Community Engagement for Redefining Health: Eradicating Fatphobia as a Preventive Measure for Eating Disorders and Body Dissatisfaction

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of theRequirements of the Renée Crown University Honors Program at

Syracuse University

Taylor Krzeminski

Candidate for Bachelor of Arts Degreeand Renée Crown University Honors

Spring 2020

Honors Thesis in Citizenship and Civic Engagement

Thesis Advisor: Dr. Margaret Thompson, Associate Professorof History and Political Science

Thesis Reader: Harriet Brown, Professor of Magazine,News and Digital Journalism

Honors Director: Dr. Danielle Smith, Director

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Abstract

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Citizenship and Civic Engagement (CCE) program and the Renee Crown Honors Program, this thesis details 1) my initial research on the topic and 2) my action plan to develop a community-based support system on the Syracuse University campus. This thesis analyzes the community engagement landscape which offers support to those suffering from eating disorders, disordered eating and fatphobia. I argue that community engagement is an expansion on support networks, which are already proven to be successful in eating disorder treatment and sustained recovery. Community engagement spaces, both in-person and online, could fill the gap for those who don’t have access to support networks or traditional eating disorder treatment methods, such as hospitalization. Moreover, community engagement allows for new norms to be set within a community and gives tools to those engaging to educate others. Thus, I conclude that community engagement can serve as a preventive measure for eating disorders by redefining norms regarding health and weight.

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Executive Summary

The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) estimates that 20 million women and

10 million men in the United States will have an eating disorder at some point in their lives.

Millions more will experience disordered eating and body dissatisfaction. While traditional

dieting is decreasing, fatphobia is not. The war on obesity has sparked an obsession with health

that is anti-diet but still focused on losing weight through restriction. Health trends vary widely,

are often contradictory, and advise people to cut out entire food groups, such as carbohydrates, to

maintain a healthy weight. Noting the culture of anti-fatness and dieting in America contributing

to eating disorder prevalence, I researched the potential of community engagement to redefine

norms surrounding health. By redefining health to normalize fat bodies, I argue eating disorders

can largely be prevented.

Research on eating disorder recovery already establishes support systems as critical for

sustained or life-long recovery. Eating disorder treatment often incorporates group therapy and

group activities, in addition to individual sessions with a therapist, psychiatrist and/or

nutritionist. Support systems are those identified by a patient that they can rely on throughout

recovery and someone to hold them accountable. Typically, this usually consists of a nutritionist

or dietician, a therapist, family members and close friends. While support systems are deemed

vital for eating disorder recovery, community engagement is often overlooked as a potential

resource. While this may not be suitable for all in recovery, community spaces provide much

needed support for those without access to traditional treatment or support networks.

In Section 3, I discuss my MAX 302 research on traditional, in-person eating disorder

treatment and the potential of online spaces, including social media, to serve as a resource for

those who do not have access to in-person treatment for a myriad of reasons. Eating disorder

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treatment is often inaccessible, due to high costs, stigma, socioeconomic and cultural factors, and

diagnostic criteria. While I do not advocate for online spaces to be a substitute to eating disorder

treatment, my research highlights the successes of online support groups for those without access

to admit themselves into in-person treatment or intensive outpatient therapy. This research was

done in collaboration with my community partner, Ophelia’s Place, a local non-profit in

Syracuse. Working to redefine health and beauty via community spaces, Ophelia’s Place also

offers online support, as well as online educational programs.

The research presented in Section 3 is the foundation for my action plan, discussed in

Section 4. In the Citizenship and Civic Engagement program at Syracuse University, seniors

must develop an action plan, which addresses a need or challenge in the community. Building off

the work done by Ophelia’s Place in the Syracuse community, I spent the summer before my

senior year designing and developing a registered-student organization (RSO) which would

provide a community space at the Syracuse University campus for those struggling with body

image: Students United for Body Acceptance (SUBA). This process included an application, an

interview with the RSO board, recruiting executive board members, and writing a constitution. In

addition, I created several social media pages for this RSO in order to recruit members and

spread our name around campus. Throughout the rest of my senior year, the e-board and I

attended workshops, held interest events and planned events for the spring semester, which

would be our first semester as an official RSO on campus.

Throughout this thesis I will be discussing two important issues in addition to discussing

my research over the past two years: 1) applying intersectionality theory to fatphobia and eating

disorder studies and 2) the relationship between fatphobia, diet culture and eating disorders. It

would be irresponsible to not be cognizant of the different experiences for those struggling with

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body image based on factors such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, ability and

other identities, which is why I apply intersectionality theory to the research presented

throughout this paper. Additionally, it is imperative to understand that fatphobia has created the

diet industry, which has subsequently normalized dieting and disordered eating. These behaviors

are justified as they prevent people from becoming fat. Without fatphobia, we wouldn’t have diet

culture or high rates of eating disorders; it would be negligent for me to ignore the intrinsic

connections between these factors in relationship to my thesis. Thus, these two important issues

are weaved into each section of this thesis to properly address institutional barriers which

continue the toxic culture we live in.

Section 5 of this thesis integrates all previous sections into a conclusion: community

engagement and community-based spaces are a possible tool to redefine health and beauty and

subsequently a preventive measure for eating disorders. While in-person community spaces

would be ideal, I recognize that they are not always possible, accessible or available. Section 5

expands on the concept of community, particularly highlighting a shared identity, struggle or

experience as necessary for a community-based space to thrive. Due to this definition,

community engagement for body acceptance should not be restricted to a geographical location,

but accessible to all impacted by fatphobia. I argue, then, that both in-person and online

community spaces can be effective in redefining health and curbing eating disorder rates. I use

not only literature, research and scholarly sources to defend my conclusion, but I also point to

real life examples of body positive community spaces, such as non-profits, gyms or fitness

centers, online educational programs and more.

I conclude by suggesting eating disorder treatment centers integrate educational learning

into their programs about the history of fatphobia and institutions which enforce diet culture in

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America. Nutrition lessons, for example, could integrate outside media such as podcasts to

highlight personal experiences to the institutional level. Moreover, community engagement

should be seen as a valid tool for redefining health and beauty norms, as well as a viable support

network for those with body image issues, disordered eating habits or eating disorders. While

traditional support networks are crucial to a sustainable recovery, eating disorder treatment

centers should encourage patients to engage with their communities on topics related to eating

disorders, such as fatphobia or diet culture. I urge treatment centers to recommend local or online

community-based resources which focus on recovery and body acceptance to patients to ensure

ongoing learning and sustained recovery.

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Table of ContentsPreface……………………………………………………………...………... 8

Advice to future honors students……………………….……..………..…. 10

Acknowledgements………………………………………….…...….……..... 12

1. Section 1: Introduction and Research Questions……………………..... 13

2. Section 2: Literature Review…………………………………...…….…. 16

i. Introduction………………………….……………………………. 16

ii. Fatphobia and Activism……………………………..…………… 16

3. Section 3: MAX 302 Research………………....……………………… 23

i. Overview…………………………………………………………. 23

ii. Community Partner……………………………………………….. 23

iii. Research……………………………………………………........... 24

iv. Final Presentation………………………………………………… 32

4. Section 4: CCE Action Plan……………………………………………… 35

i. Overview…………………………………………………………… 35

ii. Why SUBA?....................................................................................... 35

iii. Goals, Mission and Vision………………………………………… 36

iv. Event Layout……………………………………………………….. 38

v. Final Presentation………………………………………………….. 43

vi. Detailed Plan for the Action………………………………………. 47

vii. Final Report……………………………………………………….. 49

5. Section 5: Community Engagement to End Fatphobia………………….. 63

i. Overview…………………………………………………………… 63

ii. Collective Compassion… ………………………………………….. 64

iii. Fat Positivity for Sustained Recovery……………………………… 66

iv. Instances of Community……………………………………………. 69

v. Conclusion…………………………………………………………. 82

6. Appendix………………………………………………………………….. 84

7. Works Cited……………………………………………………………….. 88

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Preface

“Without community there is no liberation… but community must not mean a shedding of our

differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist.” – Audre Lorde

The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Other Disorders reports that at least

30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the United States.

Seventy-nine percent of girls and 85% of women opt out of important life events when they feel

insecure about their appearance, according to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA).

Moreover, NEDA reports 9 out of 10 women will stop eating and risk their health when they feel

bad about their bodies.

It is undeniable that our society has normalized self-hatred and manipulation of our

bodies. Fat bodies, in particular, have been targeted, as the United States is at war with obesity,

subsequently creating a weight loss industry worth $72 billion USD. With such strong

encouragement to hate your body, it is no surprise that body dissatisfaction is at unprecedented

levels. According to Susan Ice, MD and expert in eating disorders, the incidence of eating

disorders has doubled since the 1960’s. It is important to note that due to the war on obesity,

eating disorders and disordered eating are encouraged and normalized as a means of losing

weight and preventing the existence of fat bodies. Without removing fat stigma, we cannot live

in a world without eating disorders.

In the Citizenship and Civic Engagement (CCE) department, I have learned the incredible

power of community engagement. Essentially, CCE is activism informed by rigorous

scholarship. Not only does community engagement offer support and resources to communities,

it can be used as a tool for changing norms within a community. While uniting over a common

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issue, folks will share, teach others, and learn. This form of education will allow people to be

confident to engage in these discussions with others in their lives and address biases which

directly impact them and their communities. The foundation of CCE is both civic engagement

and scholarly rigor, implementing community solutions influenced by extensive quantitative and

qualitative research at both the macro and micro levels. This project will present community-

based preventive measures for eating disorders by engaging with scholarly works on both

fatphobia and eating disorders, as well as analyzing the contemporary body acceptance

community engagement landscape. As a CCE student, I strongly believe that tackling the issue

of eating disorders cannot be done only through scholarly research or only through community

service. Educating and engaging with our communities on the topic of eating disorders and

fatphobia must be informed by scholarly work on the impacts of fatphobia and research on

effective community tools for engagement.

Important terminology included throughout this paper:Fat – A neutral word to describe someone’s body and will be used to replace terms such as overweight, obese, or morbidly obese.Straight size – Thin people who fall into the BMI category of ‘healthy,’ and are seen largely by society of having a healthy or average size body.Small fat – Falls between 1X-2X or size 18 and lower.Mid fat – Falls between 2X-3X or size 20-24.Super fat – Falls between 4X-5X or size 26-32.Infinifat – 6X and higher; sizes 34 and higher.BMI – Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. It is used in medical fields to be an indicator of health related to one’s weight.Eating disorders – A range of psychological disorders characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits.Disordered eating – A range of irregular eating behaviors which may or may not warrant eating disorder diagnosis.Anorexia nervosa - An eating disorder characterized by weight loss (or lack of appropriate weight gain in growing children); difficulties maintaining an appropriate body weight for height, age, and stature; and, in many individuals, distorted body image.Bulimia nervosa - Characterized by a cycle of binge eating and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting designed to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating.

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Binge eating disorder - Characterized by recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food; a feeling of a loss of control during the binge; experiencing shame, distress or guilt afterwards; and not regularly using unhealthy compensatory measures to counter the binge eating.NOTE: Other eating disorders may be mentioned in this paper, with definition. Advice to Future Honors Students

“I am powerful. My recovery can create space and power to influence an image-obsessed world

rooted in white, male supremacy.” – Ionah Scully

Before I admitted myself to a part-time hospitalization program in the summer of 2018, I

had an unexplainable feeling for discussing eating disorders academically. Somehow, I felt

selfish discussing an issue which I suffered from. My first two years at Syracuse University, I

didn’t want to reduce my academic work to me, me, me, me. Once I entered recovery, I realized

how revolutionary recovery truly is. My resistance to body discrimination and diet culture

through recovery is bigger than accepting my appearance; this is resistance to racism, to sexism,

to ableism, to capitalism profiting off our misery.

Firstly, if you are passionate about something, explore it for your thesis. I spent so much

of my life trying to run away from this topic. The past two years, which I have dedicated to

learning about fatphobia and the impact of anti-fatness on our society, have been the happiest,

most fulfilling years of my life. Don’t assume your personal connection to an issue is a

weakness, that it makes you biased. If you aren’t passionate about something, it will show – not

only to yourself, but to everyone around you. This fire inside of you could potentially provide us

with a better world. We need it.

Second, recognize your privilege when conducting any scholarly work which involves a

community. As a woman with an eating disorder, a woman in active recovery, and a woman

whose voice is bigger than her body, I’ve realized my duty in this world is to change how we

think about fat people. In doing this, I realized that while I am susceptible to weight-loss

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messages in the same way that fat people are, I held privilege in this space. I am a white woman,

who, due to her eating disorder and subsequent medical issues, is thin. I wanted to be a leader, to

trailblaze in this research because of what it has done to my life. But I slowly recognized, I

needed to be an ally just as much, if not more, than a leader. Amplify the voices of those around

you through your thesis.

And lastly, be ambitious. When I first proposed my honors thesis, I wanted to develop a

fat studies minor at Syracuse University and help the Falk School develop new curriculum for

health at every size and intuitive eating. If I ever wanted to accomplish this, I would have needed

to begin this project the first day of freshman year. My big dreams didn’t leave me stranded; if

anything, it helped me narrow in on a project which better reflected my CCE major, which this

thesis is in collaboration with. It is always best to start big than small. Remember that people will

come after you who can hopefully take your project and get it to that big dream.

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Acknowledgements

I dedicate this thesis to any person who has ever hated their body.

Thank you, Megan Dietz for encouraging me to keep on in recovery;

Thank you, Centre Syracuse for helping me realize how severe my eating disorder was;

Thank you, Centre Syracuse for giving me friends who were crucial to my understanding of

eating disorders and fatphobia;

Thank you, Poland for giving me a chance to experience a life free of judgement;

Thank you, Harriet Brown for the work you do in body liberation, especially at Syracuse;

Thank you to all the amazing people educating our communities about fatphobia and the dangers

of eating disorders;

Thank you to Ophelia’s Place for giving me educational opportunities and community-based

tools to learn and teach others about body acceptance;

And finally, thank you to all the faculty who have supported me in my recovery, creating and

implementing my Action Plan, and in writing this thesis: Margaret Susan Thompson, Julia

White, Peter Wilcoxen, Harriet Brown, Dena Larsen and the staff at Ophelia’s Place.

