Gosh, researching this article is depressing!” It’s 6:30pm on a Thursday night and I’m on the phone with Abigail Saguy, Ph.D. professor of Sociology at UCLA and author of What’s Wrong with Fat, discussing why America as a society hates fat women with a seemingly endless fiery passion. Saguy has been studying this topic for years, so I’m preaching to the choir. She chuckles sympathetically.I’ve gotten similar reactions from every female friend to whom I’ve mentioned this article topic. A nod, an eye roll, a groan of recognition. Not a single person has contested the statement. Rather, they all seem kind of sorry for me that I’ve chosen to delve into this subject. But as a fat woman whose weight and self-esteem have both fluctuated wildly throughout my lifetime, as a feminist who realizes that my issues as a privileged white woman are merely the tip of the problematic iceberg, and as an optimistic human who hopes we can one day treat each other and ourselves with kindness, I am deeply invested in talking about American society’s problem with fat women. Because yes, it’s depressing.