As the end of the year approaches, we may become more aware of the messages from the media, our families, or ourselves that are centered on losing weight. The pressure to lose weight can be tied to negative perceptions of fat as evidence of a person's lack of self-control, laziness, or failure to care for themselves. These negative perceptions are what many fat activists and scholars are naming as anti-fat bias. We're dedicating this episode to unpacking the history and present-day impacts of how anti-fat bias and weight stigma, not solely fat itself, harms and dehumanizes people who are deemed as "overweight" or "obese" in our society. 

In this episode, you'll hear from three guests, Tierra Major Kearney, the prevention and outreach program coordinator at the UMB Student Counseling Center (SCC), Chaia Grubbs, a licensed clinical social worker and senior counselor at the UMB SCC, and Ariana Meinster, a final year student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. They'll share their experiences and suggestions for dismantling anti-fat bias.