In the West, we commonly believe that the aversion to fatness is rooted in medical concerns, especially given the purported “obesity epidemic.” However, studies have shown that the aversion to fat bodies in the West precedes medical warnings about any presumed relationship between size and health. Further, research has long-established that the group most likely to be denigrated for being fat is Black women. In this presentation, Strings will show that contrary to popular beliefs, fatphobia is not rooted in health concerns. Rather, it arose as a mechanism to justify the booming enterprise of slavery through the degradation of Black people, and Black women in particular, as unrestrained in their “animal appetites.” Moreover, when the medical establishment elected to take up questions regarding the relationship between fat and health in the 20th century, physicians chose BMI as its proxy, a tool mired in colour-blind racism.

After the lecture, Sabrina Strings will have a conversation with writer Philsan Osman. This event takes place in the framework of the WACF-festival and is a collaboration between Studium Generale and VIERNULVIER.

• Sabrina Strings is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. She previously held an appointment as a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Sociology and the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley.

• Philsan Osman is co-author of “For Whom We Want to Care: Ecofeminism as Inspiration” (EPA 2021). She is originally from Somalia and is a writer, activist and community builder.

The lecture will take place in the theater hall at the Vooruit. There are works in progress at the Vooruit to improve accessibility. During the works, the elevator in front of the theater hall will remain accessible. The auditorium is accessible to persons in wheelchairs, accompanied by a VIERNULVIER staff member. Wheelchair seating is available in rows 1 and 17 of the parterre. There is an adapted restroom nearby. An interpreter will be present for this lecture to translate from English to Flemish sign language. Anyone with further questions about accessibility arrangements should contact the organization: anais.vanertvelde@hogent.be.