The San Francisco Department of Public Health has brought on a self-proclaimed expert in “anti-weight-based discrimination” to advise on matters of “weight stigma and weight neutrality.”
Virgie Tovar, author of “You Have the Right to Remain Fat” and other works focused on fat positivity and body acceptance, shared on Instagram that she had secured a consulting position with the department.
“I’m unbelievably proud to serve the city I’ve called home for almost 20 years in this way!” Tovar announced. “This consultancy is an absolute dream come true, and it’s my biggest hope and belief that weight neutrality will be the future of public health.”
According to her website, Tovar identifies as a “plus-size Latina author, lecturer, and leading expert on weight-based discrimination and body positivity with over a decade of experience.” She regularly contributes to Forbes, covering the plus-size market, with recent articles addressing topics like hosting “size inclusive” Thanksgiving celebrations and examining alleged “fatphobia” in contemporary television.
In a video for Project Heal, Tovar discussed her personal experiences with medical professionals who had urged her to lose weight since childhood. “I really believed that this was about my health. I really believed my doctor was right and so I was using the language of getting ‘better’ but I was actually deeply in the throes of an*rexia,” she revealed.
The consultant has been particularly vocal about what she terms “cake-related fat phobic incidents” or “CRFI,” describing scenarios where women feel pressured to request smaller portions of cake at social gatherings. In her analysis, such behavior stems from “diet culture mapping onto sexism” and represents “misogynous expectations.”
‘ Inevitably, there’s always someone at the party who has to declare publicly that their slice is too large and that the person who’s cutting the cake—almost invariably a woman—must do some disproportionate amount of labor to accommodate their need to feel superior.’
‘Women are disproportionately negatively affected by diet culture because diet culture maps onto sexism. Like many parts of diet culture, there is a significant performance component—you have to show others that you are being good. Controlling how much you eat is part of what it means to be a ‘good’ woman.’ – Tovar goes on to say in video.
This July, Tovar conducted weight bias training for government workers, offering guidelines including avoiding workplace discussions about eating habits, body size, and exercise. She has also taken public stances against weight-loss medications like Ozempic and challenges the classification of obesity as a disease.
While Tovar’s exact role within the department remains undefined, her website lists previous corporate DEI training clients including the Seattle Transit Agency and UC Berkeley.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health did not respond to requests for comment about the specifics of Tovar’s consultancy role.
