ABSTRACT

Social problems are often tightly intertwined with organized social movements that work to define, draw attention to, and change the conditions associated with those particular problems. This chapter examines how a social movement that opposes the stigmatization of obese individuals has played a role in the way body weight is constructed as a social problem in the United States and other postindustrial societies. Size acceptance did not begin to emerge as a social movement until the late 1960s and early 1970s. Before then, a few individual pioneers spoke out for size acceptance, but a broader consciousness about the problem and organization around the issue did not exist. Understanding the development and growth of the size acceptance movement requires consideration of its social location with respect to other precursor and parallel social movements and particular social conditions related to the movement. The size acceptance movement organizes and engages in a variety of political activities to promote its causes.