I would also like to thank Dr. Evan Weissman for his role at Syracuse University and in the

Syracuse community. He was passionate about social justice related to food security and

nutrition from an anti-fatphobia perspective. While I only knew Evan for a few months before

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his passing, I am eternally grateful for his work in this field. This fight will go on in your

memory.

Section 1 - Introduction and Research Questions

The public health concern about fat bodies, often referred to as “the obesity epidemic,”

and the subsequent movement to eradicate fat bodies, the “war on obesity,” is more sinister than

‘health’ advocates would have one believe. While many people claim they are simply concerned

about the health of fat strangers, this ‘concern’ comes from a false assumption that weight, body

size, and health are synonymous to one another. However, medicalizing weight and alienating fat

people has not made people healthier; instead of thin, “healthy” people, most American are stuck

in endless dieting cycles, creating poorer health, more stress, and more body dissatisfaction,

eating disorders, and shame.

The public debate on the worthiness and existence of fat peoples lacks knowledge of and

implementation of the sociological imagination. Society, history and biography are inseparable

and must be taken into account when analyzing social issues. In exploring the impact fatphobia

has on physical and mental health, of both fat peoples and straight size peoples, I will analyze the

ways in which fatphobia is connected to history and impacts individuals and the society they live

in. This lens also allows us to take into consideration public, social or political movements

related to health, both anti-fat and pro-fat, and how they have shaped the lives of Americans.

The impact of fatphobia extends beyond individuals and their personal perceptions. As I

will illustrate in the literature review and my own research, fatphobia has created a society that

fears certain bodies, mainly for aesthetic purposes disguised as well-meaning concern. This

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fearmongering has had serious health impacts, physically and mentally, for millions of

Americans. Diet culture promotes and glorifies restriction, disordered eating and eating

disorders. 35% of those who are “occasional dieters” will find themselves progressing to

disordered eating or pathological dieting, and an alarming number – 25% - will develop an eating

disorder (Covey). A 2011 study found eating disorders on college campuses rose to 25% for men

and 32% for women, an almost 10% increase for both groups over the past 13 years (White). It is

extremely important to understand the connections between diet culture and disordered eating to

create preventive measures.

In my research, I will analyze and hopefully further the answers to the following

questions: What role has social media played in the fat acceptance movement, particularly the

development of recovery spaces on the internet? In what ways do the fat and eating disorder

communities overlap? How important are community spaces for education and prevention? How

will eradicating fatphobia serve as a preventive measure? These questions are essential to

building on previous scholarly work dedicated to fatphobia and ending discrimination against fat

peoples. Particularly, these questions serve as building blocks for my action plan, described in

Section 4. In order to create an action plan, one must understand the ways that fat discrimination,

diet culture and eating disorders are connected, and that re-education about these topics is crucial

to eradicating fatphobia. Through this research paper, I argue that addressing the

interconnectedness of these topics shows why this problem is so important, and how eradicating

fatphobia is an absolute necessity to end restrictive behaviors and eating disorders. Further,

establishing public and community spaces which educate those in their areas about these issues

will redefine health norms, lessening the impacts of fatphobia and diet culture.

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The topic of eating disorders has long been perceived as an issue that only impacts thin,

white, middle-class and wealthy women. This perception of eating disorders perpetuates

dangerous myths which are intertwined with institutions of oppression, such as the patriarchy,

racism, fatphobia, ableism, classism, heteronormativity and more. It is exceptionally important to

the issue of preventive measures in relation to eating disorders to be mindful of these

institutional intersections in the experience of fatphobia and eating disorders.

Of particular importance to this research is the perpetuation of Eurocentric and ableist

beauty standards by diet culture and fatphobia. One of the key components to fat shaming and

weight policing is the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a value derived from the height and

mass of a person, used to place people into the following categories: underweight, normal

weight, overweight, obese and morbidly obese. Created by Adolphe Quetelet, notably not a

doctor or medical professional, in the 19th century, the BMI was intended to collect statistics, not

be a measure that equated health and weight (Friend). However, the BMI was subsequently used

over the next centuries as evidence for racial superiority and eugenic movements, particularly in

defining who is worthy enough to reproduce and exist.

Health and science both have been racialized, leaving harmful legacies and trauma in the

practices and careers related to them today. These fields have not only been racialized in

America, but around the globe in efforts to establish white supremacy, particularly through

restricting reproductive rights and reasoning for genocide (Friend). Further, the racialization of

bodies, especially referring to some bodies as “degeneracies”, has a profound impact on people’s

experiences. One long-term impact of this is that people of color are significantly less likely to

receive help for their eating issues (NEDA). That is why it is of particular importance for this

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thesis to address the racial beginnings of fatphobia, and how this institution still persists today in

discussions of fat bodies, as well as disordered eating and eating disorders.

While race is one of the largest power institutions at play, others create differences of

experience and difference in access to treatment. More about marginalization, intersectionality

and access to traditional treatment programs can be found in Section 4, sub-section 3.

Section 2 - Literature Review

Introduction

In both Section 3, “MAX 302 Research” and 4, “CCE Action Plan,” I will discuss

literature which informed my research for those projects, independent of this thesis. The

literature review for this thesis has evolved and developed from my preliminary research in both

MAX 302 and 401; thus, what is included in this literature review builds upon those texts to

address the research question: can community engagement be a tool to redefine health? While

literature from Section 3 and 4 may be incorporated here, the works discussed here contribute to

my thesis in different ways to address my research questions, particularly as it relates to history,

fat activism and body liberation. Current literature regarding these topics are disconnected from

one another. For example, research on fatphobia does not discuss community engagement, and

vice versa. This thesis utilizes existing literature on both topics to theorize how community

engagement can end fatphobia, and how those with body dissatisfaction can utilize community

spaces as a means of recovery. I would also like to note that since most literature discussing

fatness and eating disorders is medicalized and does not include a social advocacy approach,

some resources used in this literature review are not ‘scholarly’ but adequately addresses and

informs my topic.

Fatphobia and Activism

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In the summer of 1994, Marilyn Wann printed a ‘zine, a small-circulation self-published

work, entitled FAT!SO?, dedicated to people who don’t apologize for their size. In 1998, the

book FAT!SO? was published, a quirky and artistic approach to taking on the fear of fat. Instead

of hating our appearance, or obsessing over losing weight and diets, Wann offers an alternative:

some people are fat… and so what? While not a traditional research book like the former works

discussed, Wann still offers research of the stigma and discrimination fat peoples face. Most

significant about FAT!SO? is the movement and community it created. In 1996, Wann created a

FAT!SO? website which featured a discussion board called Hank’s Gab Café, where members

can connect with other fat people and potentially build relationships and friendships. Throughout

FAT!SO?, Wann highlights “success stories” of the café, such as a married couple meeting for

the first time on the website (85). Another success story describes the story of a young woman

who entered treatment and recovery after visiting the discussion forum (Wann 100-103). For my

thesis, Wann’s creative approaches to building community resonated with me. FAT!SO?

showcases the importance of connection and community for living undeniably as oneself. It also

highlights the accessibility of using online platforms as a means of community building. Since

this book was published in 1998, some of the information is outdated but can be easily

supplemented with other literature, some of which are mentioned above.

Mentioned in several works on body acceptance is the Health at Every Size (HAES)

movement, which has its origins in the 1960’s with the fat acceptance movement. Several books

in the 1980’s, such as Diets Don’t Work by Bob Schwartz (1982), discussed intuitive eating,

natural weight and set-point theory, and the problem with dieting, all of which furthered the idea

of HAES. The Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH), a non-profit, owns the

trademark for HAES and promotes HAES as a holistic approach to health. Although ASDAH

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owns the trademark, author Lindo Bacon’s 2008 book Health at Every Size: The Surprising

Truth About Your Weight helped popularize the movement and transformed weight discourse.

Health at Every Size focuses on weight and health from a scientific perspective, as Bacon was

formerly a psychotherapist specializing in eating disorders and has several degrees in

physiology, psychology, exercise science and nutrition. The discourse of the book intertwines

academic expertise, clinical experience and social justice to shift the discussion from weight to

holistic well-being.

While HAES is based in nutrition and science, it also has significant psychological and

social dimensions. For those with no knowledge on the topic, the book may be hard to digest.

However, the facts presented to us from the weight loss and diet industry are easily checked by

Bacon and the research they present proves vital to informing the work of nutritionists,

dieticians, and eating disorder specialists. Further, Bacon’s in-depth and multidimensional

analysis serves as a grounded and factual resource for those struggling with eating disorders,

disordered eating or body dissatisfaction. The narrative Bacon presents, as well as the HAES

movement, was crucial in my thesis, particularly when researching non-profits, local

organizations and local health care providers. Health at Every Size provided insight into

categorizing the work done by various community partners and organizations, and if it aligned

with a body acceptance or body neutral stance.

Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture by Amy Farrell documents the

transition of fatness from positive to negative. Farrell’s primary argument throughout the book is

that fat stigma existed prior to any worries about fatness and health. Beginning in the 17 th

century, philosophers and scientists began to designate fatness as a marker of inferiority: “a fat

body, then, was a primitive body, lower on the scale of civilization and highly sexual” (Farrell

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67). Contrary to literature prior to this book in 2011, Farrell’s analysis of race, colonization and

fatness is profound. While keeping in mind the impacts of race on fat women’s bodies, Fat

Shame primarily focuses on the impact of fatness on women, feminism and citizenship and the

diet industry. Farrell uses multi-media to lead readers through the construction of fat stigma,

such as postcards, posters, and flyers throughout the 20th century. Chapter 6 of Farrell’s narrative,

“Refusing to Apologize,” addresses the social movement of fat activism: “the ways that fat

“revolting bodies” … have chosen to revolt against the idea of the thin, civilized body” (139).

Farrell’s analysis of the fat revolution and its various forms served as a resource for Section 5 of

this thesis, which discusses community engagement as a tool for fat liberation and eating

disorder recovery. I build off her ideas of social activism and incorporate community support as

another valuable part of the work done to eradicate fatphobia.

Although previous works discuss the relationship between the diet industry, the medical

complex, and fatphobia, Harriet Brown’s Body of Truth: How Science, History and Culture

Drive Our Obsession with Weight – and What We Can Do About It dives deep into the perceived

truths regarding health and weight. Brown builds on Farrell’s discussion regarding fatphobia and

pharmaceutical companies, health care providers and medical professionals: “the more weight

loss is reframed as “obesity treatment” best left to medical professionals, the more doctors have

to gain from it” (100). Brown’s analysis frames America’s obsession with fatness as one not out

of concern but one based out of capitalist greed and consumer culture, with the goal of making

money. In describing various dieting trends and programs throughout the decades, we see an

eerie similarity to the current diet industry which markets unsafe treatments as a means of saving

fat people from themselves. Moreover, Brown illustrates how fatphobia as a systemic institution

impacts people’s lives, their relationship with their bodies and their mental health.

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The critical discussion on profit, consumer culture and the diet industry in Body of Truth

provided a foundation for this thesis and my research. The scientific based research into

discounting the medical connection between weight and health proved vital in my research and

my suggestions for eating disorder treatment programs. The final chapter, “Now What?,”

discusses what we can do with this new information. Brown addresses various social movements

which aim to address fatphobia and reshape the dominant narrative about health, such as intuitive

eating, Health At Every Size (HAES), and online spaces. Brown leaves readers with a call to

action: challenge the mainstream messages and narratives about health and weight. I build off of

Brown’s suggestions and encourage those struggling with eating disorders, disordered eating or

body dissatisfaction to seek out community spaces as a means of challenging the dominant,

fatphobic narrative about health and beauty.

The Body is Not an Apology, published in 2018 by Sonya Renee Taylor, is a call-to-

action for readers to begin their radical self-love journey. Taylor argues that radical self-love

must be the beginning to eradicating oppressive systems and institutions which divide society.

Not only will self-love heal the wounds inflicted on us by these systems, it also empowers us to

remove these systems, and thus, creating a more compassionate and understanding world. The

particular systems Taylor encourages readers to interrupt are those which perpetuate body shame

and discrimination. Throughout the book, Taylor challenges readers to think critically about

systemic oppression, critically analyze body-based choices and provides tools to breakdown

body shame. Taylor focuses on the importance of community for achieving a more equitable

world for all peoples, which was critical to my theory surrounding community engagement and

body acceptance work. In section five, I elaborate on Taylor’s ideas of radical self-love and

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community and argue they serve as key components to fat positivity and preventing eating

disorders.

Sabrina Strings in her groundbreaking book Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins

of Fat Phobia argues that our contemporary obsession with thinness isn’t about health, but a

means of using the body to validate racial fears. She utilizes art, philosophy, religion, media

coverage and personal accounts to create a historical narrative on anti-fatness. Strings begins in

the Renaissance, addressing the beauty associated throughout this era with voluptuous bodies,

and notes that “Black women were incorporated into the High Renaissance rhetoric and imagery

of beauty” (9). However, in the 18th century, the size and shape of the body became increasingly

linked to race among the acceleration of the slave trade: “black Africans… could be defined by

both their dark skin and their enormity” (Strings 77). Gluttony was inherent to the black African.

In addition, Fat, African women during this time were being touted around Europe as spectacles,

most notably the Hottentot Venus, Sara Baartman (Strings 93). Her size was explicitly linked to

her race and shown as evidence of innate African savagery (Strings 93-95). While racial science

at this time was connecting gluttony and corpulence to African women, the values of discipline

were being associated with white women.

In the introduction, Strings addresses how her book adds to the current literature

landscape and fills gaps related to race, gender, class and medicine. While scholars have

previously demonstrated the fear of fatness disproportionately targets Black women, they fail to

explain how fatness and Blackness became connected (Strings 5). Strings notes that her research

addresses a gap in Amy Farrell’s 2011 book Fat Shame: “it [Fat Shame] underscores the

entwined racial past of fat stigma and the thin ideal. The book does not explore, however, how

these racial connotations developed, nor does it explain the centrality of anti-blackness within

22

them” (5). Strings also addresses the so-called obesity epidemic and the ways in which race,

aesthetics, and medicine play a role in leveraging the epidemic against women (11). This work

played a large role in my research, particularly connecting my findings on the community

engagement landscape to the complex relationship between colonialism, slavery, and fatphobia.

There is a small amount of research done about online spaces and eating disorder

recovery, which proved valuable to my assessment of community spaces. In-person community

spaces are easier to monitor and facilitate than online programs, as various websites promote

eating disorders, disordered eating and restrict. The study “Internet and Patient Empowerment in

Individuals with Symptoms of an Eating Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of a pro-

Recovery Focused e-Community” explores Proud2BMe, which was designed as an alternative to

pro-ED websites and provides a safe space for recovery empowerment. The study concludes that

online platforms allow for community connections, experience sharing and progress recognition,

all of which may be key to developing successful e-health initiatives.

In 2016, McNamara and Parsons conducted a study entitled “'Everyone Here Wants

Everyone Else to Get Better': The Role of Social Identity in Eating Disorder Recovery.” For

successful eating disorder recovery, individuals must find identity beyond their disordered

behavior or diagnosis, if applicable. This study explores how a shared identity can help peoples

with eating disorders in their recovery process. Illness can serve as connection between people

and create support networks; for those looking to recover, this can be incredibly helpful. This

research looks at online support groups to explore social identity and eating disorders and finds

that online spaces facilitate a construction of recovery identity over illness identity. It also allows

those within the online space to develop norms and encourages active treatment and non-

23

disordered behaviors. Identity, then, could be key in developing community and support groups,

which are identified as crucial components for successful recovery.

Largely missing from all of these sources, except for an occasional discussion, is the tools

available for fat peoples to build community and participate in social movements. My thesis

attempts to address this shortcoming of literature and research on the topic of fatphobia,

particularly in research on eating disorder recovery. Although the 2 studies above explicitly refer

to recovery for eating disorder patients, the authors analyzed the power of social identity,

experience and community in recovering from self-hatred. It is also important to note that having

an eating disorder does not mean that person isn’t living in a fat body, so it is crucial for research

to broaden their scope and discussion on community spaces.

Section 3 - MAX 302 Research

Overview

The MAX 302 class, Civic Engagement Research Seminar, allows junior CCE majors to

partner with a community organization to tackle community issues and engage in research of

their choosing. While an internship or community placement was not mandatory, I reached out to

Ophelia’s Place, a local non-profit in Liverpool that works to redefine health and beauty. Once a

Syracuse University ambassador and intern for Ophelia’s Place, I wanted to focus my research

for MAX 302 on a topic connected to their mission. I chose to focus on online recovery spaces –

not just for those who have clinical eating disorders, but those recovering from diet culture in

general. There are a lot of issues surrounding online spaces, particularly social media, in regard

to recovery due to pro-eating disorder or anti-fat sentiments. However, those without access to

traditional treatment spaces, may need online support as an alternative.

Community Partner

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In developing my research question, I wanted it to reflect on my community partner,

Ophelia’s Place, and their mission. Their mission is “to provide support, access to treatment, and

education that raises awareness and reduces shame and stigma, for anyone impacted by eating

disorders, disordered eating, and negative body image” (Ophelia’s Place). The research question

I decided on reflected on both the work Ophelia’s Place does, and the ways in which their online

platforms can be bettered to support those without access to the traditional treatment they refer

to.

Throughout the semester, I conducted interviews with mental health professionals and

eating disorder experts, such as Jill Catherine, Kristen Murray, and Holli Zhering. As a student

ambassador, I also got to take The Every Body is Beautiful digital course for free, a “4 month

online course, designed to help you gain a deeper understanding around eating disorder

prevention and intervention, and strengthen your sense of body respect on both a personal and

collective level” (Ophelia’s Place). In this course, I was able to access a support network and

open forum, connecting me with others working to complete the program.

The Every Body is Beautiful course requires you to view and reflect on eight expert

interviews, read a book monthly and join a video call discussion on it, and to complete the Body

Project Training. The books include The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor,

Measuring Health from the Inside by Annika Kahm and Carolyn Chaffee, Health at Every Size

by Linda Bacon and Embody by Connie Sobczak. Working closely with this educational

program is Dena Larsen and Holly Lowery, two women who personally suffered with eating

disorders and have turned their recovery into a career, fighting for preventive measures.

To wrap up my on-campus involvement with Ophelia’s Place, I hosted a Body Project

Training. While I only had two participants, the training seemed to have great impact on those

25

who attended. I had brought donuts to the discussion, and put the leftovers in Bird Library, as

well as with copies of the one-pager of in-person resources, which can be found below in Section

Four – Final Presentation. When I returned later that day, all the donuts and one-pagers were

gone. This experience with Ophelia’s Place set in stone my decision to continue working with

them for my Action Plan, to fill an on-campus hole via their mission and the tools they gave me

through their educational programs.

Research

a. Question and Background

Ophelia’s Place inspired my research question in many ways. Two of these inspirations,

however, are of great importance to this thesis and the work of preventive measures for eating

disorders. Firstly, Ophelia’s Place is a non-profit that operates mainly from the funds it gets from

Café at 407. This café donates 100% of its proceeds to Ophelia’s Place, and is also a food-neutral

space which buys local, works to end stigma and provides community for those struggling with

mental illness. While I believe this is innovative and an amazing way for Ophelia’s Place to

sustain their mission, it is also inaccessible for college students. While I was an intern at

Ophelia’s Place, I didn’t have a car, and the bus route to Liverpool was about an hour, and an

Uber cost about $10. How can importance spaces broaden their impact? The answer to this, came

in my second inspiration, the Ophelia’s Place Everybody is Beautiful digital course.

My research question, thus, was born: Can online community spaces be a viable recovery

tool for marginalized peoples without access to traditional recovery methods? While Ophelia’s

Place and their café are not any form of eating disorder treatment, they do offer sustainable

forms of community support for 1) those who have already completed in-patient or out-patient

treatment, and 2) those who lack access to a traditional treatment center. However, even being

26

able to access Ophelia’s Place holds privilege; many people who do not have transportation or

live in a home where mental health is marginalized would not be able to use this community

space for support. Further than that, a full recovery requires support systems and networks, just

relying on an outlet like Ophelia’s Place will not be enough to sustain a life-long recovery.

b. Research Analysis

The public health concern over the “obesity epidemic” is a façade for hatred. This hatred

is fueled by racism, sexism, and ableism. Recognizing this is crucial to understanding the history

of fatphobia in Western society, and how contemporary fatphobia shapes the relationships we

have with our bodies. Interacting with this history also reveals the manifestations of fatphobia as

discrimination, and thus, leads us to understand anti-fatness as a social justice issue. A specific

issue that arises here is the idea of mono-fatness – that all fat people are unhealthy, overeat and

lack self-control. These perceptions of higher weight people make it difficult for their eating

struggles to be validated. This, coupled with the strict definitions of eating disorders in the DSM-

V, leaves many people unable to access treatment or recovery resources. While the DSM-V has

loosened some criteria for diagnosis compared to previous editions, being diagnosed with

anorexia still requires patients to have reached a significantly low-weight. However, binge-eating

disorder is finally recognized in the DSM-V as an eating disorder, giving many people access to

treatment. Other identities intersect with weight, making treatment inaccessible in other ways,

such as expenses, obligations, or insurance options. Looking at fatphobia through a civil rights

lens gives opportunity to analyze community engagement and resistance within these

communities. The increasing importance of social media has changed activism and has impacted

what types of spaces the recovery community is utilizing for community engagement. 

27

Recognized as the first diet book, William Bantings Letter on Corpulence began the

dangerous obsession in Western society over weight, food and exercise. Written in 1864, this

public letter illuminates the roots of fatphobia, while reflecting the current and dominant health

narrative. In Banting’s letter to the public on his weight-loss, he mentions several “remedies”

that helped him “cure” his obesity, noting that his new “dietary table is far superior to the

former” (Banting 4). Here, we see a correlation between diet and size; because Banting was

embarrassed by his weight, he decided to cut out food that he was very fond of. He also mentions

several times that his fatter body was inferior, demonstrating how he has internalized hegemonic

messages around weight, which during this time, were substantially shaped by racism and

colonialism. While he did lose the weight he desired, it’s important to recognize that anecdotes

are not research and represent only a small fraction of people; in fact, only about 3% of people

who engage in similar methods to Banting are able to sustain weight loss for more than 3 years

(Brown 38). 

Bantings’ association of fatness with disease, particularly being parasitic, holds true

today (Banting 1). In 2013, the American Medical Association (AMA) recognized obesity as a

disease, because “there’s a lot of it and because it’s serious” (Brown 104). The Committee on

Science and Public Health, however, recommended obesity not be categorized as a disease, as

obesity does not fit the definition of a medical disease and that defining it as such could further

harm obese people (Brown 103). Obesity does not represent a malfunction of normal body

processes, and while there is correlation between health concerns and obesity, there is no

evidence that obesity directly causes health issues (Brown 103). Medicalizing fatness creates

power dynamics, a toxic body-mind connection, and allows for doctors and different industries

to profit off of a made-up illness.

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Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture by Amy Farrell follows the

history of fatness in America, exploring how fatness and its connotations have changed over

time. Previously associated with wealth and good health, our cultural perception of fatness began

to change in the 19th century. Not only was this change simultaneous with the beginnings of the

diet industry and cultural worries about consumer consumption, but also occurred in an era of

racial liberation. Fatness, Farrell suggests, is despised by Western culture because white

supremacy sees a relationship between race, body size and evolution. Farrell analyzes various

medias and how they contributed to the spread of anti-fat messages, as well as comparing them

to contemporary anti-fat propaganda. This book illuminates the repercussions of medicalizing

fatness onto marginalized peoples and its intersection with gender. Fat Shame also explores

connections between these media representations and how disordered eating develops.

In the same year of the AMA decision to classify obesity as a disease, Katherine Flegal of

the CDC published the “Association of All-Cause Mortality with Overweight and Obesity Using

Standard Body Mass Index Categories: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” The report is

an analysis of 97 studies, which included almost 3 million people, and concluded that people

“deemed overweight by international standards were 6% less likely to die than were those of

normal weight over the same time period” (Hughes). Flegals’ study revealed a slight u-shaped

curve when plotting weight to mortality rates; revealing that age of death is only slightly lower

for those who fall into the “obese” or “morbidly obese” categories. While this study suggests that

weight and mortality are not directly correlated, this study is overlooked by health care providers

and the medical field.

In 2010, Michelle Obama launched the Let’s Move! Campaign to end childhood obesity.

The rhetoric employed in this campaign is thoroughly explored in ““The Terror Within”:

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Neoliberalism and the Rhetoric of the Obesity Crisis.” A dissertation by Anna Hensley, this

piece argues that obesity rhetoric like Obamas’ is a method of control, particularly over bodies of

women of color. Hensley argues that the anti-fat bias in America ignores identity rooted

oppressions and dictates citizenship based on these identities. Through her analysis of the Let’s

Move! Campaign, Hensley concludes that ideal female citizenship in the United States is white,

thin, middle-class and able-bodied. Hensley’s work gives us a specific example of the way fat-

bias interacts with marginalized peoples and dictates body hierarchy within American society.

This dissertation shares similar ideas to those of Fat Shame and Body of Truth in that historical

fatphobia rooted in anti-blackness and colonialism impacts the way we view bodies today and

thus, the way we think about fatness in relation to food.

The above ideas are crucial to understanding contemporary fat activist movements. In

2010, Linda Bacon published Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight.

Health at Every Size (HAES) is a sector of the fat acceptance movement, founded on the ideas

that health and link are not linked, and that one can pursue health at any size. Nutritionists,

dieticians, therapists, and psychologists become certified in HAES and use it as a model for their

patients. As described in Harriet Brown’s Body of Truth, community engagement for fat

acceptance began in the 60’s. In 1969, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance was

created; Ellyn Satter designed the competent eating model around the same time. The 1998 book,

Fat! So?, by Marilyn Wann was also critical in advancing fat acceptance to a social justice issue

and a civil rights movement.

Eating disorder treatment is inaccessible for even straight-size people due to diagnostic

criteria. In analyzing history and applying intersectionality theory to fatphobia, one can then

imagine how difficult accessing eating disorder treatment is for fat people. While the eating

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disorder diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 has gotten less strict over the years, it is still specific,

with difficult standards to meet despite disordered behavior. For example, one can meet all

behavioral criteria for anorexia nervosa, but may not meet the criteria for one to have reached a

“significantly low weight.” That person would then be diagnosed with atypical anorexia. This

raises questions about what a “significantly low weight” is and who gets to decide that.

In a 2008 study titled “Problems Applying DSM-IV Eating Disorders Diagnostic Criteria

in a General Psychiatric Outpatient Practice”, researchers concluded eating-disordered patients

are likely to be diagnosed with eating disorder not other specified (NOS), now called “other

types of feeding or eating disorders.” The study finds there is a problem with the clinical

application of eating disorder diagnostic criteria. While this new criterion gives treatment

professionals autonomy to specify the severity of a disorder, this severity is still centered around

weight, and not behavior. Especially living in fatphobic society, these combined make it

incredibly difficult for both straight-sized and fat students to meet the criteria.

