Today Virginia is chatting with Jeff Hunger who is an assistant professor of social psychology at Miami University in Ohio, who studies weight stigma. Our focus of this episode is Jeff’s work on anti-fat bias, understanding how we internalize it, the difference between implicit and explicit bias, and how we start to separate out concepts like body image struggles from the larger conversation of anti-fat bias. We cover a lot of important ground. Including Taylor Swift.

If you want more conversations like this one, please rate and review us in your podcast player! And become a paid Burnt Toast subscriber. It's just $5 per month or $50 for the year. Producing a weekly podcast requires a significant investment of time and resources from several talented people. Paid subscriptions make all of our work possible and enable us to offer an honorarium to expert guests, which is key to centering marginalized voices in this space.

And don't forget to preorder Virginia's new book! Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture comes out April 25, 2023 from Henry Holt. Preorder your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books.

Disclaimer: Virginia is a journalist and human with a lot of informed opinions. Virginia is not a nutritionist, therapist, doctor, or any kind of health care provider. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions she gives are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.

BUTTER & OTHER LINKS

Jeff on Instagram and Twitter

Virginia's previous reporting on weight stigma in healthcare

Virginia can't be a cool foodie because she has to feed small children

A recent review on how we reduce weight bias

A good introduction to ACT, and here’s an example of research on its utility in reducing weight stigma (ironic warning for weight-normative language there!)

of-Implicit-and-Explicit-Attitudes-I-Long-Term-Change-and-Stability-From-2007-to-2016.pdf">Weight bias is still going up. 

Study on fat-shaming celebrities and implicit bias

The very heated debate about Taylor Swift

When renaissance-lizzo-spaz-ableist-slur-lyrics-history.html">Lizzo used an ableist term (and fixed it!)

Stan Culture

Who gets to call themselves fat?

Denied rights to our own bodies.

When a kid comes home and reports that someone called them fat 

Mary Himmelstein's research on weight-based bullyig

Why Dan should build Virginia a hidden kitchen

No really, hidden kitchens

The appliance garage concept

It’s kitchen-scullery.html">just gotten bigger and bigger and more absurd.

Elsie Larson's hidden library

Want to come on Virginia's Office Hours? Please use this form.

 Fill out this form to help us plan for the Fat Talk book tour and launch. Thank you!

CREDITS

The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith. Follow Virginia on Instagram or Twitter.Burnt Toast transcripts and essays are edited and formatted by Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Jeff Bailey and Chris Maxwell.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting independent anti-diet journalism.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe