Coming Out as Fat: Rethinking Stigma
(Saguy and Ward 2011)

• Being fat is extremely stigmatized
• Anti-fat stigma is often considered socially acceptable in ways that, e.g., anti-queer stigma is not
  (e.g. media, government, science, …)

Discussing fatness

• Being fat is not a medical condition needing treatment, nor is it an indicator of poor health
• Medicalized terms like 'obese' and normative words like 'overweight' should be avoided, as should euphamisms that try to avoid saying the word fat
• Do not single out individual bodies for comment (celebrity or otherwise)
• Trauma surrounding bodies is common — be sensitive in your Perusall comments and group discussions
• Because of the sensitivity of these issues, I will be moderating the Persuall comments more closely than usual