Fat people do not need your concerns about their health

Model Tess Holliday

Gravely misinformed ideas about health, beauty and body image still dominate, as derogatory reactions to plus size model Tess Holliday’s October Cosmopolitan UK magazine cover prove, writes Jamie Khoo. TV presenter Piers Morgan, for example, posted a photo of the cover on Instagram with a caption that called out this “step forward for body positivity” as “a load of old baloney”. He went on to add: “This cover is just as dangerous and misguided as celebrating size zero models.”

Debates along the same lines run throughout discussion of the magazine cover on social media, with many people arguing that the image promotes obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle. There are plenty of supportive and celebratory comments too but why do many diverse audiences – from newspaper op-eds to online fitness coaches to social media users – react to this cover with immediate disapproval?