Recognizing & Combatting Fatphobia in the Workplace
I cannot count how many times a thin colleague would casually talk about their diet or insist that we order salads for lunch because we’re “being good today.” And as a fat woman, nor can I count the times I had to bite my tongue to stop from screaming: “I get it, you don’t want to look like me.”
Fatphobia is everywhere, and can be particularly challenging to address in the workplace thanks to office culture and power dynamics. Fat stigma creates far worse outcomes for fat folks than actually being fat does. And the more we ignore addressing this stigma, the worse it gets.
Below are a few areas that can help you better recognize and take steps to address fatphobia in your workplace.
Acknowledge the fat pay gap
The bias against fat folks as being “lazy” or lacking “self control” can translate to believing fat folks are less capable of doing the same job as a straight-sized person.
Did you know it’s completely legal to discriminate against someone based on their weight in 48 states? It’s true, only Michigan and Washington have laws that include weight as a protected class. And believe me, people DO discriminate based on weight.
When you take this into consideration the other wage gaps that exist for Black, brown, and trans folks, being fat can mean missing a lot of opportunities you are qualified for, or making a LOT less money. Either way, you’re being paid far less because of your appearance.
Just like organizations are finally starting to address implicit bias when it comes to race and gender, hiring managers and executives need to acknowledge that fat bias also exists and do what they can to address any disparities that already exist in their hiring processes or salaries.
Understand health disparities for fat folks
Fatphobia is more harmful than just mean comments; those of us in larger bodies are much less likely to get health care that addresses our needs.
In Michael Hobb’s excellent HuffPost report, he notes that “doctors are supposed to be trusted authorities[...]But for fat people, they are a source of unique and persistent trauma. No matter what you go in for or how much you’re hurting, the first thing you will be told is that it would all get better if you could just put down the Cheetos.”
Fat folks are encouraged to take whatever measures necessary to lose weight, dangerous dieting tactics that would be considered disordered eating for non-fat folks. As Dr. Deb Burgard said in the documentary Fattitude, “We prescribe to fat people the same things that we diagnose and treat in thin people.” Not to mention fat folks are at higher risk for suicide and depression, a risk that is much worse for Black women because of all the other disparities and discimination they face.
The failure to account for a fat person’s unique needs is also apparent in the reproductive health world—just look at the fact that most of us didn’t learn forms of emergency contraception, like Plan B, were ineffective for people over 175 pounds until just a few years ago.
I share all this because it is important for our employers and colleagues to understand just how difficult it is for fat folks to find quality, compassionate health care. It took me decades to find the Health At Every Size community and to build the confidence I have now to do things like refuse to be weighed when it’s not necessary. As folks who work in the reproductive health space, we should know better than anyone that even though health care can be technically available, it might not be actually accessible because of the legal, financial, and social barriers fat folks face before we even walk in the door.
Know the racist roots of fatphobia
Fatphobia is deeply compounded by other -isms like racism, sexism, and ableism. I’m a fat woman, but I’m also a “small fat,” white, cishet, and without physical disability—my experience with fatphobia is extraordinarily different than that of a larger fat Black trans person.
Fatphobia’s roots come from our racist history, stemming largely from affluent white women desperate to differentiate their bodies from those of Black women to assert their power and dominance in society. In this NPR interview, Sabrina Strings calls attention to how this history of racism in fatphobia affects the way we approach Black health disparities today.
All this makes the fact that the body positivity movement—a movement built by fat Black women and femmes of color—has been largely co-opted by white women looking to validate their often already-accepted bodies even more enraging. If you are a straight-sized person and believe yourself to be “body positive,” consider whose bodies are included in that positivity and which bodies are being centered. If it’s mostly women who look more like Ashley Graham than Lizzo, you’re in the wrong place.
Recognize spaces aren’t made for bigger bodies
If you’re a straight-sized person, think about how you can buy professional clothes off the rack that fits. Or how you can get on a plane without buying two seats or requesting a seatbelt extender. Or how you don’t need to scan a meeting room for which chairs will dig into your sides and bruise you.
As Roxane Gay wrote: “Living in a fat body means you are in constant conversation with yourself, managing the anxieties that rise out of a fatphobic world that wants you to believe you don’t deserve to live a full and joyful life.”
Fat folks have to create accommodations where there are none, and risk ridicule for doing so. As we prepare to return to office workplaces, think about how your workspace and travel policies are or are not accommodating to folks with bigger bodies and what you might advocate to change. How accessible is your meeting room space for folks who may not fit easily in chairs with arms? How size inclusive is your organizational swag? Does your office travel policy account the needs of someone traveling while fat?
Stop diet talk in the workplace
If I leave you with nothing else, this is the one actionable item you can start right now. Please end all diet talk. Stop it right now. Dieting and diet talk is dangerous and triggering.
At a minimum, this means:
never sharing “thinspiration” or “before and after” photos
no more office exercise or weight-loss challenges
stop assigning food as “good” or “bad” or saying you need to eat something as punishment for not exercising
not assuming everyone is trying to lose weight
stop saying you “feel fat,” because fat is not a feeling
not shaming someone for being fat because you don’t like them, and yes, I’m even talking about people like Tr*mp.
never correcting someone who calls themselves fat
And while you’re working all on that, I’ll be over here wearing this “IDGAF About Your Diet, Susan” shirt I cut into a crop top, available for any questions you might have.
Kate Bernyk is a fat positive writer and senior communications strategist living in Brooklyn. Currently the senior communications director at Kickstarter, she has also overseen communications strategy for the Center for Reproductive Rights and the First Lady of New York City. Kate also serves as a board member for Whole Woman’s Health Alliance and has published personal essays and op-eds in national outlets including NBC, Refinery29, and Allure.