Keep Diet Culture Out of The COVID-19 Crisis

I know we’re all struggling to figure out how to take care of ourselves through this wild time, and one way we do that is through humor, but some “jokes” I’ve seen have been anything but funny. A popular theme is how people are going to “gain the quarantine 15,” or really, anything related to gaining weight during this time.

These statements are framed in such a way that it is implying that gaining weight is inherently a bad thing. While we have made some steps recently towards body positivity, body neutrality, etc. our society is still so steeped in diet culture that these statements are still perceived as acceptable and funny by the masses.

Here’s the thing though, these jokes aren’t funny, they’re fat phobic, dangerous and, quite frankly, tired. Here’s why I think we should socially distance ourselves from these jokes.

For starters, these statements are not funny and are actually really damaging. There are currently 30 million people in the U.S. alone dealing with an eating disorder. These “jokes” can be incredibly triggering for them. It’s not only dangerous for those with eating disorders, but people in larger bodies can see them too, what they hear is you confirming that their bodies are somehow worth less than those in thin bodies. It isn’t cute and cheeky, it’s harmful and insensitive.

From a young age society conditions us to believe that some bodies are inherently better than others, it causes body anxieties and food neuroses for many people, even more than the 30 million people who suffer from an eating disorder. We currently are in the midst of a pandemic and are all doing our best to get through it in whatever way we can. For some of us that means eating differently than we usually do because it can be a coping mechanism, a form of self-care, a way to feel safe/secure and that’s completely ok! Like I said, we’re all coping with this in the best way we know how. What we don’t need is to be adding to people’s body anxieties and food neuroses with harmful statements dressed up as jokes.

Please remember, your feelings are completely valid. This is a unique and overwhelming experience for us all, if you have feelings of anxiety, scarcity, loneliness, disconnection, urges to eat more than usual, lack of appetite, feeling overwhelmed... any of your responses are normal, and you should have grace with yourself to experience this. Remember that despite what society says, bodies are just bodies. YOU are so much more than that, and whatever you need to do to take care of yourself right now (short of endangering other people) is fine. If you need some extra support right now, I highly recommend all things Christy Harrison, including her podcast Food Psych. I find her content exceptionally helpful on my intuitive eating journey. Life is hard right now for a great deal of us for a myriad of reasons, let’s not make it worse by bringing diet culture into a global pandemic.

Ps. If you need additional ED resources, NEDA is a wonderful organization.