An activist at the Socialism 2026 conference in Chicago described modern weight management and health standards as forms of 'body fascism', arguing that the policing of 'Black fat flesh' is embedded in broader systems of governance.
During a session titled 'Health Fascism, Body Politics, and the Anti-State State' on Saturday, author Da'Shaun L. Harrison stated that the surveillance and control of fat bodies—particularly Black fat bodies—serve as a foundation for institutionalized discipline. Harrison, a panelist alongside podcast co-hosts Beatrice Adler-Bolton and Artie Vierkant, asserted that without such policing, concepts like BMI, obesity discourse, and medical institutions focused on weight would not exist.
Harrison’s claims centered on the idea that the diet industry operates through formal and informal alliances between food corporations, the medical-industrial complex, and wealthy benefactors to maintain a social order where fat people are monitored, restricted, and punished. The activist criticized diet culture for framing food consumption in moral terms, such as labeling indulgence as a 'guilty pleasure', thereby reinforcing stigma against fat bodies.
The four-day Socialism 2026 conference, held at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and organized by Haymarket Books, featured over 100 discussions, lectures, and workshops. The event drew activists, organizers, and communities from across the U.S. and internationally. The 'Health Fascism' session was part of a broader series within the conference, with over 200 attendees participating in the discussion.