These Common Phrases Are Actually Fat-Shaming

As a general rule, phrases that offend groups of people are off limits in any respectful and caring group of people. Words that bring down folks in certain demographics have evolved into things that are just not OK to say, even as a joke.

But that doesn’t seem to apply as much to fat-shaming. Many people still use phrases without realizing (or, worse, without caring) that they’re offensive.

According to Tigress Osborn, the board chair of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, our associations with eating and body types can be traced back to historical ideas about racism and white purity.

“In an American sense especially, white Christian purity and what it means to be a ‘good woman’ has to do with controlling yourself, controlling your appetites, controlling your body,” Osborn said.

And self-control was a way to differentiate oneself from others, particularly Black and indigenous people.

“We don’t think often enough about how much all of our ideas about why fat is so bad and so gross are related to these really racist and eugenicist ideas about what bodies should be and what behavior about food should be like,” she said.

In addition to this history, these offensive phrases are deeply rooted in a pervasive diet culture that has plagued society for decades. The idea that thin is ideal ― and healthy ― is everywhere, from the TV we view to the social media posts we see.

Below, experts share what these common anti-fat phrases are and how you can be a little more mindful of your language:

‘You’ve lost weight! You look great.’

“‘You lost weight, you look great’ is an automatic response that a lot of us give, but it also implies the person didn’t look great before,” said Christine Byrne, an eating disorder