IS YOUR FEMINISM FATFOBIC? by Jessica Balbino

Your feminism is fatphobic, yes. Should I apologize for talking like that? Or for having a fat body? So stop and think: how many fat friends do you have? How many times have you actually stopped and listened to the demands of the fat women around you? How many times have you worried about whether the trendy T-shirt you wear – and flaunt on the rides – fits your fat sister?

Much is said about intersectional feminism, which urgently needs to encompass other agendas that go beyond white women. Much is said about contemplating agendas of black, elderly, poor, LGBTQIA+ women, etc. But how much is said about the struggle of fat women?

How much is known about it, except attributing it all to health issues - and physical health only, as mental health goes down the drain with every silence - and calculating the maximum BMI (Body Mass Index)?

How many times have you stopped in front of the mirror, or your fat friend, and said: "I look huge!"? How many times have you refused a piece of pizza in front of your fat friend and said: "I'm terrified of getting fat and turning into a whale!"?

How many times have you thought that this sounds like an insult and that it can destroy your fat friend's mental health?

How many nights did you go out dancing and you came home sad, because your suitor went out with a girl other than you and cried on the shoulder of her fat friend, who doesn't even have a suitor, precisely because she's fat and society rejects those who have their body out established standards?

Do you, when you ask your fat friend out, worry if the place you go has chairs where she can sit comfortably and turnstiles where she can pass without getting trapped? Or do you just call and "let her fight" to accompany you?

When you show off the gym you go to and your "no pain, no gain" body, you consider that your fat friend would also like to exercise, but she can't feel welcomed in "fitness" environments and that, many times, she can't even buy clothes that fit and are suitable for physical activity?

Have you ever thought that, while you fight for the end of violence against women, your fat friend, by your side, goes through infinite other daily violence that doesn't even become an agenda?

Have you ever stopped to think that it's not a health issue and that your empathy should extend to your friend?

Does your feminism and your fight for equal pay and more jobs in the job market pass through your fat friend, who can't even get a job, because she's passed over in interviews that classify fat people as "don't look like we're looking for"?

Have you ever stopped to think about how much you, thin feminist, oppress your fighting mana, who is fat, even if you don't want to?

As Cintia Lira drew our attention to this, did you know that fat women have difficulty finding pads that fit and don't leak?
That menstrual cups don't fit fat women most of the time, and that leaving the house – to work, play or the military – is torture during the days when fat women have their period?

Have you ever stopped to listen to your friend say that she is afraid to go to the doctor – for whatever reason – because she is treated badly in all of them, for the simple fact of being fat?

Have you heard your friend complain about the violence with which she is treated in hospitals?

And on Tinder? Have you ever stopped to think that your fat friend has almost no reports of sexual adventures, but what is left of violence said to her in flirting and making out apps, for the simple fact that her body is fat?

Stop and think: how many times did your fat friend isolate herself, because she felt too hurt to live in society, and you, even so, went on with your life? How many times have you felt hampered by machismo and your fat friend held your hand and you joined the fight? Now invert:

how many stories involving fat women have you taken to the fight? For street?

If you've never thought about the issues raised here, your feminism is not only selective, but fatphobic and supportive of issues that affect fat women. What's the use of fighting for equality of opportunities between genders, given that, getting there, they will only be worth those who have the standard body, excluding dissident and fat bodies?

And if you already think about it and work for these causes, even if you are thin, relax, the text is not for you, but you can share it, so that more people also break with fatphobic veils and start to practice intersectionality. Come on, FIGHT LIKE A FAT!

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Jessica Balbino is the type of electric woman, who mixes journalism, cultural production and literature with pepper, caffeine, phosphorus and gasoline.

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Cover illustration is by Limão, illustrator and visual artist who likes to draw fat people and fantastic characters.

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