Secondly, eating disorder treatment is incredibly expensive. Residential programs, full or

part time hospital programs, intensive outpatient, therapy and other means of treatment may not

be covered by insurance. If covered, there is usually a special co-pay which must be paid at

every session. For those living in poverty, in-person eating disorder treatment may not be an

option due to other monetary priorities or obligations. The National Eating Disorder Association

(NEDA) reports that people of color in the USA are less likely to receive treatment for eating

issues. Teenage girls from low-income families are 153% more likely to be bulimic than girls

from wealthy families; transgender students are significantly more likely to engage in eating

disorder behavior than members of any other group (NEDA). By connecting studies and data on

treatment and diagnoses to the literature on fatphobia, we see the associations between past and

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present. Fatphobia, beginning as a white-supremacist form of body control, disproportionately

impacts the people it was designed to stigmatize (people of color, those in poverty, and other

deviating identities seen as appropriate to colonial authority).

The fat acceptance movement fights against inaccessibility via online community

engagement. In Aaron Smith’s “Civic Engagement in the Digital Age”, he examines the impact

of social media on people’s political activities. The study finds that there is a major growth in

social networking political activity over recent years, and this plays a role in people’s civil lives.

Interestingly, it also finds that usage of social media sites has prompted people to learn more

about or engage with certain political and social issues. This legitimizes online forums as a

means of engagement for many people, particularly younger people who online platforms are the

only engagement platforms they’ve been exposed to or have access to.

While the internet can be helpful in creating safe spaces, numerous websites exist that

promote eating disorders, disordered eating and restriction. The study “Internet and Patient

Empowerment in Individuals with Symptoms of an Eating Disorder: A Cross-Sectional

Investigation of a pro-Recovery Focused e-Community” explores Proud2BMe, which was

designed as an alternative to pro-ED websites and provides a safe space for recovery

empowerment. The study concludes that online platforms allow for community connections,

experience sharing and progress recognition, all of which may be key to developing successful e-

health initiatives.

In 2016, McNamara and Parsons conducted a study entitled “'Everyone Here Wants

Everyone Else to Get Better': The Role of Social Identity in Eating Disorder Recovery.” For

successful eating disorder recovery, individuals must find identity beyond their disordered

behavior or diagnosis, if applicable. This study explores how a shared identity can help peoples

32

with eating disorders in their recovery process. Illness can serve as connection between people

and create support networks; for those looking to recover, this can be incredibly helpful. This

research looks at online support groups to explore social identity and eating disorders and finds

that online spaces facilitate a construction of recovery identity over illness identity. It also allows

those within the online space to develop norms and encourages active treatment and non-

disordered behaviors. Identity, then, could be key in developing community and support groups,

which are identified as crucial components for successful recovery.

Thus, it seems unclear: can social media-based community spaces hinder recovery from

an eating disorder? Even with potential triggering content, social-media platforms are a form of

support, which is crucial to successful recovery and maintenance. It is important to remember

that in-person support can also be triggering, especially for fat people. Online support and

community on social media may be a more feasible, accessible and safe option available to all

peoples in recovery. A 2012 study in Austria, “Internet‐Based Chat Support Groups for Parents

in Family‐Based Treatment for Adolescent Eating Disorders: A Pilot Study”, examined the

“feasibility and acceptability of an Internet-based chat support group for parents implementing

family-based treatment (FBT)” (Hopf). The vast majority of respondents said the chat helped

them implement FBT tools, felt safe speaking openly, and developed a sense of belonging in the

group. Satisfaction ratings of the group chat were 91.7% (Hopf). Similar success has been found

in other online initiatives, such as the 2016 “E-Health Interventions for Eating Disorders” study.

This study concluded that Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy and guided self-help show

promising results in ending eating disorder behaviors. Findings also suggest that “E-Health

interventions reach an underserved population and improve access to care” (Aardoom). While

33

much research is still needed on these issues, it seems online initiatives away from social media

may be key in developing accessibility and community support.

Research regarding online eating disorder recovery is under researched, especially with

recovery often being looked at from the perspective of thin, able-bodied white women who

restrict or meet DMS-IV criteria. Recovery itself must be defined in a broader sense, keeping in

mind the pervasiveness of diet culture and how it manifests into toxic behaviors beyond eating

disorders. More research must be conducted on how community engagement is crucial to

eradicating eating disorders, disordered eating and body dissatisfaction. This can only be done

through accepting fat as a social justice issue, which the literature presented here establishes.

Until it is acceptable to be fat in America, recovery is not feasible for all people, especially in

light of the identity-based marginalization’s that impact recovery accessibility. Online

community engagement, then, may be an option for oppressed peoples seeking recovery and

community support.

Final Presentation

After writing literature reviews, reading dozens of articles and studies, and designing a

one-pager of in-person recovery services, MAX 302 came to a close. At our final research poster

presentation, I discussed how fatphobia restricts eating disorder treatment and spaces, rendering

them inaccessible to marginalized people. I discussed other identity issues, such as class, and

how traditional treatment poses a barrier, highlight how online platforms may serve to end these

barriers. This poster also discusses my intended Action Plan, the final project for CCE students

in their senior year. Changes are discussed in Chapter 5.

34

I also designed a poster dedicated to the in-person recovery services in the Syracuse area,

which are not only for those with diagnosed eating disorders but also those who exhibit

disordered eating or chronic dieting. Both the final poster and in-person resource guide can be

viewed on the following pages.

35

36

In-person recovery services one-pager

37

Section 4 - CCE Action Plan

Overview

After completing MAX 302, I finished one component of my action plan, as shown in the

poster above through in-person eating disorder services. As the fall semester began, I intended to

continue with my fat studies’ minor proposal. I met with my thesis reader, Harriet Brown, to

discuss my minor proposal. While in MAX 302, I met with Julia White, a school of education

professor who designed and created the Atrocity Studies and the Practices of Social Justice

minor. She gave me insight into how the minor process works, as well as all of her steps into

designing, creating, and surveying interest for the minor.

However, professor Brown informed me that after meeting with the Falk school, it might

be best to make the proposal after next year. They want to hold a conference in the Fall 2020

semester to gain interest in the major and as a form of surveying. I told her I would like to be

involved in this process, but this meant the fat studies minor proposal would no longer be the

major piece of my honors thesis. Instead, the resident-student organization (RSO) I had been

creating over the summer became my new action plan idea: Students United for Body

Acceptance (SUBA). This process included developing an organization constitution, designing a

rough outline of Spring 2020 events, and curating a mission, vision and goals for SUBA. Part 6

of this Chapter will give a detailed explanation of the RSO approval process.

Why SUBA?

For implementing my Action Plan, it was imperative to me to focus the community

engagement aspect around college students. 91% of college students have attempted to control

their weight through dieting, and 22% diet “often or always” (Kurth). Eating disorders also

38

frequently develop between 18-21 years of age, which is the predominant age group for most

college or university students (Hudson). According to NEDA, college is the perfect breeding

grounds for eating disorders, as students are now away from home and alone, and pressures

begin to emerge from the social and academic environments on college campuses. College

campuses also have their own norms regarding body image and size, which are heavily tied into

institutional systems of power and oppression, such as racism, classism, ableism,

heteronormativity and sexism.

For example, the myth of the “Freshman 15” often leads to students restricting their

intake and consistently dieting, even though research has found college students typically only

gain 2-3 pounds on average (NEDA). This myth has made dieting the norm, or even the

standard, on college campuses, excluding particular bodies from the public and social scenes.

Greek life, a system founded on white supremacy and patriarchal hegemony, helps perpetuate

appearance-based discrimination, as many women must look a certain way to be accepted in

sororities or be viewed as desirable by fraternity members (Wade). While multicultural Greek

life may not face the same issues, social Greek life does alienate people of color, fat people and

those with disabilities, as they do not fit the Eurocentric beauty standard for college students.

Keeping in mind the experience college students face with diet culture, fatphobia and

eating disorders, all informed by their identities, I wanted to bring community engagement to the

forefront of this issue. Through multiple studies, we see that individual action and recovery-

based methods are largely unsuccessful. Support is crucial – which is why many eating disorder

recovery programs and treatment centers have individual therapy in tandem with group therapy,

group meals, and often require family therapy or family involvement.

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Goals, Mission and Vision

Mission Statement –

We are Students United for Body Acceptance. We hope to empower students and the

community to accept their bodies, regardless of size, shape or weight. The mission of this

organization shall be to raise awareness about body discrimination and how it impacts people’s

livelihoods and promote size acceptance as an alternative to diet culture. Our mission is to serve

as a first-step for students beginning their body acceptance journey, whether they are fat, living

in a socially “unacceptable” body, or struggling with body-related mental illnesses, such as

eating disorders or body dysmorphia. We believe that diet culture and beauty standards are

harmful features of our society that need to be destroyed by collective action. Thus, this

organization is also a space for students to engage in activism to redefine health and beauty.

We believe that all bodies are worthy of respect and love, both from ourselves and our

culture. We deserve to take up space and make our voices heard. We believe that body

acceptance is a profound, political statement. It is a radical action to find yourself worthy. We

believe that racism, ableism and colonialism have dictated how our society views bodies. The

Eurocentric beauty standard, then must be rejected not only for how unachievable it is, but due to

the reasons it was created in the first place – to dehumanize certain bodies and praise others. Our

organization will keep history and identity in mind while discussing appearance and weight-

based discrimination and biases.

We believe that is imperative for the body acceptance movement to be based in

intersectionality. Our movement is inclusive of all people, regardless of:

- Size, weight or shape

- Race or ethnicity

40

- Gender or gender identity

- Sexual or romantic orientation

- Sexual history

- Ability status

- Socioeconomic status

- Language differences

All students struggling with perceptions of their bodies are encouraged to attend SUBA

meetings and events for a safe space that will provide them with community support, networking

with other identity-based and/or activist-based organizations and an outlet to raise awareness of

the dangers of Eurocentric beauty standards.

Goals –

The objectives of this organization are to raise awareness about body discrimination and

how it impacts people’s livelihoods. We will work to provide an on-campus safe space for

students working toward body acceptance and wide-spread body liberation. We will provide

members with historical and informative resources to develop an understanding of why thinness

is so valued in our society, and how different types of body oppression are connected. We will

confront the internalized toxicity of normative “beauty standards” in ourselves, as well as to help

others to begin to confront their own body politics. One of our largest goals and missions will be

to redefine health and beauty through an inclusive lens and on-campus, student led activism.

SUBA recognizes all identities, and we envision not only an inclusive membership and presence

on campus, but also raise awareness on how diet culture and fatphobia impacts various identities

differently.

41

Event Layout

This timeline for events is subject to change, as a new RSO we must apply for special

program funding and co-curricular funding to host any events with fees. SUBA is also currently

working with on-campus partners, such as the Office of Health Promotion (OHP), to secure

funding, raise as much awareness about our mission as possible, and create more events.

JANUARY 2020

Involvement Fair

First General Info. Meeting

FEBRUARY 2020

Heather Mae concert (February 17th)

NEDA Week (Feb. 26-March 3): Panel Discussion, Ophelia’s Place lunch & learn

MARCH 2020

Myth Busting ft. On-Campus Nutritionist 

APRIL 2020

Summer Clothes Shopping @ Destiny USA

Our first ever general body interest meeting will be held in January 2020. Weekly or bi-

weekly general body meetings will take place as well, in order to plan events, discuss trending

topics, social media, and have small committee meetings. The general body meetings will always

begin with a group discussion, about a short article or a trending topic/recent event related to

related to SUBA’s mission. A topic will be set in advance but can change or be amended based

off current events.

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         For our first event as an RSO, we will begin with one that SUBA hopes will continue

annually. Our tentative date for this event is February 17th, 2020. This event will be a concert by

Heather Mae, a pop-artist who addresses beauty standards in the music industry in both her

music and performances. By inviting an artist who rejects cultural norms and empowers all

bodies, we hope to inform Syracuse students, as well as open a discussion that will continue

beyond this event. A dialogue/talk-back will also happen at the end of this event. Each year,

SUBA will have an event similar to this, typically a 40-minute keynote speech or workshop

followed by a dialogue between the speaker and attendees. The invited speaker will be someone

involved in the fat liberation movement and will hopefully discuss their personal experiences

with weight stigma. We would particularly like the guest speaker to touch on the intersections of

identity with size, and how to actively unlearn fat biases. Some other activists we would love to

have speak at an event or host a workshop include Troy Solomon (SU alumni) and Jazzmyne

Jay. While a date is not yet set in stone, will collaborate with Troy in the Spring of 2020 for a fat

photoshoot.

         February 23rd through March 2nd is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDA

Week). The goal of this week is to not only raise awareness but bust myths about eating

disorders related to weight and appearance. Most conversations around eating disorders revolve

around weight and body image, and not the actual disordered behavior. The idea that self-harm

and restriction is a thin-body only issue is absurd, and SUBA finds it of value to address this. We

hope to shift the conversation during NEDA Week to one that criticizes diet culture, unrealistic

expectations of weight, and size acceptance in recovery. Throughout the week, we will be tabling

in Life Sciences. Tabling and flyer campaigns will not only raise awareness, but raise money for

local non-profit Ophelia’s Place, which works on redefining health and beauty.

43

NEDA Week events will include a panel and food-neutral lunch. This panel discussion

will give an opportunity to non-straight-size students to discuss their experiences with eating

disorders and body dissatisfaction as a way to expand and diversify the conversation. We hope to

host this panel with another on campus organization, and plan to have it facilitated by a

professional staff member from Ophelia’s Place. The panel will have a diverse group of students

and faculty, and we hope that The Barnes Center Be Well will participate. We also will accept

donations at this event and run a social media campaign with the organization we partner with

for the panel. Ophelia’s Place works out of Café at 407, and we will host a lunch discussion there

at the end of NEDA week. This would be a food-neutral event, as Ophelia’s Place does not

display caloric content or other triggering nutritional information. This will give students an

experience of a conversation free of diet talk, and also show how life does not have to revolve

around food. We see this as a beautiful way to end NEDA Week.

