We have to respond to two classmates (the second one in a separate order) post and this is one of those from a classmate. Please respond to their post constructively and thoughtfully. When responding use working as if you are actually talking to them. For example; your post is very informative, etc. Sources arent required but use if/as needed. In your post please sound positive yet share any comments you agree/disagree.

We have to respond to two classmates (the second one in a separate order) post and this is one of those from a classmate. Please respond to their post constructively and thoughtfully. When responding use working as if you are actually talking to them. For example; your post is very informative, etc. Sources arent required but use if/as needed. In your post please sound positive yet share any comments you agree/disagree.

This weeks reading focused on different social identities. One of the identities that was discussed was the Fat identity. Acquiring the fat identity happens during a process called the identity change process (Adler & Adler, 2016). The identity change process when an individual comes to recognize that they no longer fit into the definition of themselves that they previously had due to cues taken from their environment (Adler & Adler, 2016). This in turn also causes they individual to change certain perspectives, motivations, and desires for themselves (Adler & Adler, 2016). The identity change process occurs in two levels. (Adler & Alder, 2016). The first level is the public level, here is where society tell the person which status they belong too (Adler & Adler, 2016). In this case, level one exists when society is telling someone they are fat. For example, the fitness craze in the 80s cause many people to start to exercise more because of the stereotypes and discrimination place upon fat people (Adler & Adler, 2016). The second level is the internal level, here is where the individual must first recognize that they no longer fit into their status and must the locate a new and more appropriate status to fit into (Adler & Adler, 2016).

Some strategies an individual can use to deflect this fat label is really an internal thing. Meaning if an individual simply ignores the status cues thrust upon them by the society in which they live in, they wouldnt really feel the need to fulfill an alternative status. Another strategy an individual can use to deflect the label of fat is by changing their surrounding or environment. For example, if an individual surrounded themselves with people within the same social status (i.e., other fat people), they wouldnt necessarily feel the need to change their identity. These strategies however can be limited by social context such as social media. For example, although someone surrounds themselves with others who are fat and they are proud of their fat identity, social media makes it hard to see the fat label in a positive light due to discrimination and lack of representation/ inclusion. Even though fat and plus sized people are seen in a better light in recent years, there still is a stigma, especially on social media, to be fat. As Degher and Hughes discussed in the textbook, fat people are still being discriminated again when it comes to fashion and representation in the media which makes it extremely hard to an individual to be comfortable in their fat identity, so they resort to changing it by going through the identity change process (Adler & Adler, 2016). Jessica Brown

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