year later, Llewellyn Louderback pens an article entitled “More People Should Be Fat” for The Saturday Evening Post. This was probably the first incident of someone decrying fatphobia in mainstream media.  

CP: And this article is as true today as it was then. 

SB: Absolutely! It calls into question the American cultural obsession with an idealized body, and how it smacks of classism and other -isms.

CP: I wonder how that went over?

SB: Ha, LOL. Probably as good or worse than it would today. But a year later, Lew, along with Bill Fabrey, created NAAFA to, quote, “help build a society in which people of every size are accepted with dignity and equality in all aspects of life”. They focused on educational conferences, events, and lobbying to do this work.

CP: Can you imagine all of that planning and organizing back in the day? Without technology like we have now? 

SB: No. 

CP: Wow. NAAFA became a jumping-off point for a more radical organization called the Fat Underground, which was based around feminist and lesbian organizing. Judy Freespirit and Sarah Fishman—

SB: —who was also known as Aldebaran and Vivian F. Mayer—

CP: —yes, we finally put that together in our research!  So Freespirit and Fishman founded the Fat Underground based on their work with radical therapy. Evette Dionne wrote that the Fat Underground, quote, “believed science and medicine, in particular, peddled fatphobia to line the pockets of the diet industry”. Their cry to end fatphobia in all aspects of life is described in detail in the 1973 “Fat Liberation Manifesto.” 

SB: That’s right. NAAFA and the Fat Underground really provided an entry for fat liberation and body acceptance to other parts of society. I mean, if Louderback’s article was the first to broach mainstream media, Lisa Schoenfielder and Barb Wieser’s 1983 anthology Shadow on a Tightrope was the first to widely share women’s experiences with fat oppression. This paved the way for people like Marilyn Wann to publish her “FAT!SO?” zine into a book in 1994. 

CP: More activists, bloggers, and academics emerged in the 90’s and early 2000’s. In 2009, the Fat Studies Reader, edited by Sondra Solovay and Esther Rothblum, brought together 53 scholars to discuss fatness and further solidify fat acceptance’s credibility.  

SB: Yeah! Evette Dionne nailed it, as she does, when she said, quote, “Fat Studies became tangential to more established fields, including American Studies, African American Studies, and Sociology”. I mean, now there’s even a Fat Studies academic journal.

CP: And all of this gets us much closer to today! So, over the last 10 years, there’s been immense growth in people openly talking about body acceptance—I mean, including us, right here, on our podcast! 

SB: Yeah, that’s right! Even so, we’ve broken down a quick lil’ compare and contrast of fat liberation today with the fat lib manifesto penned almost 50 years ago. 

CP: Yeah, lots of the issues the Fat Underground fought against are still things we’re working on today.

SB: Yeah. The Fat Liberation Manifesto starts out by declaring, quote, “We believe that fat people are fully entitled to human respect and recognition.” And, oh my gosh, that is so basic, but there’s still a lot of work to be done here. 

CP: Yeah, so some examples of the work that, sadly, still needs to be done:

In many states, body size is not listed among other protected classes and people can literally be fired ‘cuz they’re fat. Or, fat jokes and stereotypes, still widely accepted in mainstream media.

SB: And many people still believe that fat bodies need to change to just get equal access to anything and everything. 

CP: Yeah. The Fat Liberation Manifesto goes on to say, quote, “WE see our struggle as allied with the struggles of other oppressed groups against classism, racism, sexism, ageism, financial exploitation, imperialism and the like.”

SB: Yes! I am so happy this is included because this is how we, too, feel about fat liberation - that it has to be intersectional! We see this fight as not just advocating for fat folks, but those of all marginalized identities. I mean, body size is just one part of someone’s identity, and how they experience their fatness is directly tied to their gender, their race, sexuality, ability and so on.

CP: But if we take a hard look at the movement, it’s clear that there is just not a strong enough focus on intersectionality or allyship with other marginalized identities. One example of this how white fat activist spaces often are. Another is how fatphobia can often rear its ugly head in social justice spaces. 