         In March 2020, SUBA will host a myth-busting event about diets. Propelling off of

NEDA week, we want to remind people that dieting is also a disordered form of behavior and

does not center one’s wellbeing, but instead focuses on image and appearance. Since the Barnes

Center at the Arch now has three nutritionists, we plan to reach out to them and ask if they would

be interested in helping us host the event and answer students’ questions. Our faculty advisor,

Professor Brown, would also be involved and stay for the talk-back. This event would be broken

into three sections: a presentation, dialogue and questions. The e-board, and other members who

want to be involved, will present about common myths about diet culture, covering topics such

as: fad diets, weight cycling, exercising and food morality. We will use Kahoot to interact with

the audience and give out prizes to those who place within the Top 3. In between each question

we will have those hosting and the nutritionists explain why the correct answer is correct and

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dispel some common misconceptions associated with that question. We think this will be a great

way to challenge students without shaming them and empowering them to correct others in the

future with information from trained nutritionists.

         In April, we want to recognize the difficulty in clothes shopping for those with body

image issues, or those who are a size bigger than 10/12. The second or third week of April we

will lead students to Destiny USA via the free shuttles on a Friday evening. We will be able to

encourage each other, as well as share tips about shopping and where we like to buy clothes.

This will also allow the members of the organization to bond and network with one another.

         As SUBA greatly values the intersections of identities, we hope to in the future

collaborate with other RSO’s that are identity focused or about social change. SUBA believes

that our values can enhance the messaging of other groups, and vice versa. Some organizations

we are interested in collaborating with include: Office of Health Promotions (OHP), SASSE,

Disability Student Union, Pride Union, LGBT Resource Center, Disability Cultural Center

(DCC), multicultural sororities and fraternities, and Otto’s Belly Dance Troupe. Some of the

executive board members have already talked to some leaders of these organizations about

potential collaborations in the future and we are excited about these opportunities. SUBA also

hopes to focus on little details that will make a difference in the experience at our events, such as

neutral language and offering foods that are typically seen as “bad” and normalizing them.

Final Presentation

Below are the slides for my final presentation for my CCE capstone on December 6th, 2019.

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46

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Detailed Plan for the Action

Collaboration as Key to Success –

Collaborating with on-campus offices and other RSO’s would be useful in spreading the word

about SUBA and garnering more attendance at events. Partnering with multicultural RSO’s will

expand discussions about body-related issues beyond the mainstream discussion about white

bodies being impacted by diet culture. Future e-board members should look into partnering with

identity-based organizations such as Indigenous Students (ISAS), La LUCHA, or Student

African American Society. Collaborating with these organizations will allow students to reflect

on how their identity or culture has shaped the way they view their bodies or others. SUBA

prides itself on being inclusive and prioritizing the experience of fat students of all identities,

particularly to address the tendency in body acceptance circles to focus on women. By working

with organizations such as Pride Union, we hope to have events which discuss the queer and

trans experience with body dissatisfaction. 

In order to change the body culture on campus, SUBA also has to partner with bigger,

university-affiliated offices. The ideal organization to partner with on events is Office of Health

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Promotions (OHP). They have a mental health empowerment team, which hosts Health Hubs and

events during awareness weeks such as Mental Health Awareness week. With access to

resources, funding and a well-known presence on campus and online, partnering with OHP

would be ideal for SUBA. Collaboration could potentially discuss modifying their existing

events, as well as brainstorming new one-time events and new annual events. At this time,

SUBA is currently discussing a Body Acceptance week with them. 

In the future, it would be nice to collaborate with OHP to design more comprehensive

educational campaigns on campus about eating disorders. Preventing eating disorders will also

encompass addressing diet culture and creating a size accepting environment at Syracuse. This

could be done through social media campaigns and designing posters and other materials on

campus. We would particularly like to see a campaign debunking the correlation between weight

and health. While there will probably be collaboration in Spring 2020 to develop an awareness

week, this relationship can be fleshed out more and would provide vital to shifting the culture on

campus. However, in developing relationships with university-affiliated offices, it’s important to

make sure SUBA’s narrative is prioritized and not watered down. For example, SUBA promotes

self-love, but does not affiliate with the body positivity movement because it whitewashes fat-

activism by people of color and centers thin bodies. While body positivity would be more

digestible, it does not fit the values of SUBA as we must insist that health should not be a

requirement for respect. We also do not want to any offices to hijack our ideas and then spin

them, such as by targeting fat students. 

Meetings and Membership -

To attract new members, the SUBA e-board should always apply for tabling at the

student involvement fairs. Before the fair, a rough date of the first general information meeting

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of the semester should be made to advertise to prospective new members. This first meeting will

describe SUBA’s missions and goals, events for the semester, and begin assigning committees

for the semester. Each meeting will begin with introductions, names and pronouns. 

Meetings will typically be an hour or an hour and a half, depending on the work needed

to be completed. Meetings will begin with announcements and any upcoming events. The first

half of the meeting will be a group discussion about a pre-determined topic. This topic will vary,

such as a current event related to body acceptance, identity discussions, and general informative

sessions about size acceptance. After the discussion, we will break into our committees to work

on upcoming events, campaigns, publicity, and more.

By participating in the involvement fair, SUBA will be able to garner more members.

Another successful campaign for getting members is being active on social media. The SUBA

Instagram currently has 150 followers and has gotten people interested in our mission. By

working with other on-campus organizations and offices, we will also be able to gain more

members. In the future, if these tactics don’t work, it may be useful to develop a recruitment

committee for the organizations.

Final Report

This was handed in as the final report and reflection on the Action Plan experience for MAX

401.

Community Engagement to End Diet Culture on College Campuses:

Students United for Body Acceptance

Taylor Krzeminski

December 13th, 2019

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Maxwell Program in Citizenship and Civic Engagement

Abstract

America’s obsession with thinness has created diet culture, a system in which significant value is placed on size and weight and not well-being or health. Diet culture has led millions of Americans to start dieting, and, for some, progress into disordered eating or full-blown eating disorders. Community support has been identified as crucial to eating disorder recovery, which is why Ophelia’s Place, a local non-profit in Syracuse, NY, began operating in 2002 and opened a community café in 2009, a community restaurant which is body-neutral and hosts learning opportunities. Café at 407 provides opportunity for the local community to shift their conversation about health off of weight. While Ophelia’s Place is about 15 minutes from Syracuse University, it is inaccessible for university students who lack transportation options. This Action Plan looks to solve the inaccessibility issue of support for students struggling in diet culture by creating a registered student organization (RSO) at Syracuse University, entitled: Students United for Body Acceptance.

Assessment of the Problem and Population

Overview

This action plan hopes to address diet culture on college campuses, particularly at

Syracuse University. 91% of women surveyed on college campuses have attempted to control

their weight through dieting, according to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA).

35% of those who are “occasional dieters” will find themselves progressing to disordered eating

or pathological dieting, and an alarming number – 25% - will develop an eating disorder

(Covey). College in particular is a period of development in which eating disorders can form or

reappear for those in recovery. NEDA notes that full-blown eating disorders tend to develop

between 18-21 years of age, which is the age range average college students fall into. 

College students face pressures to make friends, participate in hook-up culture, party,

develop intimate or romantic relationships, all on top of academic achievement. One of these

pressures is anti-obesity or health and wellness campaigns. Anti-obesity campaigns on college

campus reflect a fundamental part of diet culture, and manifest via fearmongering among

students, such as the feared “Freshman 15.” While this poses a threat to college students, eating

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disorder resources are provided on college campuses across America, such as therapy or

nutritionists. Syracuse University itself boasts a robust mental health program, including a

counseling center, three nutritionists and an eating disorder support team. Eating disorder

programs on campuses, however, mainly treat students, and don’t work to prevent them. Without

addressing diet culture and the thin-ideal, body dissatisfaction and health misconceptions will

continue among college students (NEDA). 

Details on the Population Affected

A 2011 study found eating disorders on college campuses rose to 25% for men and 32%

for women, an almost 10% increase for both groups (White). The particular university in this

project is Syracuse University, with a total undergraduate enrollment of 15,222. As noted earlier,

over 60% of Syracuse University students are in the 18-21 age range, a critical developmental

phase for eating disorders. 53% of the undergraduate population is female, an identity which

makes up a large portion (90%) of those who suffer from an eating disorder.24.7% percent of the

student population at Syracuse University identify as minorities – 6.9% Black, 6.1% Asian, 8.2%

Latino, .5% Native American and 3% of a mixed racial background. Eating disorder research

suggests that racial minorities experience body image differently than their white peers and may

not have access to the same resources or support sources. There is also a large international

population at the University, over 4,000 students from over 50 countries. These students may

have different cultural norms regarding food and weight and will be exposed to American beauty

ideals on campus. It is likely that a large majority of students at Syracuse University suffer from

body dissatisfaction – an even larger number probably have false understandings about weight

and health. 

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Research Review

General Literature on Fatphobia and Diet Culture

Aardoom, Jiska, et al. “Internet and Patient Empowerment in Individuals with Symptoms of an Eating Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of a pro-Recovery Focused e-Community.” NeuroImage, Academic Press, 9 May 2014, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471015314000452?via%3Dihub.

Many people do not have access to eating disorder treatment, either due to diagnosticcriteria, home-life, community stigma or monetary pressures. With a general increase inaccess to internet, people are turning to online spaces for support; however, numerouswebsites actually promote eating disorder behavior. This article looks at Proud2BMe, which was developed as an alternative to such websites and provide an empoweringrecovery space. This study suggests that similar e-initiatives may be successful for thosewithout access to traditional treatment. This raises the question, can in-person supportgroups also provide the same outcomes.

Bacon, Lindo. Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth about Your Weight. BenBella Books, 2010.

Bacon’s Health at Every Size is crucial in understanding contemporary fat acceptance movements and developing tolerance for all bodies. A response to the war on obesity, this book is a call for peace on bodies. While fat movements began in the ‘60’s, Bacon’s contemporary approach to health and weight is used today, with therapists, dieticians, doctors and nutritionists becoming HAES certified.

Brown, Harriet. Body of Truth: How Science, History, and Culture Drive Our Obsession with Weight - and What We Can Do about It. da Capo Lifelong, 2016.

Brown builds upon older works exploring the history of the diet industry and weight obsession in America. This book offers personal accounts, data and interviews that illuminate how the medical and scientific community have become intertwined with commercial and profitable industries, leading to increasing medicalization of weight. Body of Truth does a great job of connecting historical and cultural views to the science field. I intend to use this book to reference specific data and interview, as it does repeat some history that is seen in other books in my annotated bibliography. Brown, however, does some work with the medical field that is only present in this text and offers great insight to why people would resist the medical community and create separate support communities.

Banting, William. Letter on Corpulence: Addressed to the Public. W.B. Stephens, 1864.Banting is known as the first person to popularize a weight loss diet in this address,condemning obesity and discussing his personal weight loss journey. This introduced

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dangerous diet fads to American culture, as his diet details restricting carb and sugar intake

(two necessary parts of a healthy diet). Connecting weight to health, and thus restrictingpleasurable food, Banting illuminates a now common perception of our body sizes.

“Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture.” Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture, by Amy Erdman Farrell, New York University Press, 2011, pp. 1–208.

This work recounts the history of fatphobia in America, exploring how fatness and its connotations have changed over time. These changes coincided with the expansion of the diet industry, cultural worries about consumer consumption, and white-supremacist ideals about race and evolution. Farrell analyzes various forms of media and how they contribute to the spread of anti-fat rhetoric, both then and contemporary messaging related to the war on obesity. The novel illuminates the connections between stigmatized and marginalized identities, such as gender, and fatness. 

Flegal KM, Kit BK, Orpana H, Graubard BI. Association of All-Cause Mortality with Overweight and Obesity Using Standard Body Mass Index Categories: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA. 2013;309(1):71–82. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.113905

In 2013, the American Medical Association (AMA) officially recognized ‘obesity’ as a disease. However, in the same year Katherine Flegal and her team at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published this document, an analysis of 97 studies (almost 3 million people) regarding weight and death. This study revealed a slight u-shaped curve when plotting weight to mortality, revealing that age of death is only slightly lower for those who all into the ‘obese’ or ‘morbidly obese’ categories. Further, the lowest mortality risk applied to those in the ‘overweight’ category and mortality rates rose in the underweight category. These findings significantly added to the obesity paradox theory.

Hobbes, Michael. “Everything You Know About Obesity Is Wrong.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 Sept. 2018, highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/everything-you-know-about-obesity-is-wrong/.

This opinion article explains how our societal perception of being fat is not onlymisinformed, but wrong. Hobbes weaves personal interviews with factual evidencedebunking diet myths and the war on obesity, with some of the statistics being addressedin the previous books listed. This article is a powerful testimony to how we isolate,

shameand mistreat fat people, simply for their size and what we associate with fat.

McNamara, Niamh, and Harriet Parsons. “'Everyone Here Wants Everyone Else to Get Better': The Role of Social Identity in Eating Disorder Recovery.” The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Wiley-Blackwell, 26 Sept. 2016.

A key part of ending eating disorder behavior is for individuals to find an identity for themselves outside of their disordered eating and behaviors. This study explores how a shared identity can help those with eating disorders in their recovery process.  Illness can serve as connection between people, and for those looking to recover, this can be helpful.

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This research looks at online support groups to explore social identity and eating disorders and finds that online spaces facilitate a construction of recovery identity over illness identity. It also allows those within the online space to develop norms and encourages active treatment and non-disordered behaviors. Similarly, can this be applied to the real world for developing spaces for recovery?

Miller, Wayne C. “How Effective Are Traditional Dietary and Exercise Interventions for Weight Loss?” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, vol. 31, no. 8, 1999, pp. 1129–1134., doi:10.1097/00005768-199908000-00008.

Published in 1999, this study looks at how effective exercise and dietary restrictions havebeen in obesity treatments. Miller concludes that many of the prescribed behaviors

actuallyencourage unhealthy behaviors; the only intervention should be a healthy lifestyle, not a restriction or over exercising routine. After 3-5 years of being on one of these

“treatments,” there is almost a complete relapse, showcasing how ineffective dieting is to not only

sustain weight loss but improve health. 

