A “fat studies” professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse claimed that advice on eating healthy foods and getting exercise during the coronavirus pandemic is “traumatizing.”
Dr. Darci Thoune argued last week on her “Two Fat Professors” blog, which is dedicated to “fighting fatphobia with education, community-building, and A LOT of sass,” that advice on staying healthy during social distancing will “continue to traumatize people who are already being traumatized.”
“To persist in promoting the idea that gaining weight is dangerous, bad, or something that we should be preoccupied with in this moment (or any moment) only feeds into a system of fatphobia that oppresses and abuses so many even in the best of times,” Thoune wrote in a piece titled “Diet culture at the end of the world.”
She added, “I’m going to be blunt, we are living in traumatizing times. Your trauma is real. You do not need to suck it up. We need to seek solace and comfort where we can, and for some folx that solace and comfort will be in food. AND, THIS IS OKAY. It’s also okay, if you’re struggling and need help. Now is the time to connect with others and to support each other however we can (from a distance).”
Thoune specializes in fat studies, first-year writing, and queer theory, among other educational areas, according to her school profile page.
