Why Donald Trump Needs to Stop Fat-Shaming

Source: Wikimedia

Miss Piggy. Slob with a fat ugly face. Grotesque. Eating Machine.

These are just some of the terms that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has used to refer to women. In the first presidential debate of this heated election, over 80 million people tuned in as Trump used the platform for fat-shaming. When asked about the email hack on the DNC, he suggested that the cyber attack may have been carried out, not by Russia, but by “someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds.” The body-talk continued when Hillary Clinton brought up former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, a woman who Trump denigrated and publically humiliated for gaining weight after she won the title back in 1996. She was just a teen at the time that Trump called her “Miss Eating Machine” and arranged for her to exercise in front of a crowd of mostly male journalists. The day after the debate, Trump doubled-down on his criticism of Ms. Machado justifying his actions 20 years ago by emphasizing that the pageant winner gained “massive amounts of weight.”

As if her body were any of his business.

Donald Trump has made a lot of shocking comments this election season. But these have particular relevance. Alicia Machado disclosed that, following the events of 1996, she went on to struggle with eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia. Unfortunately, her experience is not unique. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has identified weight-based teasing as one of the strongest risk factors for the onset of eating disorders. According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), as many as 65% of people with eating disorders report that bullying contributed to their illness.

Our cultural obsession with thinness is interwoven with our demonization of fatness. When Trump told us that his hypothetical lone-wolf hacker weighed 400 pounds, he instantaneously devalued him or her. He brought forth all of our negative associations with fatness: lazy, greedy, smelly, stupid, slow, and unmotivated are just some of the characteristics commonly associated with fat people. Children as young as 4 years old make these types of attributions. In reality, fatness has nothing to do with personality traits or moral value. Nevertheless, we hold on tight to the belief that fatness is bad and fat people have sinned by “allowing” their bodies to be “too big.” These attitudes contribute to widespread prejudice and discrimination against fat people. People classified as “obese” receive subpar medical care, get passed over for jobs, are paid less than their thinner peers, and have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. They are also at an increased risk of eating disordered behavior as they try to escape the torment of stigma by losing weight at any cost.

We are in the midst of an epidemic of disordered eating. We are taught that our self-worth is measured by the numbers on a bathroom scale. Mr. Trump’s comments and actions perpetuate the myth that if a woman does not manipulate her body to conform into our societal ideals, she is worthless and deserves to be mistreated, disrespected, and humiliated. Unfortunately, the ideal that our society has set as the standard for women to achieve is impossible for 99.9% of us. The models featured in the fashion magazines can't even achieve the very ideal that they represent. Some fashion insiders estimate that 100% of the images in magazines are digitally altered, usually to make the women appear thinner. Some companies have even been accused of using computer-generated bodies in their advertising. These unrealistic ideals have led to a pervasive sense of body dissatisfaction for men and women across the weight and age spectrum. 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner. 81% of 10 year-olds are afraid of being fat. 50-70% of adolescent girls and 25% of adolescent boys report feeling unhappy with their body. And things only get worse as we age. 88% of women over 50 report body dissatisfaction.

Approximately 10 million women and 1 million men are currently struggling with an eating disorder. A recent study revealed that young children are increasingly vulnerable to the pursuit of thinness. From 1999-2006, hospitalizations for eating disorders in children under 12 years old increased 119%. Eating disorder treatment centers have developed programs for children as young as 8 years old. Numerous studies have linked exposure to a thin-ideal message in the media with body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in women.

The president of the United States has an awesome power. The words that he or she uses can either lift our children up or tear them down. No matter what your political leanings are, body-shaming is simply not okay. I hope that we can take the media spotlight that has been cast on Donald Trump’s comments about women’s bodies as an opportunity to talk to our children about the important issues of body image, bullying, and self-worth. We must convey that our children are so much more valuable than the numbers on the scale or what size pants they wear. And we must nurture ourselves in the face of these messages--for we adults often take them in just as much as our children.

Dr. Alexis Conason is a clinical psychologist in private practice in New York City specializing in body image and overeating disorders. To learn more about Dr. Conason's practice and mindful eating, please visit www.drconason.com, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.