Alabama State University communications professor Dr. Rev. E.K. Daufin is the author of a chapter in a new book, “The Politics of Size: Perspectives From the Fat Acceptance Movement,” published by Praeger Publishers Inc.
Daufin’s chapter is “Black Women in Fat Activism.”
The book supplies readers a frank overview of the issues surrounding how to deal with the many levels of discrimination against fat people – and reframes the discussion about obesity from a “diet and weight loss industry driven medical issue” to a social and political one.
Daufin, a national expert about weight as well as race, gender and class in the media, was invited by the editor of the book to write the chapter after seeing Daufin’s works on the subject. The chapter itself takes a look at what Black women face as a result of weight stigma.
“Eighty to 90 percent of any person’s weight is caused by genetics. The reasons for the higher obesity rate for African-American women are also genetic, along with other factors including socioeconomics and the environment,” Daufin said. “But even more women of color are joining the front lines of activism in changing the unintentional racist ‘war on obesity’ to the ‘war on weight stigma’ instead.”
Daufin said the essays in the book serve to correct misinformation about obesity and fat people that is commonly accepted by the general public, such as the idea that “fat” and “healthy” are mutually exclusive. Subject matter covered includes fat-friendly workplace policies; fat-dating experiences; and the intersections of being fat and also a person of color, a person with disabilities, a transgender person, or a member of another sub-group of society.
An educator, performance artist and a social activist, Daufin is the founder of Love Your Body; Love Yourself workshops. Her work has been published in several academic journals, newspapers and magazines, and she has a chapter in three other anthologies. Daufin also has been featured on radio and television programs. She is a columnist for the international nonprofit Association for Size and Health Diversity’s online “HAES® Matters.”
Daufin graduated from The Ohio State University where she earned her Ph.D. in mass communication and film.
