Self-Care for Fat Liberation: Social Media
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There are a fuck ton of different types of media that we regularly consume and we can't really control most of the media that we consume. Social media is one area where we have a lot more control over the messages and images that we receive. It’s the perfect opportunity for us to grab onto the reins a little tighter and make sure that what we’re consuming is in line with our morals, as well as supporting our wellbeing.
CURATING OUR SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDS
One way that we can engage our social media use as a means of self-care is to follow other fat folx—and not just influencers or celebrities, but other ordinary fat folx who speak to you or have similar interests as you. This was actually a top priority to a lot of the folx who participated in my study around empowerment for fat folx. They acknowledged that the visibility of other ordinary fat people impacted them just as much if not more than “high profile” fat folx.
We also want to be mindful of the other types of accounts we follow that may not be an individual. Maybe it’s an organization or a brand or something. Whatever it is, we want to follow more accounts that are fat positive or body neutral, as well as fat liberation specific accounts that tend to share more information and resources about how to address fatphobia and oppression against fat people. Following hashtags on relevant platforms is another great way to discover new content and accounts.
HOW TO ENSURE YOU’RE VIEWING WHO YOU FOLLOW
After we curate our social media feeds, we want to make sure that we’re actually seeing their posts. It’s helpful to utilize the Instagram feature that only shows the accounts that we are actually following. (I know, who’d’ve fucking thought that our own social media would allow us to see posts from people we follow?!)
In order to ensure that you’re scrolling through posts of accounts that you actually follow, go into your Instagram feed and click the Instagram logo in the top left corner. A drop down menu will appear that says “Following” and “Favorites”. Click “Following” and that’s when your feed with switch to show only the accounts you follow, and not additional posts that are sponsored, ads, or suggestions. You can also favorite certain accounts, and those are the posts that will appear when you click “Favorites” instead of “Following”. This could be a cool way to curate a purely fat-centric space. Try favoriting all your favorite fat-positive, fat liberation, and body neutral accounts and then you’ll have a perfectly curated fat Instagram feed.
SUPPORTING OUR INFINITE BODY JOURNEY
It's no secret that no matter how long we’re doing this kind of work with ourselves or with other people, it's a continuous process to unpack and combat and move through both internalized and external fatphobia. By curating our social media feed, we’re helping ourselves move through that forever process. It can also totally increase our own self-worth, because as we continue to ingest images that look like us and are positioned in a light of joy or neutrality or acceptance, it reflects the messages that we're viewing back onto ourselves.
UNFOLLOW ACCOUNTS THAT PROMOTE FATPHOBIA & DIET CULTURE
On the flip side, we want to make sure we unfollow accounts that promote diet culture, weight loss, or are fat-negative in any way. This type of mindful consumption helps decrease feelings of shame and guilt that occur when we do come across these kinds of images or messages. It minimizes triggers by just getting it them the fuck out of our feed, period.
HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACTS FAT LIBERATION
You might be like, “How is my little feed got shit to do with the grand notion of fat liberation?” Well, there are a few ways that this impacts fat liberation in our own lives, as well as those around us. In any community, it's clear that visibility is a super fucking powerful tool. Like, point blank, seeing people that look like us is really important in building up our own confidence and self-worth. So, the way that you can engage this beyond yourself is sharing all of the dope fat-positive, fat liberationist, and body neutral content that you’ve curated in your feed so that other people who are following you get to witness it and discover these resources as well.
It's not just about other people on the internet, though. Remember how I said earlier that a lot of people find that witnessing other unapologetically fat people in everyday life can impact them? Well, that's where sharing our own images and experiences from our life on social media can make an impact on others. It might not seem like a big deal, but if even one person sees what you have to say, or sees an image of you that positively impacts them or resonates with them—that is more than enough reason to share your own story. So, take all the motherfuckin’ selfies that you ever wanted (and more!) and post them on the internet. Use all the hashtags and let yourself be seen. Not only can it be empowering for yourself, but it can be empowering for other people.
It's also a no-brainer that knowledge is power, so don't hoard all of this great content and information and resources for yourself. Please, please, please make sure that you're sharing that information in your stories or in your feed for other people to find, too. And don't even just wait for it to appear in your feed. Actually go looking and consciously seek out information to educate yourself and educate others.
We really never know who we're impacting by participating in visibility or by sharing information and resources. You never know who you're going to touch with your experience or with a piece of information that you've shared. Sometimes it can really shift the way someone moves through the world, or shift the way they think about fat people if they're not fat. It has a ripple effect in how they will go on to continue to think about fat people, talk about fat people, and treat the fat people in their lives. We really never know when legislation is going to arise that has to do with fat rights, so the more people that become allies for fat folx, the better in the long run and in the grand scheme of things.
SUGGESTED ACCOUNTS & HASH TAGS
Those are just a few ways that we can engage self-care for fat liberation by utilizing social media. I'm sure there are a bunch of other ways—if you've got any ideas, please drop them in the video comments. And, as always, I am not the only person you should be seeking this
information from. Please do your own footwork in finding other fat acceptance, fat liberationist, and body neutral voices on social media. Here are a few accounts to follow to get you started:
Allé
Caleb Luna
Da’Shaun L. Harrison
Lindley Ashline
Marquisele Mercedes
Nalgona Positivity Pride
Sophia Apostol
Tigress Osborn
Here are a few hashtags to use and follow:
#fatcommunity
#fatliberation
#fatactivism
#fatactivist
#fatpositive
#fatpositivity
#bodyneutral
#bodyneutrality
WANT TO WORK WITH A FAT LIBERATIONIST PRACTITIONER?
Check out my sliding scale peer counseling services: Empower Hour and Shoot the Shit. Or perhaps you’d just like to pick my brain through consultation. Oooor maybe you’d like to do a body-centric Uno Card Tarot Reading. Whatever you choose, I look forward to connecting with you! :)
Be sure to check out Part 1 of this series: Self-Care for Fat Liberation: Reclaiming “Fat”