On an individual level, I genuinely do not care if or why someone takes a glp-1. Seriously. I have no requirements for what other people's bodies should be or what they should be doing with those bodies. Frankly, it bores me and I have no interest in that part of your existence.
On a larger, societal, systemic scale I have a tremendous issue with the way the general "we" are talking about weight, fat people, and health now that we've entered the GLP-1 era of medical history.
I care a lot about people going around saying that there's no reason every fat person in the world shouldn't be on a GLP-1 until they're an "acceptable" weight when honestly? Our idea of an "acceptable weight" is less scientific than you'd think.
I care a lot about GLP-1's turning into the new requirement for medical care, much in the way bariatric surgery has often been. Because anesthesia is apparently too dangerous if you need a knee replacement but perfectly safe if it's for weight loss surgery.
I care a lot about people acting as if you're an irrational, anti-science fool to have any criticism or caution regarding GLP-1s and being deeply wary of people calling it a "miracle drug". Especially those of us who have been around for every new wave of miraculous cures for the existence of fat people and seen what happens down the line.
I care a lot about the fact that apparently we no longer need to question whether weight loss is, in and of itself, the cure to all that ails us or if maybe losing weight won't fix your entire life and guarantee you'll live a hundred years.
I'm walking around in a world where I'm bombarded by ads like these on and offline. Being told it's about health, but here's the sales pitch:
[Image: An ad for Wegovy (semaglutide injection 2.4 mg). It shows a smiling mid-sized white woman with blonde hair in a bed room, wearing a short pink dress and a jean jacket over it. Her hands are on her hips to emphasize a smaller waistline. The slogan reads: Make them Look Twice. Discover Wegovy. At the bottom in tiny font is the text: (c) 2025 Novo Nordisk. All righs reserved. US 255EMO01018 September 2025. Actor Portrayal.]
Oh and then there's this:
[Image: A picture of an ad positioned at the entrance to a Walgreens pharmacy. The ad shows a container of Tums, a box of Force Factor Hair Growth Accelerator and a pack of Premier Protein brand chocolate protein drinks. The giant red text above them reads: "Support for your GLP-1 weight loss journey."]
I care that there's a drug that causes malnutrition, hair loss, and gastrointestinal problems so predictably and often that a major pharmacy advertises supportive care for it at the fucking door and I'm expected not to say that maybe how this is all unfolding is, maybe, a bit fucked up and harmful all because it might make you feel feelings you don't like.
That discussion is not a personal attack on you, it's not saying you're a bad person who hates fat people if you take a GLP-1 for weight loss, it's not scaremongering. If you find yourself feeling guilted, maybe ask yourself if the other person was actually trying to do that or if it's something you're feeling because there's something you need to sit with and work out.
If you do take these drugs, for whatever reason, I hope they work out great for you and have no bad side effects. Very genuinely. I hope it makes your life into what you want your life to be.
I also hope you understand that right now every day I'm seeing things that tell me that I need to disappear, because I'm unslightly, immoral, offensive and wrong until I'm then. That it would be better for me to be malnourished, half bald, and having to take anti-acids constantly than to exist while fat because that's the only health care I should be able to access until I'm not fat. And that's not okay. I don't deserve that. Nobody does.
