DigitalCommons@Linfield

Weighing In: Coping with Stigmatization through the Fat Acceptance Movement and Weight Loss Surgery

Jereld R. Nicholson Library

This study investigates the social movement, Fat Acceptance, and the personal experiences and discourse of members in online forums that discuss topics such as advocacy and personal struggles, as well as the personal experiences and discourse with members of online groups that went through, or are about to go through, weight-loss surgery. Interviews with individuals from both groups were taken to supplement information for the study and allow for a more in-depth view into the individual experience. The Fat Acceptance movement is fighting against the discriminatory attitude in the modern American culture which idolizes thinness as being equal to healthy and beautiful, and fatness as unhealthy and ugly (Wann, 1998). At the same time that this movement fights for a shift in attitude towards people of size, the weight-loss industry is booming with products and procedures that have extreme negative side-effects which aren’t largely publicized. Weight-loss surgery, albeit deemed extreme, is also deemed a healthy choice for anyone that is considered fat for the simple reason that being fat in itself is viewed as unhealthy. However, to those that argue that fat is not in itself a “death sentence,” weight-loss surgery takes on a different meaning, one which is for the pure reason of beautification and at a very great risk (Wann, 1998). On the other hand, to those who had weight-loss surgery a movement that fights against the concept of health at any size can take on a greater meaning as well. I found that the Fat Acceptance Movement and the WLS (weight loss surgery) community generally opposed discrimination of people of size in society and mirrored each other’s arguments over issues of sizeism in the media and daily interactions.