Social Work and Obesity: License to Oppress

Social work is a profession based on social justice and anti-oppressive action. Social workers in direct practice in most states must possess a master’s level graduate degree and have completed internship/practicum placements hours. This higher education and professional development prerequisites within graduate curriculums must begin to include increased acceptance and understanding of diversity and social justice through expanded lenses and move beyond current frameworks of diversity. For example, one such area of diversity that has become an increasing proportion of higher education students are students who identify as obese or “fat,” and are experiencing oppression and stigma in their everyday life. The authors used a grounded approach to analyze 100 accredited graduate social work programs’ curriculum throughout the United States, with the goal of understanding how the topic of obesity and weight-based oppression were integrated into learning curriculums of diversity, social justice, and cultural humility. The authors will discuss “fat culture” and stigma associated with an obese identity, as well as systems that are inherently oppressive to people who are of larger size. The findings revealed evidence of professional disregard for this population in practice, as well as overarching disregard for body size as a dimension of diversity and inclusion on an institutional level. The authors will reflect on these findings and discuss implications for practice, knowledge, and professional and educational pedagogy