Ozempic and the hypocrisy of fatphobia: the PAM case

Angela Rodríguez PAM loses weight: Ozempic exposes the hypocrisy of body positivity

What happens when the leading champion of the fight against fatphobia appears thinner than a rail? The physical transformation of Angela Rodríguez, known as PAM, has unleashed a tsunami of reactions ranging from celebration to reproach. In recent weeks, images of the former MP show such drastic weight loss that many attribute it to the use of Ozempic, the diabetes drug that has become half of Hollywood's secret.

Ozempic as the great leveler of discourses

The medication, originally indicated to control blood sugar, has become popular as a shortcut to weight loss. In PAM's case, the coincidence between her previous discourse—defending that fat is not a problem and denouncing aesthetic pressure—and her current silhouette is, to say the least, striking. While she herself denounced weeks ago that a public hospital denied her artificial insemination because she had a BMI over 30, now her weight seems to have plummeted. According to some calculations, she would have lost up to 10 kilos per week, which points to a pharmacological intervention rather than a sustainable change in habits.

The trap of the normative body: between health and ideology

The dilemma is not new: when medical science recommends losing weight to reduce risks in pregnancy, it clashes with the ideology that denies that weight is a health factor. In PAM's case, the argument that public healthcare is "fatphobic" for requiring a lower BMI for insemination collides with the reality that, in the end, she herself has chosen to lose weight. "If I were rich I could pay for private treatment without losing weight," she once said, but the evidence shows that Ozempic—an expensive drug not subsidized for this purpose—has been the chosen solution. A contradiction that her critics do not let pass: where did the defense of non-normative bodies go?

The return of the ex-fat: the stigma that never goes away

The figure of the "ex-fat" generates special distrust. It is argued that those who have been obese and lose weight tend to be the most critical of those who remain so, as if they needed to prove their new condition. In comments about PAM, the idea that "mentally she will always be fat" is repeated, a phrase that reflects the prejudice that obesity is an immutable condition. But there are also those who point out that physical change does not erase character: "The worst of PAM is what's inside," they say, referring to her arrogant attitude and victimist discourse.

The paradox of body positivity: who is it valid for?

The body positivity movement has been accused of being a refuge for those who cannot or do not want to lose weight, but when its leaders lose weight, the house of cards collapses. Ozempic has done more for the thinness of fat activists than any diet or gym. And the question floating in the air is whether the body acceptance discourse was sincere or simply a patch until the magic pill arrived. In PAM's case, the answer seems clear: health, or aesthetics, or the desire to be a mother, have prevailed over ideology.

Time will tell if this thinness is permanent or a pharmacological mirage. But what is already clear is that coherence weighs less than Ozempic.