Fat people deserve justice. Access to quality healthcare is a basic human right. Despite what we deserve, we know the reality is quite different. Fat people are often denied gender- and life-affirming surgeries, organ transplants, medical & diagnostic testing, and participation in medical research studies. Providers’ fatphobic attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors often lead to healthcare avoidance by fat people. As fat people it can be very daunting to navigate these situations and advocate for ourselves. As fat-positive providers it can also be daunting going against the machine and advocating for our clients.
This free community event, a collaboration between ASDAH and NAAFA, will highlight the myriad ways both organizations are advocating for change in the areas of governance & policy, education & training, coalition building, and more. Participants will leave with actionable steps they can take to advocate for themselves and/or their clients when navigating fatphobia in our healthcare spaces and systems.
Due to European colonialism and western imperialism, white supremacist, anti-Black, and anti-fat notions about bodies, food, health, and wellbeing are pervasive across the globe. We know that oppression is universal, but the ways in which oppression impacts people differ based on geographical and social locations.
Frameworks such as Health at Every Size® have emerged to address & combat the problem of anti-fatness in healthcare. However they have been created & promoted from a very American/western/anglophone perspective and context. The HAES “movement” itself has perpetuated white supremacy culture. It has not only drowned out BIPOC & fat voices in the west, but also international voices from people of the global majority.
This panel discussion highlights the voices of three HAES-aligned practitioners & fat liberation activists; Pontsho Pilane, Julia Lévy-Ndejuru, and Mónica Peralta.
*We encountered an issue with this audio recording and apologize for the low quality. We’re working to make sure that future language interpretations are much more clear and understandable!