Diet culture, a pervasive system that elevates thinness, often equates it with health and virtue, mandating weight loss as a means to social status and privilege. This culture, as Christy Harrison notes, demonizes certain eating habits, forcing hypervigilance and shame around food choices, distracting from pleasure, purpose, and power. Diet culture disproportionately benefits those predisposed to thinness or with the resources for specialized diets and weight-loss interventions. In response to this, "diet culture t-shirts" have emerged as a form of protest and a statement of self-acceptance. These t-shirts, emblazoned with slogans, challenge conventional beauty standards and promote body positivity.
The Rise of Slogan T-Shirts
Slogan t-shirts have a long history of being used to express opinions and make statements. The trend among slogan T-shirts has shifted from women proclaiming how cute and cuddly and sparkly they are, to men using them to make banter-laden jokes. These slogans often involve remarking on the tastiness of beer or his hilarious laziness. But sometimes, a chap will decide to don a T-shirt bearing a slogan one can only describe as "rapey." This can be a handy method of letting the world know that the person in the T-shirt is a grade-A douchemeister and no one need waste even a minute of their time on them.
Fat Positivity and Reclamation
The fat positivity movement reclaims the word "fat" as a neutral descriptor, akin to "tall" or "short." Activists argue that fatness is not inherently undesirable but has been stigmatized due to societal associations with negative attributes like being unlovable or unhealthy. Different levels of fatness-small fat (1X-2X), mid-fat (2X-3X), superfat (4X-5X), and infinifat (6X and higher)-invite different experiences, particularly in access to clothing.
Challenging Healthism
Healthism, closely linked to anti-fatness and ableism, posits health as a virtue and moral imperative. This logic implies that people are duty-bound to appear healthy, i.e., thin. Healthism harms disabled, chronically ill, mentally ill, and fat individuals. Fat positive t-shirts directly challenge this by promoting self-acceptance regardless of health status.
The Power of Visibility
For individuals who are visibly fat, wearing fat positive t-shirts can be a form of resistance against fat shaming, harassment, and bullying. These comments can range from the downright hilarious to the darkest forms of hate, but are often more prominent online than IRL. People who are unhappy with their own bodies often seem to feel this need to attack those of others who have decided to be happy with theirs. When we break the rules of self-loathing that our society prescribes to us, we become targets.
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
Examples of Fat Positive T-Shirts and Their Messages
Here are some examples of fat positive t-shirts and the messages they convey:
- "Fattitude": This t-shirt promotes a positive attitude towards fatness, encouraging people to embrace their bodies.
- "I'm Morbidly Obsessed With Myself": This t-shirt challenges health concern trolls who use the term "morbidly obese" to shame fat people. It emphasizes that health cannot be determined by appearance.
- "I Love My Rolls": This t-shirt promotes self-love and body acceptance, encouraging people to embrace their rolls as a part of their body.
- "Thick Chick": This t-shirt celebrates the word "thick", encouraging people to take ownership of all the words that others may use to describe our bodies, so that we have the power over what those words mean to us.
- "Diet Industry Dropout": This t-shirt makes a bold statement about diet culture, rejecting the idea that weight loss is necessary for happiness or success.
- "No, Honey. You're Thinner Than Me, Not Prettier": This t-shirt challenges the idea that thinness equates to beauty, promoting the idea that fat people can be beautiful too.
- "Thick Thighs Save Lives": This t-shirt promotes thick thigh pride, celebrating the strength and power of thick thighs.
- "Fat & Thriving": This t-shirt celebrates fat people who are living their best lives, rejecting the idea that fat people are unhealthy or unhappy.
The Impact of Wearing Fat Positive T-Shirts
Wearing fat positive t-shirts can have a significant impact on both the wearer and those who see them. For the wearer, it can be a form of personal empowerment, a way to challenge social norms, and a reminder to love and accept their body. For those who see the t-shirt, it can be a way to question their own ideas of beauty and acceptable bodies, and to challenge the stigma associated with fatness.
The Persistence of Diet Culture
Despite the rise of body positivity, the cult of thinness remains deeply ingrained in society, particularly within the fashion industry. Thinness is often equated with aspirational wealth and status, perpetuating classism and misogyny. However, consumers have power, and as millennials age, they are beginning to assume positions of influence in industries that impact mainstream culture.
Moving Forward
To avoid replicating the harmful diet culture of the past, it is essential to propel publications, models, and designers that have operated from a place of inclusion of body types from day one. By challenging the pervasive messages of diet culture and promoting body positivity, we can create a more inclusive and accepting society for people of all sizes.
Anti-Diet Culture Merchandise
Beyond t-shirts, various merchandise promotes anti-diet culture messages:
Read also: Walnut Keto Guide
- "THE BMI IS TRASH" merchandise: This merchandise challenges the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a measure of health, highlighting its limitations and potential for harm.
- "Body Positive Zone" posters: These posters create safe spaces where diet talk is discouraged and all bodies are celebrated.
- Anti-diet art prints: These prints serve as reminders that weighing oneself doesn't matter, but weighing ingredients for baking does.
- "All Bodies Are Good Bodies" mugs: These mugs promote the idea that all bodies are worthy of respect and acceptance.
- "Diet Culture Dropout" hats: These hats signify a rejection of diet culture and a commitment to body positivity.
- "Empty Calories" satire: This merchandise challenges the notion of "empty calories," arguing that all foods can be enjoyed without guilt or shame.
- "Eat All Body Shamers" stickers: These stickers offer a playful yet defiant response to body shaming.
- "Bodies Just Are" tote bags: These tote bags emphasize that people are more than their bodies, promoting a focus on inner qualities and experiences.
- "There Is No Healthy Body Size That Applies To All Human Beings" art: This art challenges the idea that there is a single ideal body size, promoting body diversity and acceptance.
- "Riot Not Diets" apparel: This apparel encourages people to reject diet culture and fight for body positivity.
- "Fat Is Not A Bad Word" merchandise: This merchandise normalizes the word "fat," challenging its negative connotations and promoting fat acceptance.
Read also: Weight Loss with Low-FODMAP