Thanks for listening to The Fat Psychologist Podcast. Join me to decode wellbeing research so it can have a real impact in our lives. Let's make decisions based on information we understand, not based what others say we should think of ourselves. I will explore themes that have been important in my life, as I search for happiness and belonging. This is our journey, I would love you to contribute too!

The Fat Psychologist Podcast

"Don't say fat": fat activism, fatphobia and allyship

People tell me to not say fat. I say it is time to reclaim fat as a superpower.

Season 1 Episode 2

In this episode

Ninna talks about the history of fat activism, fat liberation, fat positivity and body neutrality. She considers all the aims that all these movements share. For the newbies, Ninna talks about some of the lingo used in the fat community and the terms she hates people using (spoiler alert: avoid overweight, plus size... and most definitely ban "morbidly obese"). She delves into research that demonstrate the discrimination faced by fat people, how we are perceived and the income gap we face. She calls us all to be activists, because there is hope that fat bias can be reduced and hopefully eliminated.

Guests

Ninna Makrinov, aka The Fat Psychologist, is a teacher, trainer, coach and the author of The Fat Psychologist Podcast. A critical thinker by nature, Ninna is an activist who questions knowledge from a feminist, fat inclusive, disability informed, anti-racist perspective. By day, Ninna works as Assistant Professor (Research Methods) at the University of Warwick and Chair of Governors in two Birmingham Primary Schools. She has been an academic in Chile, Mexico and the UK. Ninna is passionate about the development and well-being of people and the organisations they are part of.

Ninna is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She holds a BSc Psychology and Professional Title in Organisational Psychology from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, an MSc in Occupational Health Psychology from The University of Nottingham and a Masters in Business Administration from Tecnológico de Monterrey. She has most recently completed the Postgraduate Award (PGA) Curriculum Design in Higher Education and the PGA Technology Enhanced Learning at The University of Warwick.

Show Notes

In this episode, we talked about:

Associations and groups
Health at Every Size® (HAES®) Principles by the Association for Size, Diversity and Health (ASDAH)
NAAFA's Origin Story & Fat Activism History by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA)

Podcasts
The Fat Doctor
Maintenance Phase

Popular media
Mary West, 2022, What to know about the body positivity movement. In MedicalNewsToday.
Your Fat Friend - A film by Jeanie Finlay (featuring Aubrie Gordon, author of the Maintenance Phase podcast).

Academic articles
Araiza, A. M., Vieira Zaidan, A. C., Wijayatunga, N. N., & Wellman, J. D. (2025). Weight discrimination as a predictor of stress and eating: The role of identifying as “fat”. Appetite, 206, 107772. https://10.1016/j.appet.2024.107772
Davidson, L. J., & Gruver, M. D. (2022). Public philosophy and fat activism. In L. McIntyre, N. McHugh, & I. Olasov, (Eds.), A companion to public philosophy. (pp. 154–165). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119635253.ch16
Kelly, N. R., Osa, M. L., Luther, G., Guidinger, C., Folger, A., Williamson, G., Esquivel, J., & Budd, E. L. (2024). Preliminary evaluation of a brief worksite intervention to reduce weight stigma and weight bias internalization. Evaluation and Program Planning, 104, 102434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2024.102434
Oswald, F., Pham, M. D., Harr, R. J., Garr-Schultz, A., & Chaney, K. E. (2025). “They are fat and want special treatment for being fat”: Backlash to and lay theories of fat activism. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 25, e70006. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.70006