Dear Diet Culture Letter: How Diet Culture Ruins Vacations

Dear Diet Culture,

It’s me, Sunday.

This summer many of us are not traveling, so you can’t show up on our vacations unannounced like you usually do. Yes, you follow us everywhere. And while you sit over there and deny that we cannot escape you, here are some of the ways that you have the ability to ruin vacations:

You cause a ton of anxiety leading up to a vacation. You tell people that they need to look a certain way to wear a bathing suit. You tell them that they need restrict what they eat in order to “deserve” freedom with food on vacations. And no wonder everyone believes this! Every advertisement related to travel (whether it be on Instagram or otherwise) only has thin (usually able-bodied and usually white) bodies in them. So much so you might think that folks in larger bodies don’t travel, but you’d be wrong about that (for example, of many examples), which leads me to my second point.

You tell and show the world that only thin people are allowed to vacation, even though people in all size bodies deserve to travel and do travel! You uphold this by making too small airplane seats, which by the way continue to shrink. You offer very few cute, affordable plus-size brands for vacation clothes. Not only this, you are the reason that people wait years, and sometimes LIFETIMES, to go on a vacation because you have taught them that they need to be thin in order to go on the vacation they desire. Another way you steal life from us, which leads me to my third point. You cause a ton of stress while on vacation. We could be on the most beautiful beach in the world, in the most breathtaking museum, eating at the most delicious restaurant, be on the most memorizing tour, and be thinking about what food we shouldn’t have eaten, what food(s) we are trying not to eat, what foods we will eat later, and how much we don’t like our bodies. It’s unending, obnoxious and leaves people feeling full of guilt and shame. Additionally, so many people skip vacations because they fear there will be nothing for them to eat because of all of the food restrictions you have encouraged them to follow in the name of “health.”

Diet Culture, you ruin vacations.

You ruin the time that people need to take some necessary rest and relaxation. You ruin the opportunity for them to express gratitude for having the privilege to take time off and go on a vacation by distracting them. You ruin vacation by making them feel like only certain bodies are allowed to or deserve to exist and experience the pleasure and joy that vacation can bring. You ruin vacation by stopping them from swimming or eating or moving during vacation while also creating spaces in which only thin bodies fit.

And we are tired of it.

Sincerely,

Sunday, aka your most friendly, righteously angry, anti- diet Dietitian Katherine who is fed up with Diet Culture stealing vacations