Anti-fat bias is a relatively recent invention. Until the 17th century, Western beauty standards favored fat bodies and full figures as signifiers of wealth. Sabrina Strings, an associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine, and author of Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia … In her book, Strings turns to primary sources like artwork, medical journals, and newspaper articles to pinpoint the shift away from fatness. She traces it to the transatlantic slave trade.
 
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