Body-related discrimination or bodyism means that people or structures and the media try to convince you that your body is not right as it is. Too big, too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, not shaped properly, not flawless.
Especially people with a high body weight experience devaluations, prejudices and discrimination in their day-to-day lives, e.g. on the train, at a buffet, while doing sports or in a relationship. Our bodies look very different and are not necessarily an indication of how much or little we eat, or how sporty or healthy we are. Irrespectively, everyone should eat as much as they need to feel good!
Unfortunately, girls and women are taught from an early age that it is important to pay attention to their figure. When going to a cake-buffet, your neighbor tells you “I will resist eating a second piece of cake, because it will go straight to my hips.” You stand next to her and immediately have a guilty conscience, because it seems to be something bad if you have to resist it. Such comments, which you have probably heard many times (“Today I am allowed to sin, as I will train tomorrow”, “I am already gaining weight just by looking at it”), are called “diet-talk”. Diet-talk means that many people cannot enjoy their food in public, as their appetite is spoiled. Many people even develop eating disorders.
Even comments such as „You look amazing, did you lose weight?“, convey that low body weight is something positive and a high body weight is negative. Sudden weight loss is usually more of a sign of psychological and/or health issues. It is great to give compliments to another person, nevertheless, we should try not to link these to the person’s weight, but rather, focus on other qualities, which we appreciate about them.
In Frankfurt there is a group that is fighting against body-related discrimination. See: https://fetterwiderstand.jimdo.com/fetter-widerstand/
Magda Albrecht is an author, who has written a great book about this topic: „Wie man rund und glücklich durchs Leben kommt“ (How to get through life round and happy): https://magda-albrecht.de/