Escaping Diet Culture is a card game I created in a game design class, and honestly, it’s one of the projects I’m proudest of. The assignment was to design a “polemical” game—basically, something that tackles a topic you care deeply about, even if its controversial. For me, the subject was diet culture.

Growing up as a girl, I quickly learned that food wasn’t just food—it was sorted into “good” and “bad” categories, and there was always pressure to eat the right things, work out enough, and, above all else, avoid getting fat. Society’s fat phobia is everywhere. I remember trying out fad diets when I was still a kid, just because I didn’t look exactly like  other girls. Creating this game became a way for me to push back against all those unhealthy, brainwashing messages that have followed so many of us for as long as we can remember.

The cards themselves are all photos of me, which I edited into unique designs—mostly using Photoshop and Illustrator. The design of the game is a playful spin on 1950s style, giving the game a retro, vintage feel.