By Lizabeth Wesely-Casella, BEDA Director of Events & Membership

I am sad, so sad, to hear about the passing of music legend Prince. He was one of the icons of my youth – the first musical rebellion of my pre-teen years. It was all of Prince; his style, his dance, his androgynous dress and hyper sexual lyrics that made playing his music so much fun while watching for my parents’ stunned expressions.

The fact that he’s gone makes me sad, but the way his death is being reported is making me furious.

As a weight stigma prevention advocate, and a Health At Every Size (HAES®) proponent, not to mention an active member of the eating disorders community, I am frustrated at the fact that every single person interviewed about this untimely loss has discussed at length how very “particular” Prince was with his diet, and they are shocked he died because he was “so healthy.”

Yes, he was young at 57-years old, and he may have been interested in following certain dietary rules. However, what people seem to be overlooking is that health is not guaranteed no matter what you eat, or how much you work out. Nobody, not even the best doctor, can diagnose a person’s health simply by looking at them.

I’m sure that the pundits and grieving friends do not realize they are engaging in sizeism and weightism, but they are, and it perpetuates the false belief that people who don’t look, eat and move like Prince, are not healthy. Some might even think that people who don’t look like Prince may actually deserve to die, just a little, depending on what they eat and their body shape. As if being healthy, but not conforming to the thin ideal, is a form of deep personal failure. There can be the perception that it’s a person’s fault, which is wrong.

It would be amazing if one of the experts, be it one the pundits or an actual doctor, followed up with a line of commentary explaining, “You are making an excellent point about bodies and our health biases. Clearly this man was not in the state of health we all assumed, which should make us circumspect about assigning health status to anyone based on the way they look.” In other words, a whole bunch of stuff was going on in his body, just like everyone else’s; and it’s important to never make assumptions.

Activists and advocates in eating disorders and weight stigma prevention have been working to educate people in leadership positions and those who develop programs and policy. The message is simple; every body is different. Every body deserves proper care regardless of size, or shape, and thin people are just as susceptible to illness as people in large bodies. In addition, large bodied people can be anywhere on the spectrum of health. Nobody can diagnose a person’s level of health without a proper examination and health does not have a specific shape.

I will grieve the loss of this man, Prince, who suffered an illness and died even though he was fit and held strict views about his diet. We must be careful about the messages we send, especially if we are speaking to external audience, the general public and if we hold a position of power. Let the message be that Prince was brilliant, driven and a genius, instead of, “He followed diet rules, but he died. How come it didn’t work?”

About Lizabeth Wesely-Casella

Lizabeth Wesely-Casella is an advocate and business consultant. Her work supports binge eating disorder (BED), impulse control disorders and weight stigma. As a speaker, she blends science, humor and cultural wisdom to engage her audience, creating a clear understanding of where health disconnects from body shape and that neither impact personal value.

Lizabeth specializes in the prevention of weight bias and mental health stigma through speaking, writing and coalition building. She is the Director of Events & Membership for the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA) and founder of the website BingeBehavior.com.

Lizabeth’s weight stigma advocacy work includes speaking at the U.S. Senate and the honor of engaging the White House in efforts to prevent weight bias and stigma in the Let’s Move! program.

Lizabeth is a coalition builder who brings people together to create policy, often from very different viewpoints. Her skills as a respectful leader and thoughtful teammate have built a reputation among her peers as a key individual to work with in the policy arena.

Lizabeth lives in Washington, DC, with her loving husband and delightfully spoiled dog Pumpkin.

The post Weight stigma alert: What media coverage about Prince’s death is missing, and why it matters to anyone with a body appeared first on BEDA.

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