This post has been removed and replaced with a response by the ASDAH president. More to come on this issue.
Hi everyone:
This is not the way I wanted to introduce myself to the membership, but here I am speaking on behalf of myself and the Board for ASDAH tonight.
Many members of the Board received emails from ASDAH members today after the blog post on weight loss surgery was posted on ASDAH’s website. We are sorry for the nature of this post and agree that posting it without warnings or commentary was a mistake. Bariatic surgery was one of the top requested topics by our members on the survey we sent out in February. In order for a blog to be published, it goes through edits by the Blog Committee. We acknowledge that the current process of publishing blogs has some major drawbacks and we are looking at solutions to this.
I know Alida Finnie personally and I am confident she meant no harm by it and was authentically expressing her personal perspective (but as a newcomer to HAES concepts and with a certain level of privilege). Whatever her intention, it is obvious that this post perpetuates the opression experienced by people who identify as fat and we do not wish to minimize the lived experience of our members. For this reason, we have removed this blog from our website. As one member pointed out to me, this blog post is “in direct opposition to ASDAH’s stated mission.“ That mission is to dismantle weight-centered health policies and practices, ensuring that people who live with multiple forms of oppression are focusing our work. As an organization, we stand firmly behind that statement.
These are much needed, difficult conversations, and we are working on finding the best way to have them. It is a reality that ASDAH has members who are in various stages of adopting weight-neutrality. We must hold firm to our values while supporting others to join us fully. We know this takes time.
The wisdom contained in the ASDAH membership is incredible and we are indebted to you for helping us improve the organization. If you would like to contribute to a resource, blog or webinar please get in touch.
Sincerely,
Julie Seale, ASDAH President 2017-2019