Hello and welcome to episode 8! This is a really good one. I speak with
, author of the new book Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. She’s also the author of The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America. Her reporting on diet culture, health and parenting has appeared in the New York Times, Scientific American, and many other publications. She also writes the popular anti-diet newsletter Burnt Toast and hosts the Burnt Toast Podcast (and she happens to be my neighbor and friend!).
In this episode, we explore anti-fat bias and fat phobia, and how weight, health and beauty have gotten tangled up with notions of morality. Virginia explains how (and why) our culture has become so afraid of fat, and how this fat phobia has resulted in real systems of oppression where humans are valued according to their weight. Virginia explores what it means to be healthy, and the fallacy of linking weight to health. We talk about diet culture and how restriction just doesn’t work, and Virginia offers real tips on how we can start to change the system and gain body autonomy.
We also talk about feeding our kids, and how we can raise children who have body autonomy. She offers tips for teaching our kids that their bodies belong to them and that all bodies are equal.
This episode is so expanding, whether or not you have children and no matter your body size. You’re going to walk away with a whole new perspective on body autonomy, fat and health.
You can listen to the podcast right here, or, better yet, subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. Please drop me a comment if you give it a listen, and if it resonates with you, share it with your people or rate it in your podcast app—it goes a long way in supporting this work!
xo, Nicki | @nickisizemore | more recipes | cookbooks | classes
Virginia’s Book, Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture
Find Virginia on Instagram
Fat Phobia, Body Autonomy and Feeding Kids with Virginia Sole Smith