Food Psych #248: COVID-19 Weight Stigma, Navigating the Medical System, and Finding Fat Liberation with Angelina Moles

Photographer: Khali MacIntyre

Fat-liberation activist Angelina Moles joins us to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic perpetuates oppression and trauma, her shift from body positivity to fat liberation, why subtle forms of weight stigma can sometimes be more harmful than overt ones, the trauma of medical fatphobia, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about how to dismantle the fatphobic belief that having a larger-bodied population is supposedly a barrier to universal healthcare. This interview was recorded in April 2020, before the recent uprising for racial justice.

Angelina is a fat liberationist who seeks to educate about the misinformation around bodies, weight stigma, and “health.” As an educator, Angelina teaches communication studies and is working on creating an online seminar on Fat Liberation and why we all need it. Angelina has a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Performance Studies and Fat Studies. They have created multiple performance pieces on fatphobia and how it affects people at an ideological, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized level. Angelina seeks to force fat into the conversation in order to have justice for fat people, especially super fats, disabled fats, and the most marginalized fat people. You can find Angelina and all her fat queer glory on their Instagram page @fiercefatfemme.

We Discuss:

  • The mixed messages that Angelina received about food growing up

  • How her mother’s bariatric surgery changed her relationship with food and her body

  • Her experiences with dieting and disordered eating throughout her childhood

  • Power dynamics, and their role in weight stigma and oppression

  • Why subtle forms of weight stigma can sometimes hurt more than overt ones

  • Intent vs impact

  • How she learned about body positivity

  • Her traumatic experiences of medical fatphobia

  • Why she decided to shift from body positivity to fat liberation

  • How her work in fat liberation changed her relationship with healthcare

  • Self-advocacy at the doctor’s office

  • Why it’s normal to struggle with self-advocacy and speaking up

  • The COVID-19 pandemic and how it has perpetuated certain forms of oppression

  • How the pandemic has affected relationships with food

  • The importance of self-care

  • Fatphobia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Resources Mentioned

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Listener Question of the Week

“Is health a moral obligation for the sake and effectiveness of universal healthcare?” —Julia

We Discuss: 

  • The nuance behind the phrase “health is not a moral obligation”

  • Why diet culture’s version of health is oppressive

  • Collective care as a form of social justice

  • Social determinants of health

  • How social determinants of health and individual behaviors contribute to health outcomes

Resources Mentioned: 

 
Christy HarrisonDieting, disordered eating, bariatric surgery, weight-loss surgery, power, weight stigma, fatphobia, oppression, body positivity, medical fatphobia, healthcare, fat liberation, advocacy, COVID-19, self-care, anti-diet, S720