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Patti Lou Watkins

Oregon State University

Patti Watkins, Ph.D. pwatkins@oregonstate.edu

Clinical Psychologist

School of Psychological Science

Women Studies Program

Women, Weight, & Body Image

Fat Studies

Introductory Psychology

Abnormal Psychology

Rationale for teaching HAES in Psychology

Content (Readings, films, websites, assignments)

Process (pedagogy)

Challenges

HAES Beyond the Classroom

Weight bias “status quo” among college students Ambwani et al., 2014

Weight bias more pronounced among students in behavioral health majors Glovsky, E. (2014). Wellness not weight: Motivational

interviewing and Health At Every Size. CognellaAcademic Publishing, San Diego, CA.

Weight bias among psychology students Waller et al., 2012

Weight-centric and weight-biased messages in psychology textbooks

Psychology Textbooks Abnormal Psychology (Rothblum, 1999)

Introductory Psychology (Touster, 2000)

General Review (McHugh & Kasardo, 2012)

Current Study (Watkins & Gerber, 2015)

Themes Illustrations of “headless fatties” or fat

people engaging in stereotypic behavior “Obesity” categorized as Eating Disorder Weight as unquestioned determinant of

health Etiology emphasizes individual behavior Blaming/Shaming language Promotion of weight loss for health Either no mention of weight bias or

discussion that weight bias can be eliminated via weight loss!

“The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.” Gloria Steinem

Let go of the weight-centric paradigm

Consider a weight-neutral, weight-inclusive paradigm

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Readings

Tailor to Discipline

Use of psychology, public health, nutrition, sport science journal articles

Combination of quantitative, qualitative, and narrative reports

Films Highlight weight bias

Question traditional weight-based models of health

Present positive images of fat people

Websites Organizations that address weight bias,

support HAES principles

News reports, blogs, videos illustrating contemporary issues related to course topics

Texts The Fat Studies Reader (Rothblum & Solovay, 2009)

Journal Articles addressing… Weight Bias System of oppression/Social justice issue Prevalence/Demographics Institutions Consequences

Obesity Paradox BMI inaccurate predictor of disease/mortality Fitness better predictor than fatness

Weight Loss Interventions Ineffectiveness Deleterious physical/psychological side effects Ethical questions

Health At Every Size Empirically supported effectiveness

Fat Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ufts20/current

Sex Roles: A Journal of Research

May 2012 http://www.springerlink.com/content/0360-0025/66/9-10/

Somatechnics

March 2012 http://www.euppublishing.com/toc/soma/2/1

Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics: A Journal of Qualitative Research

Summer 2014 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/narrative_inquiry_in_bioethics/toc/nib.4.2.html

Introduction to Thin Privilege Bacon, L. (2009). Reflections on fat acceptance: Lessons learned from thin

privilege. Retrieved from: http://www.lindabacon.org/Bacon_ThinPrivilege080109.pdf

I really related to this article because it made me realize how fat oppression happens to all people in such an unknowing manner. I never consciously think about how much I have internalized about this topic, or how much invisible privilege I have. It made me think about how I can alter my own ways of thinking, learning, and interacting with others to help stop fat oppression.

This article is a good eye opener and will help me grow as a person. Realizing that because of my weight I am sometimes privileged can help me better control how I act in certain situations. I can also start informing others of ways to create more of a neutral weight society rather than target fat people.

America the Beautiful 2 http://americathebeautifuldoc.com/2/atb/the-thin-commandments/

Being Big: Fat Hatred in America http://www.beingbigmovie.com/

Dieting: At War with Our Bodies http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/release-of-film-documentary-dieting-at-war-with-our-bodies-591946.htm

Disfigured Fattitude: A Body Positive Documentary

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/319256879/fattitude-a-body-positive-documentary

The Fat Body (In)visible http://www.fatbodyinvisible.com/

The Size of It The Student Body

http://thestudentbodyfilm.com/

Weight Problem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMIhIQu7mcc

Weightless https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk-GGmbIdTA

“Scales are for fish, not people!”

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Association for Size Diversity and Health http://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/

National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance http://www.naafaonline.com/dev2/

Yale Rudd Center-Weight Bias & Stigma http://www.yaleruddcenter.org/what_we_do.aspx?id=10

Teaching Tolerance http://www.tolerance.org/search/apachesolr_search/size%20diversity

Contemporary Events

The Biggest Loser

Popular press article

Contestant reveals brutal secrets

http://nypost.com/2015/01/18/contestant-

reveals-the-brutal-secrets-of-the-biggest-loser/

The Biggest Loser

News show video interview reaction

Includes Judith Matz, LCSW/ASDH member

http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/54b6efcb78c90a828100029d

Assignments

Reading Reactions

In Class Writing

Website Reactions

Autobiographies

Activism Projects

Presentation on HAES to College Class

Presentation on HAES at Boys & Girls Club

Stop Fat Hate Facebook Page

Op-Ed on HAES in Campus Newspaper

Fat Positive Radio Broadcast

Scale Smashing Event/Youtube Video

Anti-Weight Bias T-Shirts

Posting Fat Positive Messages around Campus

Personal Impact

Greater awareness of/sensitivity to others’ experiences of weight bias

Greater body self-acceptance

Less frequent self-weighing

Less dieting/restrictive eating habits

Shift in focus in motivation/type of physical activity

Professional

Integrate into current academic/work life

Ideas to integrate into future career

Dissemination of Course Concepts

Friends and family

Health At Every Size has changed my life. I used to wake up every morning and weigh myself and get so angry when I didn’t see the number I wanted to see. I used to work out hardcore just to lose weight. I wasn’t really happy with my body or my life. I no longer exercise because I feel I have to. I exercise now to make me feel good. Working out doesn’t have to be going to the gym. Working out can be snowboarding, hiking, playing basketball. I have stopped weighing myself every morning. I put the scale in the storage closet so I don’t have to look at it. I even encouraged my roommate to stop weighing herself too. I will never go on another diet. The material in this class has taught me I can be happy with my body just the way it is.

