Tigress Osborn is chair of the U.S.-based National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), which works to create a better world for fat people through education, advocacy, and support. Here, she discusses how it helped Google’s marketing become more plus-size inclusive, why fat-positive representation is critical, and five basic tips that marketers can put into action. A version of this piece also appears in Ad Age.
I’ve been fat since I was a teenager. I’ve known since then that I would only see other fat people in magazines, movies, and on TV as a “before picture,” “fat best friend,” or “fat punchline.” Certainly no one on a red carpet anywhere would look like me, my aunts, or my neighbors.
As companies have begun to see the social and economic benefits of reaching consumers with messages that reflect diverse demographics, fat representation continues to lag behind. Even in today’s media landscape — where body positivity is a buzz phrase and we occasionally see big bodies on billboards — most advertisers act like fat people don’t exist unless we’re being sold diets.
In January 2021, I became the chair of NAAFA, an advocacy organization for fat people. A few months later, Google requested our input on marketing guidelines they were developing around body inclusivity. We were intrigued but reserved. Were they willing to actually learn about anti-fatness and fat justice issues, or simply looking for shortcuts to show off a few barely…