You've seen the weight loss companies' marketing - "This is a wellness program!" (with weekly weigh-ins.) "This is all about health!" (But the only thing we measure is weight.) "This show is all about wellness" (but is literally named "The Biggest Loser")
People are getting wiser to the fact that diets almost never work (nope, not even if you call them a "lifestyle change") but they still live in a fatphobic society. with a constant drumbeat of "thinner=better." So the diet companies have spent some of their many millions of marketing dollars to figure out how to use language that gets past people's defenses, while still leveraging their fear of being the victims of fatphobia to sell a product that is so unsuccessful that they are legally required to disclaim the chances of success every time they talk about it.
And as Size Acceptance and Health at Every Size become more popular (because they offer real, practical solutions) these companies are stealing their language and concepts to sell us bullshit diets - so you're watching a commercial that is selling you weight loss while paying lip service to the idea that you can love yourself as you are. This is a subtle form of gaslighting.
Let's let Chris McCumber, the president and entertainment director of USA Network which is "rebooting" The Biggest Loser show us how it's done:
"We're re-imagining ' The Biggest Loser ' for today's audiences, providing a new holistic, 360-degree look at wellness, while retaining the franchise's competition format and legendary jaw-dropping moments,"
Yeah, no. Sorry Chris but you can't do that. You can't blend wellness with a competition to starve your body faster than other people to win money. "Holistic wellness" by any reasonable definition is not competitive, and does not include "legendary jaw-dropping moments." The Biggest Loser was, is, and always will be an abomination of a show that does significant harm to its "contestants," and everyone knows it.
We've managed to claw and scrape our way out of the diet industry's grip, we've realized that the solution to fatphobia isn't trying to change ourselves to please our bullies. Let's make sure that we don't get dragged back by ads designed to confuse us by stealing the language of our liberation to sell us the same old diets.
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UPCOMING APPEARANCE!Speaking of fat performers, I'll be doing a stand-up comedy set as a guest performer at the FATCH - the Fat Sketch Comedy Group's New Year, Same You show today! (January 10th) at 9pm at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater on Sunset in Los Angeles. Tickets and info can be found here (Accessibility info: there is a fat-friendly bench in the front, the rest of the seating is stadium theater seats with arms up at least one step. The venue is wheelchair accessible, but there is limited space for wheelchairs.)
In case you missed it, my adorable dog and I have a poem to help you resolve (for the first time, or again) to ditch diets. I'm having fun doing videos like this so there will definitely be more - if you want to make sure not to miss future videos, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel!
Like this blog? Here's more cool stuff:Wellness for All Bodies Program: A simple, step-by-step, super efficient guide to setting and reaching your health goals from a weight-neutral perspective. This program can be used by individuals, or by groups, including as a workplace wellness program!
Price: $25.00 ($10 for DancesWithFat members - register on the member page)
This e-course that includes coaching videos, a study guide, and an ebook with the tools you need to create a rock-solid relationship with your body. Our relationships with our bodies don't happen in a vacuum, so just learning to see our beauty isn't going to cut it. The world throws obstacles in our way - obstacles that aren't our fault, but become our problem. Over the course of this program, Ragen Chastain, Jeanette DePatie, and six incredible guest coaches will teach you practical, realistic, proven strategies to go above, around, and through the obstacles that the world puts in front of you when it comes to living an amazing life in the body you have now.
Price: $99.00
($79.00 for DancesWithFat members - register on the member page)
Love It! 234 Inspirations And Activities to Help You Love Your Body
This is filled with thoughtful advice from the authors Jeanette DePatie, Ragen Chastain, and Pia Sciavo-Campo as well as dozens of other notable names from the body love movement, the book is lovingly illustrated with diverse drawings from size-positive artist Toni Tails.
Price: $9.99 softcover, $7.99 Kindle, ($6.95 + free shipping for DancesWithFat Members)
Book and Dance Class Sale! I'm on a journey to complete an IRON-distance triathlon, and I'm having a sale on all my books, DVDs, and digital downloads to help pay for it. You get books and dance classes, I get spandex clothes and bike parts. Everybody wins! If you want, you can check it out here! ( DancesWithFat Members get an even better deal, make sure to make your purchases from the Members Page!)
Book Me! I'd love to speak to your organization. You can get more information here or just e-mail me at ragen at danceswithfat dot org!
I'm (still!) training for an Iron-distance triathlon! You can follow my journey at www.IronFat.com .
If you are uncomfortable with my offering things for sale on this site, you are invited to check out this post.
Hi, I'm Ragen Chastain. Speaker, Writer, Dancer, Choreographer, Marathoner, Soon to be Iron-distance triathlete, Activist, Fat Person. View all posts by Ragen Chastain