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I used to constantly weigh myself, and now when I see my roommate weigh herself, I always remind her why she shouldn’t worry about her weight and what it means to exercise for health, not weight loss.

I used to always be worried about counting calories and making sure to exercise every day for a certain amount of time. This class made me realize I should be happy, and counting calories was not making me happy. I now still make smart food choices, but I never obsess over how many calories I’ve eaten that day, and if I can’t make it to the gym, it isn’t the end of the world.

I think I can now confidently say, I will never diet again! I also now understand one of the biggest reasons I hate the gym. I will never be a waif, but I will be proud of my strong and larger than model size body. I can understand that my bigger thighs probably help me bike and swim faster and that my normal weight is A-OK.

Thanks to this class, I know I can have pizza without freaking out about the calories I put in my body. Before this class, eating that pizza would make me feel terrible and would cause me to want to work out for hours to burn the calories, but I now know that I am human and I should never stop eating the things I love because of a number that is attached to it.

Since I am working toward being a clinical psychologist, I think this reading was a great reminder that even the best intentions can sometimes be flawed. I don’t want to have a client who is pursuing weight loss and then blindly believe that they need to lose weight. I’d rather be of the mindset that every person is unique, and that there are other markers of health at every size.

This class has changed my entire outlook on the world. My graduate field of study has a social justice focus. I can’t recall very much said about weight. This term I have written about weight bias in my counseling course and even touched on space accessibility with my internship supervisor when planning and event.

As a teacher, I plan to incorporate discussion on size diversity and how this should be addressed within the world of general and adapted physical education.

I want to go to law school. The model will be something I work toward in the fight for social justice.

I have told several people about this information, many replying with hesitation. I am now able to provide them with resources, research, and statistics to prove my point without my audience considering my discussion an emotional one.

I have an internship supervisor who bought the book early in the term because of the conversations we were having about the readings.

Recently, I have had a number of friends posting on Facebook about their summer weight loss goals. I am currently working on a message that introduces HAES and highlights the need to live in the now and not solely focus on weight loss.

This class was so special to me that I involved my family in it. I have taken so many of the readings and websites that we have looked at and shared them with family members.

Being in this class has made me more vocal toward people who are worried about their self and body image. I hear a lot of my friends talking about looks and weight and before this class, I didn’t think much of it. I now catch myself telling my friends that they need to stop focusing on their weight and constantly trying to lose weight. Before I just kind of let it slide and thought it was more normal. Now I see myself actively trying to explain to friends about how weight doesn’t matter as long as they are living a healthy life they shouldn’t be concerned with their looks. Their body is their body and they should start accepting it more.

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Traditional or feminist pedagogy? Anticipating and Addressing

Misconceptions and Resistance “I thought it was a class teaching people

how to eat healthier to avoid getting fat.”

“I hate fat people, I’m only taking this class because I need the upper division credits.”

“This class is an attack on my profession!”

Instructor Body Size, Personal History Self-Disclosure?

Coping model (vs. model internalized weight bias, body image distress, dieting behavior)

Student Self-Reflection

How to deal with painful self-disclosure or increased distress? Watkins, Farrell, & Doyle-Hugmeyer (2012)

Cameron (2015)

Throughout the term, I very much valued and appreciated when my classmates would share their experiences. I love hearing others’ experiences and I think that is a great way to understand the material and learn from one another. I think the most important aspect of Fat Studies is the inclusion of personal narratives supported by scientific research. This allows, as it did for me, the attention of the viewer to be grabbed and hopefully educated by the scientific support.

I was very hesitant to sit in a room and talk about fat as that is a part of my identity. It was handled very well and I am glad that other people in the class were either educated enough to know the true oppression of weight, or at least to keep their opinions to themselves or at least outside of class.

Students face weight-centric views in other classes

Addressing “Healthism” The privileging of healthy,

physically fit individuals over those who are unhealthy The idea that fit fat people are better

than unfit fat people

Welsh, T. (2011). Healthism and the bodies of women: Pleasure and discipline in the war against obesity. Journal of Feminist Scholarship, 1, 33-48. Critical of privilege based on weight

Critical of privilege based on health (HAES)

Critical of moral imperative for health

Critical of focus on individual health behaviors vs. societal inequity

OSU Active Minds Chapter Integrate HAES information during

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week events

OSU Nutrition Club Post HAES information on Facebook

Dissertation Research Identifying strategies to make fitness

facilities more welcoming/accessible

Support from OSU’s DPD Program Dissemination in Faculty/GTA training

Former Students as Faculty Debbie Christel, Ph.D. Taught Fat Studies at WVU

Rebecca Concepcion, Ph.D. Teaches HAES at St. Mary’s College

Patti Watkins Ph.D.

Associate Professor

School of Psychological Science

Oregon State University

Corvallis, OR 97331

USA

(541) 737-9234

pwatkins@oregonstate.edu