Rebellion, Resistance and Hope
Every year, this day gives us a chance to nerd out—to celebrate lightsabers, Jedi wisdom, and everything else that lives in the Star Wars universe. But Star Wars was never just a galaxy far, far away. It was a story about resistance—about people choosing to fight back against systems that demanded control, silence, and obedience.
And that’s where I want to go today.
Because rebellion isn’t just a plot device. It’s a very real thing. And it’s something many of us are doing — quietly, imperfectly, daily — especially when we reject the rules that diet culture and anti-fatness try to enforce.
The Empire Thrives on Control
The Empire in Star Wars doesn’t just seek power. It wants order. Uniformity. Compliance. It sees diversity, freedom, and difference as threats.
Sound familiar?
Diet culture does the same. It tells us there's one way to be — one kind of body that’s acceptable, one kind of eating that’s “disciplined,” one definition of health that’s rigid and narrow. It rewards those who comply and punishes those who don’t.
It’s not an accident that “wellness” gets marketed like a moral compass. Or that fatness is treated like a personal failure. Or that medical systems often mirror the Empire: obsessed with metrics, dismissive of lived experience, and quick to turn bodies into enemies to be conquered.
When we talk about body liberation, we’re not just talking about food and weight. We’re talking about fighting an Empire.
Rebels Are Made, Not Born
Luke didn’t ask to become a rebel. Neither did Leia. Or Cassian. Or Jyn. They got there because something didn’t sit right. They saw injustice and couldn’t look away. And when the time came, they chose to resist.
I think the same is true for those of us in recovery. Or those of us working in this field. No one wakes up thinking, “I’d love to spend years unlearning everything I was taught about my body.” But we see the harm. We feel it. And eventually, we say: enough.
Every time someone chooses nourishment over punishment…
Every time a provider challenges the status quo…
Every time a parent says, “Actually, we’re not doing that BMI report card crap…”
That’s rebellion.
It’s not loud or cinematic. But it’s real. And it matters.
Rebellions Are Built on Hope
There’s a line in Rogue One that gets me every time:
“Rebellions are built on hope.”
Hope isn’t fluffy. It’s not blind optimism. It’s what fuels us to fight even when the odds are against us. Hope is resistance. Hope is the belief that something else is possible — even if we haven’t seen it yet.
I carry that hope with me, literally.
My first tattoo was a Star Wars tattoo. It’s the Rebel Alliance symbol — the emblem of resistance — with one word inside it: HOPE.
That’s what this work has always been about for me. Not just dismantling systems, but imagining something better. Believing in a future where bodies aren’t policed. Where healthcare honors humanity. Where healing doesn’t require shrinking ourselves. That’s the kind of rebellion I want to be part of. One grounded in hope.
This Isn’t Just About the Body
Here’s the truth: we are living at a time where authoritarianism is on the rise — in politics, in health care, in schools, in legislated bodies. There’s a movement toward silencing dissent, erasing difference, and controlling people — especially those who don’t fit the dominant mold.
When we rebel against diet culture, we’re not just fighting for body autonomy. We’re practicing a skill desperately needed right now: the courage to challenge power.
This isn’t theoretical. It’s happening right here, right now.
We need people who know how to rebel — not just with signs and slogans, but with care. With compassion. With community. With the radical belief that everyone deserves dignity, even in a world trying to convince us otherwise.
May the 4th Be With the Rebels
So here’s to the rebels.
To the folks choosing rest over restriction.
To the ones saying, “I deserve to take up space.”
To the healers, providers, and educators who refuse to perpetuate harm.
To the parents, the kids, the adults who are saying, “Not in my galaxy.”
Rebellion is not always flashy. Often, it looks like tenderness. Patience. Unlearning. And starting again.
But just like in Star Wars, it’s the rebels who change everything.
And it all starts with hope. May the 4th Be With You!
May the Force be with us all!