I have a research background in weight stigma and I currently work in mental health, often with LGBTQ+ clients.
I've met nonbinary people who struggle with disordered eating because they only ever see androgyny depicted as featureless thinness.
I've met trans women who struggle with disordered eating because they've internalized the idea that girls are meant to be thin, dainty, and delicate.
I've men trans men who struggle with disordered eating, because they feel women are allowed to be soft/curvy but men need to be muscular or thin and flat.
So many trans people are convinced that weight loss is the key to appearing as their desired gender, even when they want radically different gender presentations.
The societal idealization of thinness and fatphobia falsely invades and derails people's idea of what their "ideal body" should look like.
The social effects of privileging thinness are so damaging. Like, it's hard enough to deviate from expected gender roles and binary sexuality but now fat people have to do it on hard mode
This post has kind of exploded and my heart is with everyone in the notes sharing their struggles with this trap.
But to the folks "yes, but-"ing it with statements like 'I know this trend is bad but I just want to be skinny for my own/personal/completely unrelated reasons', I am asking you to take five minutes to consider why that is.
I'm not your therapist, doctor, or dietician. I can't say what is best for your mental and physical health. But take a moment to think: why all your 'gender goals' celebrities or fictional characters are skinny? Why can't a man/woman/nonbinary person look like you? Why is it hard to imagine transitioning in your own body type?
And I say that not from a place of judgement! I've been there- some days I am still there. Even with all my academic background, even with examples/role models of fat nonbinary people, even with years chipping away at internalized fatphobia, I've had to grapple with "But I want to look like [generic paper doll/anime character/celebrity/thin person]".
You are not immune to propaganda. And also, you are just as capable of learning body positivity/acceptance while still transitioning.
You deserve to feel gender euphoria in and with your body type and size.