SB: Yeah, it’s necessary to mention that, even within the fat community, those on the larger end of the body size spectrum, while the most marginalized, are often not centered. 

CP: Ohmigosh, yes! Superfat folks, they need to be prioritized! 

SB: Yes ma’am! Ok, another tenet of The Fat Liberation Manifesto that is TOO real states that, quote, “WE single out as our special enemies the so-called ‘reducing’ industries.” And name things like diet clubs, reducing salons, fat farms, diet foods and surgical procedures, drugs, and also gadgetry. 

CP+SB: Gadgetry! (Both laugh)

CP: Ok, so we’re not using ALL of this terminology so much today, but it doesn’t sound far off from what we’re experiencing. I mean, drugs? Gadgetry? That sounds like flat tummy tea, or fat burning lollipops. “Reducing” industries? Y’all, that’s weight loss surgery, or Weight Watchers, like, these things are still alive and well. 

SB: In The Fat Liberation Manifesto, they also demand that the aforementioned diet and reducing industries, quote, “take responsibilities for their false claims, acknowledge that their products are harmful for the public health, and publish long-term studies proving any statistical efficacy of their products.” I mean, that slaps. Those long term studies, ugh, we’re still waiting!

CP: Still waiting, yes! ‘Cuz here’s the thing: when you see “results” reported on diet programs, it’s usually just data from maybe 6 months, MAYBE a year out. It’s that 5+ year data we want, that nearly always shows folks regaining weight. And in spite of this, the weight loss market is now at a record $72 billion industry.

SB: B. Billion, folks. Oh my God.

CP: Billion!

SB: So Freespirit and Aldebaran conclude The Fat Liberation Manifesto by declaring, quote, “WE refuse to be subjugated to the interests of our enemies. We fully intend to reclaim power over our bodies and our lives. We commit ourselves to pursue these goals together.”

CP: Yesss! Mic drop. Boom. Airhorns. ALL! OF! IT! 

SB: All of it. 

CP: They are so bold! I love it. Let’s bring it back to us and Matter of Fat. Saraya, what does this movement mean to you? 

SB: People like to ascribe morality to everyone and everything, or use morality as a tool for oppression. I found fat liberation and felt more comfortable with it once I began to understand how I fit into other greater racial and gender oppression systems. Once you see the mechanisms of racism, you can see how those same mechanisms work at placing value on and engineering value for other people. 

Fat liberation, like other liberatory work, helps me see those mechanisms and try to take actions that do less harm in the world--so an overall value I hold. I eschew the concept that I am morally obligated to change my body for the “greater good”. I find significant power in understanding why others may think that, and being able to choose for myself. 

CP: Oh yeah! I’m drawn to the radical roots of fat liberation and its commitment to dismantling systems of oppression. It’s powerful to know the history of the movement, to know that people called out these inequities and actively pushed back against this kind of thing, like, years ago.

And, that their work was done before the internet and cell phones—which, respect—and paved the way for fat activists in my generation, people I’ve learned from and grown alongside for the last 10 years. It’s also difficult to recognize that so much of what they were calling for, like we shared in those excerpts, is still not actualized. 

SB: Sure isn’t, but that’s why Matter of Fat exists!

CP: Yeah!

[TRANSITION MUSIC FADES IN, FADES OUT]

SB: So, we’ve been doing Matter of Fat for a few years, and I’ll admit that I learned a lot with this MoF mini!

CP: Same here! And, we hope you all did, too! That’s our goal—you can enjoy this little tidbit, share it with others, and better understand the legacy of fat liberation and how it fits into your life.

SB: If you want more, which I know you do, feel free to check out the linked resources in our shownotes.

CP: Yep! You’ll find those at matteroffatpod.com along with other episodes, transcripts, and more! 

SB: And if you’d be so kind, subscribe to Matter of Fat on whatever platform you get your podcasts.

CP: We’ll catch you next time for more intriguing stories—

SB: —hilarious banter—

C: (laughs)—and thought-provoking information as—

C+S: —a Matter of Fat!

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