#cw stereotypes paraded as facts

[theladykit]

Hey, I just want to put people on their guard: there is an article that appeared in The Washington Post today which has the potential to be extremely triggering to anyone with an eating disorder, disordered eating, or food issues, or is in a larger body. To make matters worse, it is sloppy, unnuanced reporting passed off as good and it's going to hurt a lot of people. I won't link the article because I believe it to be that harmful, but it's about dietitians who take sponsorships from food and beverage companies. Many of the dietitians the article names are rather sketchy in how they present these partnerships and in some of the advice they give, but at least one of the RDs they profile is given a lot of unfair weight and the framing they use to talk about her is next-door to sinister, especially because she's Black and primarily works with low-income, food-insecure clients. I happen to be familiar with her work, and I know that what the Post wrote about her is flat-out wrong.

I hesitate to call it a smear piece overall, because there is a grain of truth in the article, but it's taken in the worst faith possible (and some of the "facts" they report have no factual basis at all) and I want people to beware, especially people struggling with food and/or in larger bodies. Please, please protect yourselves and don't read the article if you think it might even be a little bit upsetting. Sometimes it can take awhile for that to set in, too, so if you do decide to read it, try to give yourself the time you need to process it, knowing that it might take a few days or more, and reach out to both your professional support system and your informal supports as much as is feasible. It's okay to make a mistake and think you can peruse without issue, and find out you were wrong. Just try to take care of yourselves if that happens, please.

I love you all and want you to be safe.