Today in Fat Hatred

[Trigger warning for fat hatred, eliminationism, body policing.]

In case anyone was still under the impression that fat hatred in this country is not explicitly eliminationist, Shaker NobleExperiments sends along this article which reports: "According to South Florida's Sun Sentinel, 15 of 105 OB/GYN practices in the area have created weight limits for new patients starting at 200 pounds." The author notes that "having to shed pounds to get an appointment with a gynecologist is preposterous," but it is not merely preposterous: To deny potentially life-saving healthcare, like routine cancer screening, to women because they are fat will literally condemn some of them to death.

Fifteen out of 105 might not seem like a huge number, but, in the US, a country without socialized medicine, you're shit outta luck if your health insurance provider's in-network docs fall in that fat-hating fifteen (unless you can afford to pay out-of-pocket for healthcare). There is, for example, exactly one in-network OB/GYN in my town to which I can go. The next closest is a half-hour drive away.

Meanwhile, Shaker InfamousQBert forwards this story about a British doctor who "gives overweight moms-to-be diabetes drug to slim their unborn babies." Awesome. Great idea, I'm sure.

In better fat-related news, Shaker Kim forwards this piece by Lesley Kinzel about the power of saying no. Which is not only true like a true thing with lots of little true bits all over it, but also underlines once again how the concepts of consent, autonomy, respect, and dignity run through every flavor of social justice in inextricable ways.