--->The Fatphobia Stops Here<---

Some days I wake up, get dressed, and take several moments to look at myself in the mirror.

"I'm fat."

This is something I say to myself or some rendition of it, and other days it hurts more than others. Some days it's a call to something I wish I wasn't. Other days, it's just me observing the space I occupy.

         I often times make these comments around my friends. "Brittany, don't say that! You're not fat!"
But, what if I am? What would be wrong with that? What is wrong with using that word?

         I call this interaction fatphobia. Fatphobia is defined as the pathological fear of fatness often manifested as negative attitude and stereotypes about fat people. Fatphobia is essentially stitched into our American culture, has become so embedded into our lives that it has become hard to recognize when we are even exhibiting fatphobia, much like my personal example before. Currently, Michigan is the only state that currently has a law in place that forbids employers from penalizing fat people in the work place, which  means the other 49 states have the ability to fire, deny promotions, or pay their fatter workers less. A 2017 survey found that many hiring managers tend to associate fatness with laziness, and are therefore less likely to hire a fat individual over their thin counterpart. Additionally, a separate survey done by primary care physicians found that they often view obese patients as awkward, unattractive, and noncompliant. Doctor Lilia Graue reported, "Doctors often fail to provide adequate and timely diagnosis and treatment due to obese and overweight assumptions."
          This assumption almost lost one individual their life. In 2018, Rebecca Hiles came forth and told her story of how she had coughing fits for years to the point it caused severe muscle spasms. Doctors repeated told her her symptoms would disappear if she lost weight, until one day her coughs were so severe she ended up in the ER diagnosed with a tumor on her bronchial tube resulting in the removal of an entire lung. If doctors hadn't focused so much on her weight, maybe this could have been preventable. This is a prime example why fatphobia needs to end, and instead should be transitioned into something more accepting of all body types.

          Body positivity has become quite a mainstream term across social media. Many body posts now a days will feature the hashtag #bodypositivity. Many individuals have confirmed that this movement has indeed changed body outlooks, which is great! It's creating a change in a society that puts a lot of pressure on how bodies are meant to look. Dove even launched an all inclusive body positivity ad, featuring bodies of all sizes and shapes with the message that real beauty is all beauty. This was a great movement, that was until people began to call out this movement for being too exclusive. Body positivity only seemed to go so far, far enough to only include three very distinct body types: thin, white, and cis. Very rarely would you see bigger bodies trending on these platforms under this tag. This is the issue, and the consistency to remain fatphobic, the lack of inclusivity of those who don't fit into the box, and this is where it needs to end.

How can we make body positivity, a rather exclusive movement, more like fat acceptance, where we acknowledge that it's okay to be a larger size? Author Virgie Tovar gave some examples of how the body positivity movement can move towards a more fat acceptance movement. One example is to have clearer demands for the body positivity movement, as it sits it leaves little of what it demands to come of supporting it, which is what may be leading to a rather exclusive environment. Another example is to change the face of the movement, stray away from simply highlighting the thin and white girls, for when bigger people are represented the empowerment increases. In a country where roughly 67% of women are considered plus size, the need for a movement more accepting and inclusive of fat. Seeing representation of yourself in the media as a fat individual, self esteem does increase and leaves longer lasting impacts. Fat is still seen a negative term, but if the movement body positivity became fat acceptance, then maybe we wouldn't see fat as bad anymore.

           In 2017, it was recorded that more than one third of adults in the United States were obese. It is medically proven that obesity is linked to more than 60 chronic diseases. If this is the case, why should we be promoting a positive outlook to the idea of fat? Believe it or not, medical doctors have recently called the BMI chart out as being a sham, and being no real indication of obesity. The BMI chart most often times than not, tends to label muscular athletic people as being overweight or even obese, so it clearly is not the scale to be using. So maybe it is okay to embrace your size, given that our most used scale to determine obesity is basically a sham? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Doctor William Johnson in the UK said, "There are clear differences between individuals in the extent to which obesity is bad." SO maybe we shouldn't assume the worst fo someone just because they appear fat? The aim is not to glorify obesity, it is instead aiming to create a space where others can live a life with dignity and not be shamed for being who they are. 

I am fat. I recognize that. I am bigger than the girl I sit next to in any of my classes. But being fat doesn't prevent me from being a leader, a dancer, a scholar, and many more. I am just as capable as someone who isn't fat, and I hope they can recognize that too, because being fat doesn't mean I incapable, it just makes me, me.

Wheels of Dance

Wheels. When asked to think of wheels, what is the first thing that comes to mind? They are fairly common in our everyday life. Wheels make cars, buses, and bikes move. We utilize wheels more often than we may take time to think about. Wheels essentially make up nearly every aspect of transportation in our lives. Even planes have wheels on them! And often times, wheels can become a persons only form of movement. According to data from 2016, 3.6 million people over the age of 15 use a wheelchair.

                Now, not to seem off topic here, but dance. When asked to think of dance, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it the pretty pink ballet shoes? Or the theatrical make up and hair? Grace and elegance of movements? While there is an unknown precise number of dancers in the United States, it is often a favorite activity than many toddler and youth are placed in to growing up. And while not every single tiny dancer sticks with it, it is still a popular hobby or activity among many, both young and old. 

                Have you ever thought of wheels and dance together? Might seem odd at first right but actually it is beginning to be more common than you think, but remains a challenge in the dance community. The challenge being the idea of creating a more inclusive environment. Dance, for the longest time, has been seen as an art that requires legs, arms, and feet to do. You need to be able to use your legs and feet to be able to dance, but many are beginning to challenge this idea. Starting back in the 1980's, work began to create a more inclusive dance environment. One that allowed space for those with or without disabilities. This movement has led to book publishes that instruct wheelchair dancing, as well as the rise of a consistent set up of available classes. That is one of the biggest challenges this movement faces.

              By changing the exclusivity of the dance community, we can remove the barriers that may hold back disabled individuals in society. Disabled people, because of the stigma that surrounds them and the world they live in, are often times found to be more depressed than someone otherwise not considered disabled. Studies have shown, that by being included in activities and events that would otherwise not accommodate for the disabled, these individuals are found to have decreased levels of depression. By creating more inclusive dance environments, we can limit depression in these disabled individuals by having them more involved.

             It may be easy to argue, how can dance be taught to accommodate disabled persons? How do we change a teaching structure and pedagogy that has been the same since dance maybe begun? Not one, or two, but many dance teachers have managed to create new lesson plans that lead to benefits to those limited to wheelchairs and still wanting to dance. They have not only managed to adapt their lesson plans, but they have also managed to end the dance season with these dancers bound to wheelchairs having learned and achieved the same learning objectives as non-disabled dancers in the same class. So it can be possible and can be done. Kitty Lunn is one example of how the impossible can be possible. Lunn experienced a tragic accident that left her bound to a wheelchair, yet she did not let that disable her from dancing. She found that her biggest barrier was not the physical dancing, but instead the attitude that surrounded her in those dance classes. Long after this experience, she says this discriminatory attitude is still prevalent in classes, and should be something we look to change. Kitty Lunn said, "The worst kind of discrimination ever is someone judging what a person is capable of learning." If we don't limit who can enter a school classroom, why should a learning dance class be seen as any different?

            Today, there are many organizations, groups, and competitions based on wheelchair dancing. So much, that if one choose to begin dancing they could. The only issue that still surrounds them is the lack of inclusivity in dance classes outside of those groups. Just because these bodies are different, does that mean we should keep them segregated away from the standard? Debra Cash once said "If we look at society as being stronger when it incorporates more voices, adding the voice of physically integrated dance to the mix is a good thing." If we can simply add a little change, we could, by Cash's standards, create a stronger society by being more inclusive.

           So, while wheels and dance may not be the first two things one might think to cross and combine, but it is possible and leads to extraordinary outcomes. By doing this we can create a more inclusive dance community and environment, as well as change the ableist mentality that surrounds activities like this. Instead of working against the disabled, we can work alongside them.