“Statistics & Research on Eating Disorders.” National Eating Disorders Association, National Eating Disorders Association, 1 Feb. 2019, www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/statistics-research-eating-disorders.

Statistics published by NEDA give us insight into the ways that identity impacts peoples experiences with eating disorders, beyond just how many people have or had eating disorders. We see that gender, ability, race and economic status all matter in access to treatment. These stark differences also show the legacies of racism on impacting peoples of color and their perceptions of their body.

Strings, Sabrina. Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia. NYU Press, 2019.

This book analyzes contemporary rhetoric on black fat bodies, particularly women, and traces the history of the thin-ideal. To understand why we hate fatness, Strings goes back in time and analyzes artwork, newspapers, paintings, and magazine articles. She finds that fatness and blackness did not become correlated until the Enlightenment period, where being fat was considered “savagery,” and the thin-ideal at its core is a racist ideal. Fatphobia then, Strings argues, is not about but health, but using the body to validate gender, race and class prejudices.  

Wykes, Maggie, and Barrie Gunter. The Media and Body Image: If Looks Could Kill. SAGE, 2010.

This book explores the media influence an ideal feminine look, and the increasing rate of eating disorders. Wykes and Gunter set out to see if these two correlations are caused by one or the other: are people engaging more in disordered eating because of media perpetuation of an ideal body type? While they do not necessarily find a causation here, they do find that media impacts how women view themselves because appearance is associated with success. The idealized version of women in mass media control’s women and equivalates success with size. This allows corporations and media to profit off our

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insecurities. They argue that this overall shows more about the power dynamics within society between gender and control over women, and our sex-saturated society.

Specific Literature and Evidence

Smith, Aaron. “Civic Engagement in the Digital Age.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, 22 Oct. 2018, www.pewinternet.org/2013/04/25/civic-engagement-in-the-digital-age/.

Smith examines political engagement but pays particular attention to how social media and the internet have shaped people’s political activities. This study finds that there has been a major growth in social networking political activity over recent years, playing a key role in people’s civic lives. Interestingly, it also finds that usage of social media sites has prompted people to learn more about or engage with certain political and social issues. This research will help me in developing the importance of broadening the definition of civic engagement to include online platforms and activism on said websites. 

“Eating Disorders on the College Campus: A National Survey of Programs and Resources.”

Nationaleatingdisorders.org, National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), 2013,

www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/sites/default/files/CollegeSurvey/CollegiateSurveyProject.pdf.

This survey documents the significant impacts eating disorders have for college students, with their age range being particular vulnerable to developing one. This comprehensive survey by NEDA examines on-campus resources, for both students, student leaders and faculty. Education is lacking, as well as data on the results of educational campaigns led by universities. Of particular importance to my research is “the most important services” ranked by students, including on staff nutritionists with eating disorder specialty and group therapy for students with eating disorders – both of these are not the most offered services on campuses. 

White, Sabina, and Jocelyn Reynolds. “Disordered Eating and the Use of Unhealthy Weight Control Methods in College Students: 1995, 2002, and 2008.” Taylor & Francis Online, Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention, 2011, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10640266.2011.584805?scroll=top&needAccess=true.

This study investigated eating disorders and unhealthy weight-loss techniques among college undergraduate students in order to see if these behaviors are increasing. White and Reynolds conclude that more college students fit diagnostic criteria for eating

disorders no other specified (EDNOS). 

Assessment of Organization: Ophelia’s Place

Mission

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Ophelia’s Place’s website states, “our mission is to provide support, access to treatment,

and education that raises awareness and reduces shame and stigma, for anyone impacted by

eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image.” Their community work includes those

suffering from eating disorders and body dissatisfaction, as both stem from societal stigma

attached to weight and appearance. Ophelia’s Place works to redefine health and beauty, in an

effort of empowering all bodies, regardless of size.

Structure

In 2002, Ophelia’s Place began as a non-profit in Syracuse, NY. In an effort to sustain

monetary needs of the non-profit, Ophelia’s Place opened Café at 407 in 2009. In 2017 Ophelia’s

Place expanded its mission by opening an office in Gilbert, Arizona. A small full-time staff runs

the day to day operations of both chapters of Ophelia’s Place, and reports to a board of directors.

They do have interns and ambassadors, either local or online, who do mainly educational

awareness campaigns. Most of Ophelia’s Place’s funds comes from their café, but the staff also

applies for grants and hosts an annual fall fundraiser dinner. 

Education is a large part of Ophelia’s Place, as they find awareness crucial in fulfilling

their mission. Education includes student ambassadors, the “Every Body is Beautiful Project,”

lunch and learns, and their education and empowerment online certificate program. Another key

aspect is support services, including online and in-person support groups. Sol Stone, an upstate

New York eating disorder treatment service, partners with Ophelia’s Place. One of their

nutritionists sees clients at Café at 407, and Ophelia’s Place refers to Sol Stone, which will soon

have a Syracuse chapter.

Size

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Ophelia’s Place has a small staff, with two people working on financial issues, an

executive director, a product manager, and an administrator. There is also an educational team, a

director and lead educator. However, most of the staff is located in Syracuse, NY. There is one

educator in Arizona and one here in New York. This full-time staff is professionals and not

volunteers, although there are a small number of volunteers. These volunteers do not help with

decision-making, but instead assist at events and spread awareness. Most of their budget is from

Café at 407, as 100% of their profits are donated to Ophelia’s Place. However, my funding for

Students United for Body Acceptance (SUBA) would be through the Office of Student Activities

(OSA) at Syracuse University. 

Contacts

Through my internship I was frequently in contact and meeting with Holly Lowery, who

is the Education and Communications director. Her, as well as Dena Larsen, the head educator,

are people I am in contact with for my Action Plan.  

Other

I am choosing to focus on educational awareness and support because they are

inseparable. 

Prevention must focus on cultural shift as much as individual support. As the saying goes, not

every diet leads to an eating disorder, but every eating disorder starts with a diet. 

Opinion Essay

Daily Orange, Spring 2020; Word count: 511

Why Syracuse University Needs Fat Liberation

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Take a shot. Look in the mirror. Fidget. Take another shot. Should I change? Pull your skirt

down. “Do you really think this looks okay?” you ask your friend. Parties, homework, skimpy

clothes, exams, alcohol, more homework, hookup culture – college leads students to believing

there is a right way to look. And they go to extreme measures to get there. Full-blown eating

disorders tend to develop between 18-21 years of age, which is the age range average college

students fall in. 

Students fed up with diet culture at Syracuse are mobilizing to bring change to our campus. The

toxic rhetoric surrounding appearance led four Syracuse students to create a new registered-

student organization, Students United for Body Acceptance (SUBA), which hopes to tackle body

liberation and raise awareness about fatphobia. Their first event will be a concert with Heather

Mae, an activist who uses music to fight diet culture and restrictions on our bodies.

91% of women surveyed on college campuses have attempted to control their weight through

dieting, reports the National Association of Eating Disorders (NAED). 35% of those who are

“occasional dieters” will find themselves progressing to disordered eating or pathological

dieting, and an alarming number – 25% - will develop an eating disorder. 

A 2011 study found eating disorders on college campuses rose to 25% for men and 32% for

women, an almost 10% increase for both groups. But what do diets have to do with eating

disorders? Not every diet leads to an eating disorder, but every eating disorder starts with a diet.

SUBA finds it important to battle diet culture and the fear of fat as a means to eliminating eating

disorders on college campuses.

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With enormous pressure on college campuses to shrink yourself, Mae’s bigger than life musical

performances offers refreshing energy students desperately need. A pop artist who defies cultural

norms regarding appearance, Mae’s music aims to create change in the world, which is exactly

why SUBA has invited her to campus.

Artists like Lizzo have empowered people of all body sizes to pursue their passions, even if they

don’t fit the pre-determined mold. Seeing artists who look like us, or even a way we fear to look,

redefines beauty norms and emboldens others to abandon dangerous eating behavior they may be

engaging in.

College campus surveys by the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), reported that

94.1% of respondents found NEDAwareness Week events somewhat, very or extremely

important. Events like SUBA’s can encourage students to bring body image to the table again,

and this time, to change the conversation we have about our appearances.

By hosting Heather Mae for a concert and discussion in February 2020, SUBA hopes to spark a

conversation about the way we treat ourselves. SUBA’s mission is to increase awareness about

size acceptance and health at every size (HAES), which supports people of all bodies. Without

ending hatred for fat bodies, we cannot imagine a world without eating disorders and body

dissatisfaction. 

Reflections

Since the beginning of the semester, my project has not changed much. I have stuck with

the registered student organization idea as a vehicle for addressing on campus diet issues.

However, I did not end up working with my partner organization as closely as I would have liked

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to. From our conversations it didn’t seem like they needed help with any projects, which was a

trend from the past semester at my internship as well. While I would have loved to be more

involved with Ophelia’s Place, I also did not want to force myself into their space. Instead, they

seemed very happy to hear I was using the skills I developed at my internship with them to carry

their mission to Syracuse University’s campus.

In retrospect, there were a few things I would change about the way I went about my

project. Firstly, I would have developed more educational programming for SUBA that future e-

board members could have implemented. While the event schedule I’ve designed will make a

change on campus, I think educational campaigns would have complimented the events well.

This would have also given a foundation for educational programming and allowed future

members and e-board to re-design, improve or expand upon existing campaigns. Besides creating

a rough outline for content to be covered in educational sessions, I would have reached out to

specific groups on campus that would have benefited from attending one of our educational

events, such as some of the athletics teams. 

Secondly, I would have reached out to off-campus offices earlier. The main organization

I am looking to work with is Office of Health Promotions. While I secured a meeting with them

at the end of the semester, I underestimated how hard it would be to get in contact with them.

Several times meetings were cancelled or postponed. If I knew this would be the case, I would

have reached out to them at the beginning of the semester. I also think this would have been

helpful in designing an education curriculum for SUBA, as OHP has many resources that could

have been incorporated into our programming.

Expanding the Scope

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The broad social problem first identified for this project, and what inspired it, is diet

culture. A dangerous system which prioritizes weight over health, the dieting industry is worth a

record-breaking $72 billion USD. Across the United States, children are dieting at young ages,

and almost everyone has dieted at some point in their lives – even though there is no evidence

which proves health and size are synonymous. For this Action Plan, I wanted to focus on

fatphobia and body dissatisfaction, while keeping in mind how these are shaped by the larger diet

culture we live in. My specific problem, body dissatisfaction and eating disorders on college

campuses, was intentionally kept close to the broad social problem because these issues cannot

be addressed without addressing diet culture. 

In order to more broadly address this social problem, I would love to see a national

chapter of Students United for Body Acceptance established. Students at colleges and

universities across America could then charter their own chapter of SUBA. A national chapter

would give chapters more funding and resources if their university has little funding. While this

would change the narrative on campuses, it would also inspire more students and young people

to start conversations in broader society about dieting. The national chapter would also be able to

partner with local non-profits and NGO’s, creating a partnership network. These organizations

do not necessarily have to do work related to eating disorders. It would be great for the national

chapter to develop partnerships with organizations that work with vulnerable populations, such

as the LGBTQ+ community and women, and multicultural organizations. This would expand the

message of the organization to colleges and their local communities. 

Within the current community SUBA is in, it could be expanded both on campus and into

the greater Syracuse city community. Firstly, if SUBA had a national chapter there would be

more opportunities for funding and better access to resources for our Syracuse chapter. Secondly,

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the Syracuse community has a vibrant non-profit scene that we could partner with. Ophelia’s

Place would be a perfect place to start, then working to reach out to other organizations like La

Casita. Experiences with eating disorders and body dissatisfaction vary greatly depending on

identity factors, such as race and socioeconomic status. For example, while people of color face

eating disorders at similar rates as whites, they are significantly less likely to seek treatment

(NEDA). Teenage girls from “low-income families are 153% more likely to be diagnosed with

bulimia than wealthier peers” (NEDA). Syracuse is a racially and culturally diverse city, as well

as a city with above average poverty levels. Research shows that people in these groups are less

likely to have the resources or accessibility to treatment services. By connecting with the

community, SUBA would be able to bring awareness about these issues to the community.

SUBA members would also get to hear from local residents on how they are impacted by these

issues due to their identities.

Thirdly, as I have previously discussed, SUBA can become a bigger on-campus actor by

partnering with University affiliated offices and other RSO’s. By integrating SUBA’s goals into

a larger university narrative, particularly with OHP, dieting on campus could decrease. It would

also allow SUBA access to more counseling and mental health resources needed to design wide-

spread mental health campaigns across campus. Similar to working with local non-profits in

Syracuse, collaborating with other RSO’s will hopefully grow the network of students discussing

these issues in relation to their own identity.

In order to bring SUBA to other campuses, students would have to complete their

university’s process for creating a registered student organization. Typically, this process

includes application questions, a constitution, an executive board and potential members, as well

as a faculty advisor. After initial approval, the executive board may have to attend trainings or

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complete online modules to finalize the registration process. In the future, hopefully, this process

can be streamlined through a national organization chapter for body liberation.

Section 5 – Community Engagement to End Fatphobia

“As long as we live in a world constructed of body shame and body terrorism, the radical self-

love journey will be a daunting one at times… Without compassion for others we can only

replicate the world we have always known.” – Sonya Renee Taylor

Overview

My initial research, which looked into alternatives for in-person eating disorder treatment

programs, reflected the importance of support networks. Support is critical during recovery, as

well as vital to sustaining a life-long recovery. However, as previously discussed in Section 3

and 4, support is not available to all those who suffer from eating disorders. I recognize that in-

person eating disorder treatment is most recommended and the best option for a full recovery,

but this thesis acknowledges that for a myriad of reasons, this may not be possible for some. If

one is able to complete in-person treatment, they may not have the necessary support systems at

home, such as family, friends or loved ones, to sustain recovery.

