Nat

RD

TRIGGER WARNING: Sensitive Content

Hey, folx! I’m Nat, a queer white settler living in K’jipuktuk, part of the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq. 

Looking back on my journey to becoming a dietitian is difficult—while I see a lot of joy and learning, I also see a lot of trauma and naivety. It is now painfully clear to me that my drive to become a certified expert in nutrition was fueled by an insatiable desire for control over my own body, mind, and position in society. I wanted access to every trick possible to achieve “wellness”, which was code for maintaining my disordered eating, my thin privilege, my neurotypical status, and my image as a “good girl” from a “good nuclear family” who got a “good job” by following the rules of a white supremacist, capitalistic, cis-heteronormative society. As my time at McGill trickled along, my ability to control this facade started to crumble, and I started to act out some of my obsessive thoughts.

I binged after days of restriction, I kissed wxmen in secret, I wore baggy clothes to hide the parts of my body that were sexualized by society, I broke down from anxiety in exam rooms. 

Needless to say, I took some time away from dietetics. I am slowly dipping my toes back in, in the form of health communication that respects all bodies, regardless of weight, race, gender, sexuality, ability, class, or age. I am asking myself what it means to be genderfluid, queer, and neurodivergent in this field and how I want to use my voice. If you want to join me in this, please follow me @edibleinquiry, where I teach science through something we all share, namely food and eating, and @justfoodforall, which is currently undergoing some renovations but will be back up and running soon enough. Thank you to @nutritiondiversified for highlighting 2SLGBTQIA+ health professionals and letting me be part of this conversation!

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