Virgie Tovar

Virgie Tovar
Tovar at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival
Born (1982-05-19) May 19, 1982
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Author and podcaster
Years active2012–present
Websitewww.virgietovar.com

Virgie Tovar, (/ˈvɜːrdʒi ˈtoʊvɑːr/ VUR-jee TOH-var; born May 19, 1982) is an American author, lecturer, and weight-based discrimination speaker. She writes about fat acceptance, anti-fat bias, and diet culture.[1] She was the host of The Virgie Show on CBS Radio[2][3] and the podcast, Rebel Eaters Club (produced by Transmitter Media).[4]

Early life and education

Tovar is of Mexican descent.[5] She has struggled with weight issues since childhood.[6] In middle school she struggled with an eating disorder.[6]

Tovar received her bachelor's degree in political science from University of California, Berkeley in 2005[7][2] and her Master of Arts in Human Sexuality Studies from San Francisco State University.[7][3]

Career

In 2013 Tovar criticized the American Medical Association for classifying obesity as a disease.[8] She began the #LoseHateNotWeight campaign to highlight the impacts of diet culture and educate people about the importance of ending weight-based discrimination.[6] Tovar has advocated for legal protection against weight discrimination.[9] Tovar has been accused of downplaying the negative effects of obesity.[10][11][12]

Tovar is an ongoing contributor for Forbes.[13] and has authored several books and articles. In 2014, Tovar appeared in the documentary Fattitude.[14][15] She has been profiled in the New York Times[16] and the San Francisco Chronicle[17] and has appeared on NPR[18] and BBC Mundo.[19] Tovar was also the host of the Webby Award-nominated podcast, Rebel Eaters Club, produced by Transmitter Media for three seasons.[17][20]

Tovar has received Yale's Poynter Fellowship in Journalism,[21] the Anne G. Locascio Memorial Scholarship from the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference,[22] the Inspire Award from Project HEAL,[23] and three individual artist commissions from the San Francisco Arts Commission.[24]

In December 2024, Tovar was hired for six months as a consultant on "weight stigma and weight neutrality" by the San Francisco Department of Public Health.[1]

Controversies

Tovar’s public statements have drawn criticism for minimizing the importance of health and physical activity. In a 2022 interview she stated that "no one has to be healthy," explaining that health should not be treated as a moral obligation.[25] Critics argue that such messaging risks normalizing unhealthy behaviors and undermines established public health guidance on the benefits of diet and exercise.[26]

In workplace bias training materials, Tovar has advised employees to "talk less or not at all" about exercise, dieting, or body size in professional settings, on the grounds that such discussions can perpetuate stigma.[27] Opponents contend that discouraging discussion of exercise minimizes its widely recognized physical and mental health benefits.[28]

Tovar has also criticized “fitspiration” culture, calling it harmful and rooted in shame and ableism.[29] Supporters view this as a critique of toxic fitness messaging, while detractors argue that it can be interpreted as discouraging physical activity itself.[30]

Works

Books

  • Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love & Fashion. Seattle, WA: Seal Press. 2012. ISBN 978-1-58005-469-0. OCLC 818110486. Partial preview at Google Books.
  • You Have the Right to Remain Fat. New York, NY: Feminist Press. 2018. ISBN 978-1-936932-32-0. OCLC 1010588354. Partial preview at Google Books.
  • The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color. Oakland, CA: Instant Help Books, an imprint of New Harbinger Publications, Inc. 2020. ISBN 978-1-68403-412-3. OCLC 1153151114. Partial preview at Google Books.

Articles

References

  1. ^ a b Ho, Catherine (December 19, 2024). "S.F. taps 'body positivity' expert to work with public health department on reducing weight stigma". San Francisco Chronicle.
  2. ^ a b Seligman, Katherine (January 6, 2022). "Campaign for Fat Acceptance: Big Girls Do Cry, but They Grow Up and Fight Back". Cal Alumni Association. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "TEDxSoMa". TED. June 14, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  4. ^ "Rebel Eaters Club". Transmitter Media. May 17, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  5. ^ Tovar, Virgie (May 5, 2023). "The 'Thin Is In' Narrative Is Especially Harmful to People of Color". SELF. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Garfield, Leanna (April 4, 2016). "These Instagrams by fat activists are changing how we think about dieting". Business Insider.
  7. ^ a b Johnson, Sydney (August 9, 2016). "Fatspirational Author: Virgie Tovar". East Bay Express. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  8. ^ Brown, Kristen V. (June 26, 2013). "Debate grows over whether obesity is a disease". SFGATE.
  9. ^ "NYC could outlaw weight discrimination in housing, workplace: Activist explains what it could mean". www.wbur.org. April 24, 2023.
  10. ^ Ellis, Lauren; Cameron, Noël; Norris, Helen (September 5, 2018). "Letters". the Guardian. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  11. ^ Pluckrose, Helen (November 28, 2019). "Weight loss isn't genocide: Fat Activism risks lives". The Critic Magazine. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  12. ^ "Beverley Turner's Fiery Row With Activist For Staying Fat". LBC. September 9, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  13. ^ "Virgie Tovar". Forbes. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  14. ^ Shammas, Brittany (July 30, 2014). "Fattitude: Upcoming documentary aimed at promoting acceptance". articles.sun-sentinel.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  15. ^ Bahadur, Nina (April 25, 2014). "This Documentary Will Stop You From Making Fat People The Butt Of Your Jokes". HuffPost. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  16. ^ North, Anna (October 3, 2014). "Shamed, Flamed, Harassed: What It's Like To Be Called Fat Online". Op-Talk. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  17. ^ a b Phillips, Soleil; Ho, Justin (November 16, 2020). "Podcast: Virgie Tovar, host of the Rebel Eater Podcast, breaks up with diet culture". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  18. ^ Tagle, Andee; Schneider, Clare Marie (January 4, 2022). "Diet culture is everywhere. Here's how to fight it : Life Kit". NPR. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  19. ^ Díez, Beatriz (May 22, 2019). "Virgie Tovar, la activista que reivindica la diversidad corporal: 'Nadie me dijo nunca que podía ser gorda y feliz'" [Virgie Tovar, the activist who advocates for body diversity: "Nobody ever told me I could be fat and happy"]. BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  20. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  21. ^ "Author Virgie Tovar to discuss 'Diet Culture, Fatphobia & the New Sexism'". Yale News. March 26, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  22. ^ "Scholarship Winners Announced!". MCWC. April 21, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  23. ^ Thapliyal, Oshika (December 19, 2024). "Who is Virgie Tovar? San Francisco hires 'body positivity' expert to consult on 'weight stigma and neutrality'". MSN. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  24. ^ "Flashback: San Francisco 'weight czar' declares no one has to be healthy". Fox News. December 20, 2024.
  25. ^ "No need for fat-shaming, but the UK must get a grip on its obesity crisis". The Guardian. September 5, 2018.
  26. ^ "San Francisco hires fat-positive expert Virgie Tovar to consult on weight stigma". Yahoo News. December 18, 2024.
  27. ^ "Fat-positivity expert hired by San Francisco Dept of Health to consult on weight stigma". New York Post. December 18, 2024.
  28. ^ "5 Reasons Fitspo is Bad for Your Health". Virgie Tovar Blog. 2018.
  29. ^ "Virgie Tovar challenges fatphobia and how it hurts mental health". The Splendid Table. May 17, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.