Fat shaming, BMI and alienation: COVID-19 brought new stigma to large-sized people

Chrystal Bougon cried after the needle went into her arm. Not because her first dose of the Moderna vaccine hurt. But because, finally, being fat actually paid off.
The 53-year-old was inoculated in the parking lot of Kaiser Permanente in San José on a rainy Friday in March, four days after eligibility in California was broadened to include people with underlying conditions. Among them, a body mass index of 40 or more — 233 pounds for an adult who is 5 feet 4 inches tall.
Bougon’s medical record at Kaiser shows she is morbidly obese; as an activist, she prefers the word “fat.” Her experience with medical providers has been one incident of size stigma after another, she said, like the time she went in with a scratched cornea and was told to lose weight. She fears being hospitalized with COVID-19 and unable to advocate for herself.
“For that reason I decided, you know what, I’m not going to feel guilty about [being vaccinated]. I’m going to do it,” she said. “And I’m not going to apologize for it. I’ve been in fear the whole flipping time, staying home, avoiding everybody. I couldn’t do my job. I’m an electrologist. I remove facial hair. I couldn’t come to work. I couldn’t make money.”
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Share provided by Linnette Johnson MS, MA, CNS, RALC, LDN 
(She/Her) -Nutrition Coach & Educator, Registered Ayurveda Lifestyle Consultant,
Mindfulness Meditation Coach, And Herbalist