While support is often associated with family or friends, community can be just as

effective. Community is more than the people who live next door or down the street. Community

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is active and participatory. As described in Section 2 and 3, eating disorder specific communities

can reinforce disordered behavior. Thus, I strongly believe that body neutral or body acceptance

spaces would be beneficial and most appropriate for those in recovery looking for community

support, regardless if it is their only support network or an additional support system. However, I

will advocate that fat positive community spaces, in particular, are most ideal for sustained

eating disorder recovery, as fat positivity directly addresses the fatphobia many eating disorder

patients have. These community-based support networks could be either in-person or online (or a

hybrid of both). The benefits and shortcomings of each will be discussed in the following sub-

sections. This thesis does not believe body acceptance movements or communities are a

substitution for recovery programs but recognizes their benefits for under resourced peoples and

their benefits in addition to traditional recovery programs.

Collective Compassion

The fourth pillar of Sonya Renee Taylor’s book, The Body is Not an Apology, is

collective compassion, which includes tool number 9: be in a community. As mentioned in the

literature review, Taylor’s concept of radical self-love cannot exist without changing the way we

view and treat those living around us. In order to achieve this, there must be a shift from

individualism to community care, in which we see ourselves as part of a larger community in

which we have the power to contribute to and shape (Taylor 111). The world is not divided into

those who can help and those who need help, we are both simultaneously. A path to recovery is

often painted as if patients need only professional treatment, but Taylor argues we live in “a

complicated and multilayered amalgamation of systems, [where] structures and [our] experiences

authored our body shame and built the larger system of body terrorism” (112). Further, she

insists “we cannot dismantle that system in isolation” (112). That is why my thesis proposes that

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in unlearning fatphobia and learning to appreciate our bodies, we should immerse ourselves in

collaborative spaces and communities.

While community spaces can be beneficial, it is essential to remember that community

spaces are created by real people with real biases. Communities do not operate as separate

entities from our society; thus, they bear the systems of oppression of the political economy they

were created in (Fiske 260). Many of the communities we are currently apart of are fatphobic

and engage in body terrorism simply because those community spaces were created in a

fatphobic society, which is part of a larger fatphobic world. That is why it is important for

oppositional spaces to be curated by people who actively work to deconstruct the dominant

ideology (Fiske 266). It is essential to find spaces in recovery that will not perpetuate the

dominant narrative regarding our bodies (fat is bad, thin is good), our movement or food.

Underlying biases and internal fatphobia may very well creep into community spaces from

members; therefore, no space can ever be completely oppositional. However, it is crucial for

others in the space to check biases, as the most effective part of recovery-based communities is

their challenge to the dominant ideology surrounding our appearances.

In my work to develop a community space at Syracuse University for students struggling

with body image issues, John Fiske’s contributions to British cultural studies informed this

process. As mentioned previously, Fiske contributed to analyzing texts and how they will bear

the dominant narrative of the political economy they were created in. This approach to analyzing

texts is named the 3-fold cultural studies approach, in which the text, the political economy and

the audience interact and affect one another. In the Body is Not an Apology, Taylor beautifully

summarizes this concept by using the example of the epidemiological triad:

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This triad consists of an agent, a host, and an environment. Agent refers to the specific

pathogen present in the triad. Host denotes whatever vessel (or conditions within a

vessel) allows the agent to thrive. The environment consists of the external forces that

foster the transmission of the agent to the host. When any of these three elements is

disrupted, the trajectory of the disease is halted. In the work of radical self-love, body

shame is the dis-ease, we are the hosts, and body terrorism is the environment (112).

This triad approach is similar to the 3-fold cultural studies approach. Using a Fiske-based

analysis of body terrorism, Taylor concludes:

Body shame thrives because our world cultivates and nurtures body terrorism through

media, government, and culture. Society then transmits the pathogen of body shame to

susceptible hosts (us), who carry it around and pass it on due to the internal conditions of

stigma and shame. Being in community is how we interrupt the triad. Our refusal to host

body shame in secrecy and isolation is the death knell of this dis-ease (112).

This interpretation of community spaces recognizes that there is more at play in our lives

than just us. So why shouldn’t our recovery and radical self-love journey not include the world

we live in? Taylor advocates for her readers to join a ‘radical self-love environment’

(community) as without them we are “relegated to an echo chamber of pathological body hatred

and oppression” (112). The importance of community is connection – the opportunity to share

our stories with others, to listen empathetically to others, to gain a new perspective, to learn. The

experience of community with intent to challenge the dominant ideology will allow us to see

ourselves and others in a new light, and with more understanding of how we are all impacted by

similar institutions and systems. Thus, it is critical that we, as people, find communities of care

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and compassion. For those struggling with body image, it is critical for us to find these

communities, too, to rewrite our lives in opposition to the dominant ideology.

Fat Positivity for Sustained Recovery

Recovery, whether it is from an eating disorder or from lifelong self-hatred, focuses on

fixing altered or disordered behaviors or thoughts. Eating disorder programs address this by

trying to get patients to understand why they feel this way about themselves. However, to the

extent of research for this project, no eating disorder program explicitly calls out fatphobia and

how that shapes our perceptions of our bodies and our subsequent behavior to manipulate our

bodies, successful or not. Eating disorder treatment programs, from both personal experience and

the ones researched for this thesis, rarely look past the individual and their individual

experiences. From the research presented throughout this thesis, it is my conclusion that a large

reason people despise their bodies because our society, as a whole, profoundly stigmatizes fat

people and their bodies. While people suffering from an eating disorder, disordered behaviors, or

body dissatisfaction may not perceive fatness in others as bad, internalized fatphobia is a

reflection of the larger societal institution of fatphobia.

Firstly, it is imperative for recovery programs to recognize fatphobia at both an individual

and societal level. This recognition would allow individuals to connect their behaviors and

feelings to a larger institutional issue, rather than a fault within themselves. While fatphobia in

eating disorder patients is still an issue, identifying the source of fatphobia beyond one’s self is

critical to sustaining recovery and preventing relapse. From this perspective, patients would

identify the issue outside of their body (systemic and institutional fatphobia) and will work to

address the issue without seeing the solution as manipulating their own bodies. Of course,

recovery requires self-reflection and introspection, but treatment programs should actively

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engage with patients to identify institutional and societal narratives which cause individual

trauma. Succinctly, both treatment programs and community spaces must acknowledge the

dominant narrative of fat bodies as bad bodies and address this issue directly to help people

redefine their narratives of health and beauty.

Treatment programs and recovery options often promote body positivity. Although body

positivity began as a movement started by fat activists in the late 1960’s (see: Fat Acceptance

Movement and/or NAAFA), capitalistic co-opting has erased fat bodies from the body positivity

movement and instead centers the movement on curvy or small-fat women who still present as

conventionally attractive and/or fit into Eurocentric beauty standards (socially acceptable body

positivity). In a Dazed magazine article, Bethany Rutter perfectly described this co-opting: “the

greatest trick the devil ever pulled was snatching body positivity out of the hands of fat women

and then convincing them it was never theirs in the first place” (2017).

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Originally, body positivity recognized the cultural stigma and inequities of living in a fat

body. Businesses and corporations have co-opted the body positivity movement in recent years

to sell products and satisfy the moral values of women and femme consumers. Influencers who

are using the capitalist narrative of body positivity use health “as the benchmark for whether

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body positivity should include someone” (Rutter, 2017). Not only does this assume appearance

or weight determines health, it also asserts that being healthy is important or morally imperative

(Rutter, 2017). This co-opted narrative views bodies through a medicalized lens, which is

dangerous for those in recovery. While the medicalization of fatness which correlates health to

weight is wrong, the narrative is still present in society unless actively addressed and challenged.

Thus, it is crucial for recovery programs and community spaces to embrace fat positivity, not

body positivity, to prevent dangerous associations between health and weight, which may create

the exact issue they are working to end. As addressed in the community compassion section,

introducing fatphobia allows patients to think critically about their recovery and connect it to

larger social and institutional issues which enact body terrorism.

Instances of Community

Students United for Body Acceptance (SUBA) was not a project derived from my

research on community engagement but a creation which stemmed from my exposure to

community engagement opportunities related to body image. This section will discuss

community spaces I have discovered throughout my research, both in-person and online, for

those with eating disorders, disorder eating and/or body dissatisfaction. In addition, I will discuss

how these examples informed my journey to create a community space at Syracuse University,

while taking into account the benefits and risks of each organization. It is also important to note

that this section is not an exhaustive list of all in-person and online community alternatives to

traditional treatment programs.

Community organizations and non-profits

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My first (and only) exposure to a community-based organization tackling these issues

was Ophelia’s Place, a local Syracuse non-profit working to redefine health and beauty. While

providing resources and referrals to those struggling with an eating disorder, Ophelia’s Place

focuses on two other large issues: education and empowerment, and community. Their education

platforms and programs raise awareness for issues related to eating disorders, disordered eating,

and negative body image, in addition to reducing shame and stigma. As I will discuss later in this

section, Ophelia’s Place is unique from many other non-profits working on this issue as they

offer support and resources for those currently in recovery, as well as providing a community

space. Further, Ophelia’s Place offers support and community through online and in-person

avenues. This form of community is incredibly accessible, addressing frequent barriers to

treatment, such as travel, diagnostic criteria and price. While traditional treatment programs

often require diagnosis of an eating disorder, Ophelia’s Place is open to all identities and no

diagnosis is needed to attend any events or support groups. The only limitation is you must be 16

or older.

Ophelia’s Place support groups are “professionally led for those who have a desire to be

in community and in connection with others through recovery from an eating disorder,

disordered eating and body dissatisfaction.” Currently, Ophelia’s Place has two locations –

Liverpool, NY and Gilbert, AZ. They offer Moving Forward, a weekly support group and

community for those in recovery, and Every Body Matters, a weekly online community and

conversation “to cultivate a safe and empowering online community” for those in recovery.

Since 2009, the Liverpool location of Ophelia’s Place operates out of Café at 407, a “creative

way to fund the non-profit and invite the community to be part of the healing journey.” They

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serve food for the soul, all of which is locally produced, while building community. Usually, the

café hosts in-person groups and Body Project trainings, as well as lunch and learns.

While Ophelia’s Place engages physically and online with its community, they also focus

on education. Their Every Body is Beautiful Project (EBIB) is a call to action, community

engagement and a digital course. EBIB “is a call to action for our community to take part into

disrupting and reshaping the cultural norms around food, beauty and bodies.” Their 4-month

digital course gives participants the tools to educate and empower their communities, while

deepening their knowledge about eating disorder prevention and intervention and strengthening

body respect. They also have an EBIB monthly membership, perfect for those “interested in

learning more about topics like: Health at Every Size, eating disorder prevention and recovery,

body respect, weight stigma, fat positivity, Intuitive Eating, and more; to engage with new and

exclusive experts, lessons, and community coaching every single month.” This monthly

membership offers: an expert interview (offered in video, audio and written transcript), an EBIB

lesson, live community coaching calls with space to submit questions and engage in dialogue

with the EBIB community, and continued access to the original digital course and community.

This organization offers an impressive array of awareness and educational programs for

their local community, and the larger community suffering with eating disorders, disordered

eating and body dissatisfaction through their online options. In addition to these services,

Ophelia’s Place provides free access to podcasts, videos, one-page resources, and have

developed a suggested reading list aligned with their values. I believe that their educational

programs are stellar. They provide dozens of resources, including interviews, access to experts,

community spaces, articles, certification as a Body Project facilitator and more.

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My introduction to Ophelia’s Place sparked my interest in exploring other community

spaces which had a similar goal. While interning at Ophelia’s Place, I had the opportunity to

interview several experts with varying roles in the recovery process about their thoughts on the

importance of community spaces for recovery and making them accessible. Holli Zehring, the

chief executive officer (CEO) of Ophelia’s Place, gave me insight into why community

engagement is crucial to their mission. The digital course is easily accessible, she mentioned,

costing much less than traditional treatment programs, and doesn’t require access to

transportation to participate in the community. It does, however, require access to a computer

and internet. “Education is the first step,” Zehring told me. “Treatment, support – all of that

comes after you learn.” That’s why Ophelia’s Place integrates education into their program,

particularly addressing misconceptions regarding health, food, exercise and weight. The

discussions about the information people are learning sparks the community process (Zehring,

2019). Moreover, giving people access to research-based readings and books empowers

participants to share their knowledge among their communities and engage in critical

conversations about these issues.

My interview with Zehring also shed light on the pros and cons of emerging community

spaces online. While Ophelia’s Place utilizes these platforms to be accessible, their community

platforms don’t require participants to be active on social media. Using social media effectively

and intentionally requires education and media literacy (Zehring, 2019). By intentionally

following users who promote body acceptance, users will be exposed to diverse bodies, not only

in terms of weight but also gender identity and disability. This is critical to effectively using

social media as a space for community support. Zehring emphasizes the need to follow people all

of gender identities, people in fat bodies, disabled people, and people culturally and racially

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different from yourself. As mentioned in the previous section, social media movements often

feature on abled bodied, thin or curvy white women. So, even when following people in body

accepting spaces, people in those spaces could still be using the movement in ways which are not

positive or align with your goals in recovery. That’s why it’s important, Zehring says, for

patients to listen and trust their feelings when using social media and to take initiative to remove

users from when they bring up negative or dangerous thoughts about weight or appearance.

The non-profit’s fears of pushing users to join social media is not baseless. As discussed

in section 3 and 5, body positive spaces online can be dangerous for those in recovery if they are

not encompassing of all bodies and all lifestyles. Some influencers in these communities still

promote restrictive eating and conform to societal pressures of body terrorism, regardless if they

post selfies with the caption “love your body.” Ophelia’s Place clearly took this into

consideration for their Instagram page, @theeverybodyisbeautifulproject. Instead of posting

bodies, the account only features statements or phrases of empowerment which addresses

misconceptions about health, beauty and weight. By focusing on words, Ophelia’s Place prevents

the potential for dictating how recovery should look, and what our bodies should look like.

