The following tips and strategies were collectively developed at the February 6, 2021 Feedists for Fat Liberation (FFL) event to help people unlearn and release fatphobia in all forms.
- Curate media intake, follow a bunch more fat people and don’t disproportionately populate with thin media
- Catch people when they’re being good. and give positive feedback.Catch negative behavior and apply feedback swiftly
- Fat as an armor for self-love!
- Loving your fat body is liberating – but also dangerous
- Question your internal ableism – how fat & health intersect – re: mobility aids, health conditions, etc.
- Building self-confidence from intrinsic motivation, not extrinsic sources
- Remember that those who take the time to try to make people feel self-conscious are probably doing so out of their own insecurity: try not to internalize such negativity
- Being outgoing, feeling comfortable in yourself
- Not being afraid to tell people what your needs are (“I can’t fit in that seat”)
- Shutting down image-saturated social media
- Learning about fat liberation
- Surrounding yourself with open-minded people who believe in fat liberation
- Reminding yourself to take others access needs seriously, seek out media that is validating
- Read more evidenced-based information! Read fat authors talking about fat liberation! (Sofie Hagen + Audrey Gordon)
- Surrounding yourself with other fat people, especially people fatter than you
- Find community that reinforces fat and feedist positivity
- Anti-fat bias usually hits us in subtle ways, but we occasionally get street-level reminders, too
- Fatphobia is filtered through a local lens, all over the world
- Viewing numbers (like blood glucose numbers) as data points and not a reflection of my value as a person
- Use your privilege to fight for fat liberation whenever you can
- Think of the positive aspects of yourself and all the things that you love and that are loveable
Internalize CBT, such as “Remember: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Your body is attractive”