It's Time to Stop Asking How We Can Help Fat People Love Themselves

Simply telling fat people to love themselves ignores the many personal, medical, and societal obstacles to self-love. This piece argues that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to love your way out of anti-fat oppression, and asks the reader how they are making the world more accepting of body diversity.

“…regardless of how fat people feel about our own bodies, we live in a world that expects fat people to be deeply ashamed of ourselves at every turn. That expectation is often reinforced even by our families, partners, friends, and loved ones. Some of us may want or need help in addressing our own body image, but all of us need a world in which it is possible for us to simply be in our bodies as they are.”