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HAES is good and cool, and i'm glad HAES exists in the world, but HAES is not the same as fat politics. let me explain.
HAES stands for "health at every size."
on its most basic level, HAES means that being fat needn't stand in your way from pursuing actions that are healthy for you.
on its most basic level, HAES means that being fat needn't stand in your way from pursuing actions that are healthy for you.
you can find mainstream-ish HAES versions (mainstream except for the single factor of you being fat), which would mean eating and exercising the way mainstream advice advises and not changing those things because you're fat.
a cool things HAES has done is prove that you can improve your medical metrics while keeping your actions fatness-neutral.
you can also find HAES versions that are looser, more personalized, more focused on what type of eating and exercise makes your own PERSONAL body feel healthiest. some HAES versions are even breezily open to the piece of cake and a nap approach, when that's best for you.
HAES should always be fatness neutral, and like i said, HAES is cool.
but HAES is not the same as fat politics. fat politics is a liberation movement.
but HAES is not the same as fat politics. fat politics is a liberation movement.
fat politics addresses the STRUCTURAL OPPRESSION wielded against fat people.
fatphobia's worst against the fattest people; worst against fat Black and fat Native people; worse against fat POC than fat white people. it's worst against fat disabled people, fat trans people, fat disfigured people.
the more marginalizations a person has, the worse they are oppressed. fatness is one of those oppressions.
being fat hurts every aspect of a socialized life. wages, salaries, rentals, loans, hiring, homeowning, medical care, adoption, fostering, parenting, teaching, studenting, dating, legal prosecution, police violence, EVERYTHING.
that's fatphobia. that's what fatpol is fighting.
that's fatphobia. that's what fatpol is fighting.
fatpol is a movement. a social justice movement. when it's bad, it goes one-axis. when it's good, it works together with other social justice movements, and sometimes -- although clarity on the difference between types of oppression is crucial -- sometimes IS the other movements.
HAES is only about health. the "only" isn't bad -- it's about health, and it's fine for something to be about health!
but the broadest way HAES can operate lies in its work to bring medical care over into treating fat patients fairly and well. that's no small feat and nobody's succeeded yet. medicine as an institution, and HCPs as individuals, usually detest us.
i love HAES's work with that. i love it. it helps a lot.
and we've got a lot of other fatphobia we're working on too, over here in fatpol.
and we've got a lot of other fatphobia we're working on too, over here in fatpol.
one thing we're working on in fatpol, which it would be awesome if HAES incorporated more than they do (i'm speaking broadly, not criticizing anyone specific), is the following:
HEALTH IS NOT A MORAL IMPERATIVE.
HEALTH IS NOT A MORAL IMPERATIVE.
health is:
- never fully achievable
- differently achievable for different people
- never permanent
- deeply entwined with race, class, region, heredity, level of oppression, level of life stability, and more
health is not:
- a moral imperative
- never fully achievable
- differently achievable for different people
- never permanent
- deeply entwined with race, class, region, heredity, level of oppression, level of life stability, and more
health is not:
- a moral imperative
i don't wan to imply that HAES as a movement or practive goes around saying "health is a moral imperative!"
but many well-meaning fat individuals try to defend themselves from fatphobia with their health and/or their health actions.
but many well-meaning fat individuals try to defend themselves from fatphobia with their health and/or their health actions.
and i get it. fatphobia punches hard. it's tempting to grab any tool.
but this's why we need fatpol. fatpol says, health is not a moral imperative. you deserve respect, justice, & good treatment just for being a damn person. i don't care how the fuck fat (or unhealthy) you may be, or what your health actions may be. you deserve to not be oppressed.
if this thread was useful to you, or if you wish to support me, i have a patreon where i explain fatphobia in ways that are friendly to both newbies and oldbies. it's explictly aimed at fatphobia in media, but it's all relevant to regular life too. https://www.patreon.com/tommywearsboots/posts
thank you to @plusthisshow for adding that. absolutely yes. if you're being fatphobic, you ARE contributing to white supremacy.
and ableism, and transphobia, and other oppressions. as much as people fight this idea -- even SJ people -- the oppressions are together.
and ableism, and transphobia, and other oppressions. as much as people fight this idea -- even SJ people -- the oppressions are together.
guess how long it took for someone to claim that my thread impedes their bodily autonomy!
she's now tweeting about me with "I’m soooooo oppressive" so i'm blocking her. she's a smaller account than me (not that i'm big), so don't swamp her. if you wanna explain things to her genuinely, you can find her. don't tag me.
it's worth noting that she has "harm reduction" in her bio, and a rainbow. this is what i meant about SJ people not being any more open to fatpol than anyone else.
