The Film: Fattitude
Reel Causes is proud to present Fattitude, a body positive documentary that amplifies the voices of a rapidly growing social justice movement. Fattitude examines how popular culture continues to perpetuate fat hatred and fat-shaming. The consequences of this are dire and result in very real cultural biases and civil rights issues for fat people. For example, did you know that fat people are paid $1.25 less an hour than their thin counterparts? Or that a fat person who excels can still legally lose a job just because s/he’s fat? How about the reality that one in three doctors associates fat bodies with hostility, dishonesty and poor hygiene? Nine out of ten human resources professionals have said they would hire a thin person over a fat person with the same qualifications. Fat people have been barred from adopting children, are often denied access to IVF treatments, and are more likely to experience medical neglect such as having a surgical instrument left inside their body after an operation.
Informed by an intersectional framework, Fattitude is very conscious and attentive to the idea that fat hatred crosses the lines of race, class, sexuality and gender. The film features a range of voices: academic scholars, psychologists, popular culture icons, and fat activists – including the likes of Ricki Lake, Rebecca Phul, Jackson Katz, Marilyn Wann, Sonya Renee Taylor, Virgie Tovar, Jen Posner, Lindy West, Winne Holzman, Guy Branum, Tess Holliday, Andrew Walen and others.
Ultimately, Fattitude is changing the conversation about body image to one of self-acceptance, and encourages us to question and address systemic cultural prejudice.