I have been a member of the HAES® (Health at Every Size) community for many years. I have appreciated finding an online community to help me in my attempts to unlearn diet culture and metabolize the harm I have experienced because of it. It has benefitted me immensely both personally and as Nia teacher as I attempt to create safe and inclusive movement spaces.
What is HAES?
From the ASDAH website (Association for Size Diversity And Health) “The HAES movement is a continuously evolving alternative to the weight-centered approach to treating clients and patients of all sizes. It is also a movement working to promote size acceptance, to end weight discrimination and stigma, and to lessen the cultural obsession with weight loss and thinness.”
There is a long history of HAES dating back to the 1960s which you can learn more about here.
Lindo Bacon
My entry point into the HAES movement was through a book written in 2008 called “Health at Every Size” by
Lindo Bacon. Since that book was published, Lindo has been seen as somewhat of an authority on the subject. What I’ve recently discovered, however, is that HAES was originally created by and for fat people and that, because of this book, Lindo is a thin white person who is now benefitting from it. In other words, this work has been appropriated and mis-credited primarily to Lindo and not to those who created it or to those marginalized bodies (including fat, Black, queer, trans, and disabled people) that continue to do this work. In addition, the perspective in Lindo’s book and in their speaking about this subject is that of a thin, white woman. As such, that narrative does not reflect the experience of the marginalized bodies that this movement was intended to centre and uplift.
Recent statements
This past week, there have been a number of statements released about inter-personal aggression and harm that has been done by Lindo to members of the HAES community. What has come to light, based on the statements below, is that Lindo uses their privilege along with unhealthy power dynamics when attempting to “collaborate” with marginalized and oppressed communities. They have displayed patterns of behaviour upholding white supremacy (power hoarding, sense of urgency) along with dismissiveness, entitlement, paternalism, white fragility and more, all of which have caused considerable harm. Apparently this has been brought to Lindo’s attention and they are unwilling to take responsibility or to engage in a community accountability process.
I stand with Marquisele Mercedes, Lindley Ashline, Veronica Garnett and ASDAH and acknowledge that they underwent emotional toil in having and sharing their experiences with Lindo. If you are not aware of their experiences, you can read their statements below.
1. Marquisele Mercedes
2. Veronica Garnett and
ASDAH (Association for Size Diversity and Health)
3. Lindley Ashline
I take responsibility
HAES® is a movement that was created by and for marginalized and oppressed people (including fat, Black, queer, trans, and disabled people). And yet it’s a white, thin person who has largely taken credit, benefitted from and has silenced the marginalized voices that need to be heard.
As a white person I admit that I have also benefited from the HAES movement in ways that may have drawn focus away from marginalized and oppressed folks. In doing so I have prevented those voices from being amplified in this community. Take this article that I was interviewed for here) as an example – it’s all about HAES and centres white women primarily (I’m glad they interviewed Simone Si for the non-white perspective) and (from what I can gather) women that may be considered plus sized at best.
I take responsibility for this and apologize to anyone who has been harmed. I am committed to listening to, uplifting and supporting my marginalized colleagues.
Please follow these people on Instagram
@fatmarquisele
@bodyliberationwithlindley
@haes_by_asdah
