Philosopher Kate Manne discusses fatphobia, debunking myths about thinness, health, and control. She highlights the mistreatment of fat individuals, the correlation between fitness and health outcomes, and the impact of societal beauty standards. The episode sheds light on the pervasive nature of fatphobia and its harmful effects.
Fatphobia emerged in the 18th century, associated with blackness and fatness, and later became medically stigmatized in the early 20th century.
Weight stigma is pervasive, leading to discrimination and mistreatment of fat people, even in medical settings.
Fat bodies are morally judged and stigmatized, despite body size having no bearing on a person's moral character.
Deep dives
The Historical Roots of Fatphobia
Fatphobia is a relatively recent bias compared to misogyny, emerging in the mid-18th century with the association of blackness and fatness. This association was exploited to justify brutal enslavement practices. It was only later, in the early 20th century, that fatness became medically stigmatized. The medicalization of fatness and the beauty norms favoring thinness for white American women converged, creating the idea that a thin body was refined and desirable. However, research has shown that weight is not under long-term control, and health outcomes are more closely linked to fitness rather than fatness.
The Slippery Slope of Weight Stigma
Weight stigma, particularly toward fat bodies, is pervasive in society. Fat people face significant discrimination and mistreatment, even in medical settings, which often leads to delayed access to healthcare. People who are considered overweight or obese may receive inadequate medical care and are often subjected to harmful weight loss prescriptions. The focus on weight can lead to neglecting other important health factors. Additionally, the idea that weight is entirely within a person's control is a myth, as genetics play a significant role in body size.
Disgust and Moral Judgment
Fat bodies elicit disgust, which can then lead to moral judgment. Psychological research has shown that disgust easily transforms into moral disgust. Fat bodies are often viewed as morally wrong and stigmatized, even though a person's body size has no bearing on their moral character. The pervasive moralization of fatness creates a harmful environment where individuals are constantly made to feel like they are doing something morally unacceptable simply by existing in a larger body.
Rethinking Beauty Standards
Beauty standards that rank and compare bodies have become deeply ingrained in society, perpetuated by social media and other cultural systems. These standards are arbitrary and can cause significant harm. Instead of rating and comparing bodies, it is important to shift the focus to self-acceptance, appreciation, and self-expression. Bodies should not be objects to be assessed, but rather expressions of who individuals are and how they feel most themselves. The goal should be to appreciate and understand bodies without judgment or comparison.
Embracing Body Liberation
The ultimate goal should be to abandon the idea of rating and assessing bodies altogether. There is no need for a scale that assigns value to bodies. Bodies are not meant to be ranked, but rather embraced and respected for their individuality and uniqueness. It is time to free ourselves from the toxic loop of comparison and judgment and find liberation in accepting and appreciating our bodies as they are, without the need for validation from external beauty standards.
“I think there's a lot of assumptions in play here that a good body is a thin one, a thin body is achievable, a thin body is achievable for everyone, and that you will be fully in control of your health and your mortality if you're thin, which is also just of course a myth. There are plenty of fat, healthy, happy people, and there are plenty of sadly unhealthy, thin people who should not be regarded as any more or less worthy than a fat person who suffers from a similar health condition. These people should be receiving, in most cases, just the same treatment. And yet, for the fat person who suffers from the same health condition, the prescription is weight loss, whereas for the thin person, they're given often closer to adequate medical care.”
So says, moral philosopher and Cornell professor Kate Manne, one of those brilliant and insightful observers of culture working today. She’s the author of two incredible books about misogyny—Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women and Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny—and has coined mainstream terms like “himpathy,” her word for the way we afford our sympathy to the male aggressor rather than the female victim. The example she uses is the trial of Brock Turner, the Stanford swimmer who sexually assaulted Chanel Miller, and the way the judge and the media seemed more concerned about Turner’s sullied future than Miller’s experience and recovery.
Her newest book is just as essential: It’s called Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia and it explores Manne’s own experience of being a fat woman in our unabiding culture. If you read the Gluttony chapter of On Our Best Behavior, some of the material she explores will be familiar—but in Kate Manne style, she drives it all the way home. I love this conversation, which we’ll turn to now.
