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A quick Google Images search for “diet ads” shows hundreds of various advertisements from the last decade, and almost all of them feature women. Diets target women because dieting and the ideal of skinniness are rooted in misogyny, which is shown in small things like colloquial phrases, tabloids and diet books.

Colloquial phrases

Everyone knows the term “Dad bod.” It’s the stereotypical build of an average dad: a little overweight and not super muscular, but a build that’s widely accepted and explicitly desired by some. “Mom bod” does not exist. Despite often going through the physical feat of pregnancy and childbirth, mothers do not get praised for an overweight body. Rather, women are expected to maintain their thin, pre-pregnancy bodies.

The idea of “fat talk” is another phrase spoken primarily by women. “Fat talk” is the discussion of negative body parts among friends. It’s saying stuff like, “My thighs have too much cellulite,” or, “My arms are too fat,” and it’s a cultural phenomenon shown in tons of media, including the 2004 movie “Mean Girls.”

One study has found significantly higher percentages of women being exposed to and engaging in “fat talk” than men. Thirty-one percent of the women in this study reported high likelihood to participate in negative body talk, with almost 72% of women feeling pressured to join in.

Tabloids

Whether or not you’ve actually bought a tabloid before, we’ve all interacted with them in some way. I am a fan of reading the splashy headlines of People while waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store.

Without fail, these tabloids contain some kind of sensational story about an actress’ weight loss or gain. While they’ve certainly gotten better in recent years, as little as two months ago, Oprah graced the cover of People to talk about her weight loss. Who cares?

The readers of People — that is who cares. And their target audience is women. People magazine shows off and judges the bodies of random famous women for other women. The internalized fatphobia resulting from tabloids’ constant judgement of women is astronomical.

Diet books

To see the most misogyny in dieting, it is easiest to go right to the source: diet books. Books like, “French Women Don’t Get Fat,” “How to Take 20 Pounds Off Your Man” and “Skinny Bitch” make it very clear from their titles alone that they are talking to women.

“French Women Don’t Get Fat” is the embodiment of the adage, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” French food is good, but I doubt that every French woman is thin. I also do not really care if they are; what French people weigh is the least interesting part of France. You can enjoy food and culture without feeling the need to get thin.

“Skinny Bitch” is just mean. Why tough-love yourself into losing weight when you can instead practice some self-love? “How to Take 20 Pounds Off Your Man” still places the weight of dieting on a woman when she is not even the one losing weight. First of all, do not listen to this book. It advocates for lying and stalking your partner, all in the “noble” pursuit of getting them to lose 20 pounds without their knowledge or consent.

If someone wants to lose weight, that is on them. It is no one else’s responsibility or job — especially not your wife’s job — to get you to lose 20 pounds.

The societal displeasure with fat people extends pretty far. Fatphobia affects everyone, but it is targeted toward one demographic: women. It is directly tied to misogyny.

Reach Audrey Weishaar at letters@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.