Fatphobia in health services and gender violence against fat women

Abstract

Discrimination related to fatphobia can intensify the oppression experienced by fat women. This article aimed to identify how fatphobia is expressed in situations of violence against fat women in healthcare services. It is an exploratory-descriptive qualitative study that used an online questionnaire with the participation of 481 cisgender fat women, mostly white, from all regions of Brazil. Patriarchal control over fat women’s bodies was observed, as well as the violation of their sexual and reproductive rights, and institutional and gender-based violence against fat women, such as obstetric fatphobia. Gender-based violence is intertwined with fatphobia, placing fat women in a situation of dual vulnerability.