Fat Talk Free Week is a campaign designed "to challenge and begin to reverse the prevalent and damaging pursuit of the 'thin ideal” by women of all ages,' as described by the National Eating Disorder Association. The five-day campaign, scheduled to kick off October 19th, attempts to illuminate how "fat talk" negatively impacts our thoughts and feelings about ourselves.
Will you take the challenge? Can you remove "fat talk" from your lexicon that week? What would be the biggest challenges in doing so? How about starting this now?
7 comments:
I try to do this on a regular basis, and I usually call my friends out on it when they do it. Like one said "I am about to sin in so many ways..." as she unwrapped a small Dunkin Donuts muffin for breakfast. I said "Last time I checked eating a muffin is not a sin." She agreed and moved on. As some one who is studying clinical psychology and who has an interest in ED's most of my friends (psych and non-psych) usually don't talk that way around me, whether that means I'm having an impact or they just don't want another lecture, I don't know, lol.
Now fat talk still goes on in my head a lot (it's hard not to in this culture), but I make a point to not voice it. I don't want to contribute to that kind of talk, and by not voicing it, I think it makes it less powerful.
That sounds like the best idea ever. I'm lucky enough to be living with three super cool dudes right now (no fat talk, no food talk, just family guy) and sometimes when I do hang out with my female friends I get a little shocked by the abundance of fat talk. I try hard not to talk that way but I still do even after "no 3 or 4 letter f-words, fat, fine, or the infamous" Should be a good challenge. The next step is, of course, getting it out of my head.
I'm going to take the challenge! (:
i can't believe that i think this challenge will be hard. i've quit drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, binging and purging -- but not slapping my stomach and swearing at it for five days, now that's going to be a challenge!
unbelievable.
thanks, dr. s., this is a great idea and a great reminder
I'm participating in it and encouraging my friends to do the same. Once you start really catching yourself you realize how prevalent it is. It has changed a lot of how I feel about myself in just a couple of days. Every time I catch myself wanting to make a negative comment about my body in my head or out loud, I replace it with a positive one. It's really an amazing idea!
So I nearly, nearly made it...Friday night killed it. Halloween costume shopping. yuck. I seem to forget that size (blank) is not a healthy/normal size for me. Throws me every time.
This campaign is great and I've read quite a few articles recently about universities implementing "Fat Talk Free Week" to increase eating disorder awareness on campus. Eating Recovery Center, an eating disorder center in Denver, just released research showing that the transition to college, with its inherent pressures and changes, can increase the likelihood of eating disorders in young adults. Go here for the complete report: https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com/pdf/ERC_College_FIN.pdf
Crystal (Eating Recovery Center)
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