Let’s talk about fat phobia.

It honestly blows my mind that in this day and age, with all the things we could be worrying about, bettering ourselves or whether or not we remembered to defrost the chicken, there are still people walking around afraid of… fat bodies. And I don’t mean “afraid” like they’re startled by a balloon popping. I mean afraid in the way they treat people: with judgment, shame, condescension, and outright cruelty. Like, what?!

Fat phobia is real, and it’s everywhere, hidden in the little side glances at the grocery store, the way people treat you differently depending on your size, or how plus-size clothing is shoved in some sad little corner of the store like a dirty secret. It’s the doctor blaming every symptom on weight, the online trolls pretending to care about someone’s “health,” and the silent messages that say only thin bodies deserve to take up space, be loved, or wear the cute clothes. Yeah… no thanks.

And let me be clear: Fat phobia isn’t just about disliking fatness. It’s about discrimination. It’s about a system that values thinness above all else and acts like your worth is measured in inches. It impacts health care. It impacts job opportunities. It impacts self-worth. And it’s passed on so subtly, generation to generation, through comments like “you have such a pretty face,” or “you’ll feel so much better if you lose a little weight.” Heard that one before? I sure have.

What’s extra wild to me is that we’ve made so much progress in so many areas, mental health, gender, trauma, but when it comes to body size, the stigma is still so out loud. It’s like, “Wait, we’re still doing this?” We’ve all been conditioned by media, marketing, and social structures to believe thinner is better, healthier, more disciplined, more desirable. And that’s just not true. Bodies are diverse. Health is complex. And worth? Worth has absolutely nothing to do with size.

If you’ve ever felt judged, dismissed, or invisible because of your body, I’m sorry. Truly. And if you’re learning and unlearning this stuff like I am, welcome to the party. Let’s keep digging into where these ideas come from, how they show up, and how we push back.

Let’s start normalizing all bodies. Let’s be louder than the fat phobia.

Because the only thing we should be afraid of is another round of low-rise jeans coming back.