Here is the thing about discussions of “choice” re: dieting-

We live in a world that violently punishes non-conforming bodies.

So what choices do people actually have? We can’t even construct a politic that criticizes dieting without forceful and relentless pushback.

You can’t make a choice around dieting that is not impacted by the violence of fatphobia.

It is not possible.

Can you choose to opt out of capitalism in this culture? Not really- your options are severely limited by the choices available.

Diet culture is similar. In a culture that is deliberately designed to make fat people suffer- people will choose to diet.

Is that a free choice? I don’t think so. It can’t be.

So yeah- I get why people “choose” to diet. But to me- that’s a forced choice. The illusion of a choice.

Additonally? Every damn time I talk about the poison that is diet culture- at least one person pops up to be like “It’s not a diet, it’s a LIFESTYLE CHANGE”.

Yeah, and Weight Watchers is steady talking about “lifestyle changes” too.

You can call it doodle fucking do if you want- it changes nothing.

This is some Orwell shit right here. I mean- stay drinking poison if you want. But don’t tell me it’s peach pie & try to feed me a slice.

(Originally published on Twitter and then on Medium.com)