A 5-Stage Model of Fat Identity Development
Unlock the framework that explains how fat people move from "Someday I'll be thin" to "My body deserves respect."
Welcome to the 11th monthly installment of my Substack vertical, VOLUMINATI. Paid subscribers can access full essays. Listen to this month’s edition by scrolling down to the bottom and hitting play.
Note: This article will be paywalled through 2025 in hopes of recouping some of the hours it took to write and edit this piece through subscription fees. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽always to my subscribers! I couldn’t do this without you.
INTRODUCTION
Unlike race and sexual orientation, there is currently no widely known Identity Development Model for fat people.
As a Latina whose racial identity development was influenced and affirmed by the easy availability of these types of models, I found it concerning that there wasn’t one for fat identity. This lack of a well-known model reproduces fat people’s disempowerment, affirming yet again the fallacy that fatness cannot be an identity because it “should” be a temporary state that elicits shame, not a sense of permanence or pride.
In this month’s VOLUMINATI, I offer a 5-Stage Model of Fat Identity Development.
One of the biggest challenges to fatness being understood as a fixed identity is the belief that fat people aren’t “real,” but rather are thin people encased or “trapped” temporarily in adipose tissue. I can assure you, fat people are as real as thin people. We as a culture have not yet accepted that fatness is a relatively fixed characteristic, akin to skin color, sexual orientation, and disability.
That is, if you’re fat today, you are - from a scientific and statistical perspective - significantly likelier to remain fat than you are to become thin in the long run. Individuals within body liberation, fat activism and some eating disorder recovery spaces have long understood this; some have even found it a cause for celebration.
For any member of a discriminated group, self-acceptance is often a complex process, but one that has been frequently well-documented through various models of identity development. The most well-known models outline a series of phases that detail how individuals *generally* come to understand, explore, and commit to their “othered” identity. These models aren’t meant to capture 100% of individuals’ experiences, but offer useful, generalizable frameworks.
3 EXAMPLES OF IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT MODELS
In the 1970s, scholar William Cross developed a foundational model that outlines the psychological process of Black identity development. In it, he outlines 5 stages:
Pre-Encounter: The individual holds negative stereotypes about their own race and favors white culture.
Encounter: A significant event or series of experiences challenges the individual’s previous beliefs and shatters their worldview. This “awakening” forces them to confront their identity and the reality of racism.
Immersion-Emersion: The individual engages in deep exploration of Black culture and actively rejects the dominant culture. This stage can involve intense pride in one’s race and hostility or distrust toward the majority group.
Internalization: The individual resolves the conflicts from the previous stage and develops a secure, self-accepting Black identity.
Internalization-Commitment: This is an active, ongoing phase where individuals translate their internalized identity into actions for racial justice.
In 1979, Vivienne Cass created a model for LGBTQ+ identity development. In it, she outlines 6 stages:
Identity Confusion: The individual becomes aware of same-sex attractions, which can lead to confusion and anxiety.
Identity Comparison: The individual compares their feelings with the majority heterosexual culture and starts to question their heterosexual identity.
Identity Tolerance: The individual accepts the possibility of being gay, lesbian, or bisexual, but may still feel alienated.
Identity Acceptance: The person begins to accept their identity and seeks out others with similar experiences to reduce feelings of isolation.
Identity Pride: The individual develops a positive view of their identity and a sense of pride, which may include a strong connection to the LGBTQ+ community.
Identity Synthesis: The individual integrates their sexual identity with their overall sense of self, seeing themselves as a whole person rather than solely defined by their sexual orientation.
In 1993, Jean Phinney, a professor of psychology, proposed a Model of Ethnic Identity Development for adolescents. In it, she outlines 3 stages:
Unexamined Ethnic Identity: The individual absorbs information about their ethnicity from their family and society without personal exploration. They may accept the values of the dominant culture without question.
Ethnic Identity Search/Moratorium: Often triggered by a significant event, the individual questions and researches their heritage and its meaning to their life.
Achieved Ethnic Identity: The individual comes to a secure understanding of their ethnic identity, and develop a confident and integrated sense of self.
A 5-STAGE MODEL OF FAT IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT
