Questioning Wellness Culture: Sizeism, Weight Stigma, and Fatphobia

Have you ever been about to order lunch when a friend, relative, or coworker says, “I’m going to be bad and order...” followed by the exact same thing you were planning to order? Or heard someone say, “I can’t have carbs because I need to lose weight before my child’s B’nai Mitzvah”? Have you ever complimented someone, or overheard someone being complimented, with, “Wow, you look great! How did you lose so much weight?” These comments are common in everyday life, including in Jewish communal spaces. They are usually not intended to harm. Yet they can reinforce powerful messages about bodies, food, and worth that affect the people around us and ourselves. Join us as we explore how to recognize sizeism, weight stigma, and fatphobia; understand the harm they cause in our communities and relationships; and learn practical ways to interrupt them with care and accountability. Together, we’ll examine the assumptions we’ve absorbed about health, wellness, and diet culture, and begin the work of questioning and unlearning them, including in the places where we gather as Jewish community.