Filming Project Weightless Video Campaign

University of Hartford’s Women for Change firmly declares, “Our weight will not define us!” This declaration captures the intent of Project Weightless, a campaign created by Women for Change to protest public Body Mass Index (BMI) weigh-ins and weight stigmatization.

Project Weightless aims to take emphasis away from the number on the scale and the numbers associated with BMI calculations. Too often our “number” becomes tangled in our identity. Instead, the campaign stresses overall health and individuality.  

As part of Project Weightless, Women for Change is making a video campaign. The video will be released during National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, Feb. 26 through March 3.

Filming for the video will take place Saturday, Feb. 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in University of Hartford’s Harry Jack Gray Center, room E118. Participants are asked to say, “My weight does not define me. I am _______.” They are free to fill in the blank with whatever they choose: strong, beautiful, smart, etc.  

Women for Change takes issue with mandatory public BMI weigh-ins for two reasons: (1) the BMI rating scale is an inaccurate measurement of weight class and (2) public weigh-ins promote stigmatization based on weight. 

The BMI rating scale is an inaccurate measurement of overall health. This is especially true in children and young adults because often times they gain weight before growing in height. In addition, BMI rating fails to take race and ethnicity into account, and it also does not consider frame size, muscularity and athleticism of an individual.

Public BMI reporting is detrimental to young adults because being classified as overweight or underweight can foster body dissatisfaction.  These feelings can then lead to eating pathologies and unhealthy eating habits.  Body dissatisfaction increases the likelihood of eating disorders, depression and low self-esteem. Public BMI weigh-ins unnecessarily make BMI classification public knowledge, potentially intensifying the effects of body dissatisfaction because students are vulnerable to the scrutiny of their peers.

Women for Change

Women for Change is an on campus organization at the University of Hartford. Our mission is to provide a space for education, dialogue, and support among people of all ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, and sexual orientation surrounding body image issues, feminism and sexuality. Our goal is to promote bonds between women in society.