Setbacks And Strengths - Where is Fat Liberation in The Final Days Of 2024?

Written By: Toni PNW

A Year in Reflection 

Individual efforts of resistance and advocacy were passionate and contributed to the visibility of fat liberation. I was honored to have been a part of Fat Con 2024 and I am so excited to attend in 2025. So much art, education, community, celebration, and hope flow through fat events. I met and connected with other fat creatives and advocates, made new friendships, supported the art of fat artists, performers, and educators, and also had my art and efforts supported. 

More meaningful conversations about weight bias have taken place outside of the online sphere this year, though there is an increasing contrast between cities and more rural towns. Small towns with smaller populations highlight important barriers to advocacy; physical safety concerns, social shunning, isolation from one's community, underrepresentation and dismissal, mockery and bullying, and events being held further away that require money, time, and energy to attend. Accessible, virtual educational resources are vital to support advocates from both small and large communities. 

While inclusion in fashion has taken some steps, they are slow and seem to treat any step forward as the goal itself, proving fat voices and needs are still going ignored. Brands applaud themselves for representing body diversity, yet it's consistently tokenized. More marginalized fat bodies are rarely given runway or modeling opportunities, and brands consistently pay fat models less. Most companies don't even carry the sizes they claim to have in store (and are always mysteriously out of stock online.)

Beauty and diet industries found creative ways to push the cycle of self dissatisfaction through social media, trends, and insecurities - and encouraging abusing diabetic medication for off-label weight loss use. Every month this year was celebrated with a "first of the month" post and, simultaneously, a new whimsically named body insecurity (pillow face, canthal tilt, and face symmetry are a few that inundated my For You pages)

Tattooing continues to fracture, and the tension of progress and resistance to change is coming to a pivotal moment. Harmful behavior isn't just lingering; stigma is common and accepted. A lack of understanding and education about fat bodies is a void activist efforts are trying to remedy, but attitudes are reinforced through beauty standards, conservatism, reluctance to learn or seek information, and the exclusionist boys-club roots of western tattooing. 

And I can only comment on the election in that it has exposed just how prominent resistance to progress, inclusivity, and diversity is, which is a painful realization, but it's information we can use to be prepared - concentrating on supporting one another and other oppressed communities and where we can most efficiently focus our efforts.

Bringing Our Own Armless Chairs to The Table

This year held a lot of setbacks, but acknowledging the challenges to advocacy with honesty doesn't steal hope from the fight. 2024 promised there was an inclusive seat at the table, but when we arrived, it could not hold our bodies, and our exclusion was treated as a non-issue.

Met with disappointment and dismissal, fat people leaned into the community, showing up for each other by sharing information and acts of care that helped us all better advocate for ourselves on a personal level.

Many of us learned how to set boundaries with medical providers to avoid common biases and gaslighting. Fat people who could place large orders at clothing stores that only carried plus sizes online returned their orders in store so local fat people had a chance to find clothing in their size in person. Many fat advocates created groups for activities commonly excluding or triggering to fat bodies so everyone can feel belonging in hobbies and activites. Accessibility tips like liners for belly and breast sweat, travel tips, and advice on navigating restaurants, amusement parks, and medical appointments were shared with dignity and care.

We proved that even when challenged and discouraged, fat liberation has a strong foundation of care, respect, and mutual aid. When denied a seat at the table, we brought our own and helped others bring a seat too.