While I am confident that they would post diverse bodies, by focusing on addressing institutional

issues related to how we view our body, they’re engaging in critical community engagement.

These posts give an audience something tangible to react to, engage with and respond to,

opposed to admiring someone’s body. This is not to discredit exposure to various shapes and

sizes of bodies, but instead addresses the common issue of relapse for those in recovery when

consuming images of other bodies. The messaging of their Instagram posts connects the

individual experience to the institutional level, something I have identified in this thesis as

critical to sustained and successful recovery. Below are some examples of their posts:

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While interning at Ophelia’s Place, I began to ask myself, what was the first instance

where a community like this one began? In the 1960’s, the Fat Acceptance Movement began,

and in 1969 the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) was founded

(Simon, 2019). A fringe group of NAAFA, The Fat Underground, was started by two radical

feminists, Judy Freespirit and Sarah Fishman, and disbanded in 1983. However, the organizing,

radical conversation and dialogue and community efforts by The Fat Underground “provided the

foundation for today’s Health At Every Size movement along with language and ideas to combat

fatphobia in the medical industry” (Simon, 2019). Although the Fat Underground is no longer

active, NAAFA just celebrated their 50-year anniversary and is the oldest civil rights

organization in America to fight size discrimination. However, NAAFA in its current form

doesn’t provide a community environment like Ophelia’s Place. NAAFA is focused on policy

change, urging their members to use their online advocacy center to reach out to lawmakers, the

media and healthcare providers to support size equality and HAES.

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To the extent of my research, I have not been able to identify any other organizations

which focus on building community in-person in addition to online services. Non-profit

organizations and community-based initiatives which mainly function online will be addressed in

the following sub-section. I strongly believe that in-person community spaces are not accessible

or appropriate for everyone. However, this lack of community was personally concerning, which

is why I decided to create Students United for Body Acceptance (SUBA) at Syracuse University

(see: Section 4). In-person spaces, such as SUBA and Ophelia’s Place have obstacles for those

wishing to join the community. With this in mind, these community spaces do serve as a tangible

way of redefining health and beauty norms within a community and spreading advocacy and

education. That is why my thesis concludes it is important for both to exist: in-person and online

challenging of fatphobia and dominant body narratives.

Social Media and Web-Based Spaces

As discussed in the literature view, Marilyn Wann created a ‘zine and online discussion

board for fat peoples in the late 90’s. At the time, this was a new form of community

engagement. Nevertheless, the zine provided a unique form of connection and sense of solidarity

for thousands of fat peoples. To this day, people can still join the Gab Café and build community

with fellow fat people. However, with the rise of social media over the last two decades, many

users are utilizing these spaces as a means of engaging with their community. Moreover, while

some organizations have a social media presence, they do not solely operate through Facebook

or Instagram, providing other resources on a website removed from social media.

Beauty Redefined, which is a non-profit, focuses on promoting positive body image

online and redefining beauty. According to their organizations about us page, Beauty Redefined

works to address the assumption in body positive spaces that women must think they are

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beautiful: “Beauty Redefined changes the conversation about body image by telling girls and

women they are MORE than beautiful” (2020). The twin sisters who founded Beauty Redefined,

Lexie and Lindsay Kite, developed an online course entitled the “Body Image Resilience

Program.” According to their website, their 8-week online course “walks you through your own

path to body image resilience through helping you navigate body shame, objectification and

unreal ideas.” For $200, you have unlimited access to the course for three years, in which you

learn from video, audio and text-based lessons, and are challenged through journaling and

weekly challenges (Beauty Redefined). The course has a group discussion forum but is

advertised as a means of discussing the topics of the course, not necessarily a resource for

building relationships or connections to support a body acceptance journey. Licensed therapists,

registered dietitians and health and wellness professionals can use this course with their patients.

Beauty Redefined seems to focus on self-compassion and understanding, while still

working to achieve “health and fitness,” according to a website infographic. Overall, Beauty

Redefined addresses two critical issues for women: lack of self-esteem and body shame.

According to their testimonials, participants gained critical understanding of media messaging

targeting women and learned skills for addressing body shaming. However, Beauty Redefined

does not address fatphobia and markets health and fitness as important to a body acceptance

journey. Although I have not taken their 8-week online course, their website does not explicitly

address fatness and heavily focuses on body positivity. This organization may be good for those

early in their recovery but fails to address the connections between fatphobia and body

dissatisfaction. It also does not seem to provide a community or support system for participants

besides a discussion forum.

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These two trends, no connection between fatphobia and body dissatisfaction and no sense

of community, applied to several organizations I analyzed. Plus Positive, a non-profit

organization for plus size men, women and teens, doesn’t address the impact of fatphobia,

instead phrasing the issue facing plus size peoples as the following: “being “overweight” can

have negative effects on your self-esteem.” They also currently do not work with a large

community, but “is looking… to partner together to make a bigger impact in our local

communities.” With various online events and resources specifically for plus size peoples, it was

disappointing to see Plus Positive fail to address the detrimental impacts of fatphobia and body

shaming on fat peoples.

As I have acknowledged, social media can be a difficult space for those in recovery to be

in. However, it can also be a lifechanging space when used intentionally. The most useful social

media website for intentionally curating a feed is Instagram, as it allows users to mute and

restrict accounts (in lieu of posts or photos which trigger a user). As it would be exhaustive to

investigate every body positive or fat liberation accounts on Instagram, I have decided to

highlight a few which effectively build community, highlight diverse body sizes and shapes, and

address societal institutions which have shaped the dominant norms on appearance.

The Body Positive, a non-profit established in 1996, uses their Instagram platform to

address diet culture, fatphobia and accessibility. They highlight fat bodies of all races, abilities

and genders, and focus on tools for creating a happier life outside of diet culture.

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Screenshot from @thebodypositive on Instagram

The Anti Diet Riot Club is a self-described “rebel community fighting diet culture” in the

United Kingdom. They host both online events and in-person events for those living in the U.K.

The community even began running an anti-diet riot bus which would travel throughout the U.K.

to promote self-love, fat positivity and body acceptance. Similar to the body positive, Anti Diet

Riot Club focuses on fat bodies to challenge the dominant ideologies about how our bodies

should look.

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Screenshot from @antidietriotclub

Both of these accounts serve as larger platforms for uniting communities in solidarity.

From reading through comments, many of their followers are not just fat people, but those

suffering from eating disorders and those looking to diversify the bodies they’re exposed to.

Individuals are also building fat positive spaces through Instagram, such as activists, academics,

nutritionists, physicians, dieticians and inclusive fitness instructors. These individuals use

Instagram as a means of sharing free resources, hosting events, chatting and offering advice

through the livestream feature, and building community. Measuring effectiveness of these

Instagram’s, whether platforms or individuals, is difficult. However, I believe these spaces must

feature diverse, fat bodies and address the systemic issues which have created body shame and

eating disorders. Further, these spaces cannot promote intentional weight loss or other means of

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restriction. This criterion creates a safe space for fat people, those with eating

disorders/disordered eating or those with body shame (and those who may be all three).

Curating Your Feed

Recovery usually promotes restricting your media consumption. What if instead, we

changed the type of media we’re consuming? This is the ultimate list of Instagram activists and

communities to be following to expose yourself to people who don’t look like you.

Activists, Artists and Academics@amapoundcake@dr.debchristel@hellokyley@the_amazing_dereck@neoqlassicalart@ianmofford@abearnamedtroy@megankimberling@alicesickface@mellamoesjae@hakunamakeda@crutches_and_spice@heem.black@jessicaprdnc@happyfattransman@powerfulcurves@heathermaemusic@huntythelion@yrfatfriend@bear.lord@stinegreveillustration@sonyareneetaylor@chairbreaker@comfyfattravels@sarabrowndesign@flynfluffy@watchshayslay

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@ragenchastain@Iverno2000@jervae@idaho_amy@happyhealthyhans@anneandkathleen@palegingerpear@kellybellyohio@scarrednotscared@themilitantbaker@simonemariposa

Health Professionals@drsophieedwards@dobetter_consulting@your.latina.nutritionist@gatewelltherapy@rebeccascritchfield@fyeahmfabello@liberatednutrition@thefatsextherapist@kristamurias@theintuitive_rd@heytiffanyrose@decolonizingtherapy

Resources and Platforms@whilefat@whatfatgirlsactuallywear@shesallfatpod@wearelivingcute@fatlibink@radicalbodylove@thebodypositive@leathercoven@theeverybodyisbeautifulproject@fatfancy@redefining_wellness@alyseruriani@antidietriotclub@fatwomenofcolor

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@yourewelcomeclub@handsomegirldesigns@historicalfatpeople@thebodylovesociety@thefuckitdiet@selfcareisforeveryone

Memes@fatfriendfinder@memesforvalidation@fat_baaaby@bodypositivememes

Conclusion

With substantial barriers to accessing treatment programs, and the downplaying of the

impacts of fatphobia, it is crucial to find new platforms and spaces to sustain recovery. By

broadening the definition of community engagement to encompass engagement among online

spaces and those with a shared identity, struggle or experience, community engagement becomes

a much more powerful tool. Due to this definition, community engagement for body acceptance

should not be restricted to a geographical location, but accessible to all impacted by fatphobia.

Community engagement can build much needed community and support for those in recovery, as

well as serving as a resource for redefining health and beauty. By redefining the dominant

narrative surrounding health and beauty to be fat positive and size inclusive, there would be a

lower rate of body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, eating disorders, and other issues related to

fatphobia. While in-person community spaces would be ideal, I recognize that they are not

always possible, accessible or available.

To make eating disorder programs more accessible, I suggest treatment centers address

the role of fatphobia, diet culture and other systems (such as sexism) in the prevalence of eating

disorders. Nutrition lessons, for example, could integrate outside media such as podcasts to

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highlight personal experiences to the institutional level. Moreover, community engagement

should be seen as a valid tool for redefining health and beauty norms, as well as a viable support

network for those with body image issues, disordered eating habits or eating disorders. While

traditional support networks are crucial to a sustainable recovery, eating disorder treatment

centers should encourage patients to engage with their communities on topics related to eating

disorders, such as fatphobia or diet culture. However, using the free resources available on the

internet and through community spaces allows for accessibility for those lacking people to build

a support network. Further, I urge treatment centers to recommend local or online community-

based resources which focus on recovery and body acceptance to patients to ensure ongoing

learning and sustained recovery.

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Appendix - COVID-19 and Isolation

Most of the work done for this thesis took place before the outbreak of the COVID-19

pandemic in early 2020 in the United States. The pandemic has highlighted issues in the mental

health field and challenged community members to find new ways to connect in a time of

uncertainty and crisis. Thus, I found it incredibly pressing to add an appendix to this thesis

discussing how COVID-19 has impacted social media spaces for recovery and body acceptance.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media has become a tool for furthering

community building. Several news outlets have highlighted that social isolation, physical

distancing and quarantine are impacting the way we see and feel about our bodies. The pandemic

has completely upended our routine, which can be critical for establishing normalcy in recovery,

and for many, left us stranded in toxic environments (Cassel, 2020). In a Vice news article

entitled “How Body Image Can Be Affected by Coronavirus Isolation,” Dani Gonzales of the

University of South California highlights the immense stress around food during this time:

“everything around eating or prepping food right now creates additional stressors.” Being alone

isn’t dangerous just because of access to food and boredom, but because of the lack of

accountability to continue in recovery and not retreat to old disordered behaviors.

An Instyle reporter recently spoke with several eating disorder advocates and healthcare

professionals to discuss the impact of isolation on mental health. Ruthie Friedlander, co-founder

of The Chain, said: “Eating disorders LOVE isolation. Eating disorders LOVE anything related

to rules. And so some of these very real precautions that we’re needing to take — staying away

from other people, restaurants closing, people hoarding food — can also be a perfect

environment to re-engage behaviors you’ve worked to overcome” (2020). Her co-founder,

Christina Grasso, also touches on the potential anxieties of being still, unstructured time and

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limited access to distraction all contributing to the dangers of isolation for those with eating

disorders (Malacoff, 2020). The Instyle article also addresses the spike in fatphobia during the

pandemic. Lauren Muhlheim, the founder of Eating Disorder LA, told Instyle: “getting fat in the

face of a pandemic should be the last of peoples worries… It’s okay to eat and not exercise and

comfort ourselves with food” (2020). However, fat shaming can and does impact large

populations who may not suffer from an eating disorder and can lead to dangerous behavior.

With these issues in mind, coupled with massive unemployment and layoffs,

organizations and people in the body acceptance community are coming together online. Not

only are people offering resources for free, or at a low cost, due to the pandemic, they are also

fostering connections between people in lieu of physical and social distancing measures. Zoom

has become a popular tool for leading workshops, support groups and fitness lessons.

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With food and meal preparation being a difficult issue for many, HAES members came

together to create the Instagram account @covid19eating support to offer community care meal

support. Utilizing the live stream feature, several nutritionists and dietitians are providing free

support for designing meals and snacks. They are also hosting conversations for people to eat in

community and not alone. Another feature of this page, is that meal support is offered in other

languages, such as Spanish with Latinx therapists, nutritionists and dietitians.

Screenshot from the @covid19eatingsupport

Dena Larsen, the Director of Education for Ophelia’s Place, helped me find resources for

this section of my thesis. Anytime she came across online resources via Instagram, she provided

me with them so I could share them with my followers and on SUBA’s Instagram. She noted that

there has been an influx of community-based resources during the pandemic, which is

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bittersweet. While the overwhelming support in this time is wonderful, Dena worries that once

the pandemic is over healthcare providers will stop offering free services. This would also

impact the community and support systems created during this time. Further research will need

to be done in the future for how COVID-19 impacted the community engagement landscape,

particularly related to body acceptance communities.

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