This post was originally published by EverydayFeminism under the title "6 Scenarios Where Intentionally Changing Your Weight Doesn't Make Sense -- Even If You Think It Does" and is republished here with permission. Content note: This article contains references to weight loss, dieting, and eating disorders. I met with a new specialist to talk about the osteoporosis I’ve … [Read more...]
7 Maneras de Hablar Acerca de Las Enfermedades de Transmisión sexual (sin ser un capullo)
Translated by Ana M. M. Cada vez que el tema de las enfermedades de transmisión sexual (STIs) sale a la luz, en secreto me emociono y me entra el pánico al mismo tiempo. Me emociono porque como persona con herpes, y específicamente como escritora con herpes, paso mucho tiempo considerando la complejidad de lo que significa vivir en un cuerpo compartido con un virus, … [Read more...]
“Normal” Bodies Don’t Exist: Celebrating Your Body in the Face of Fatphobia
I remember once when I was thirteen years old in the middle of PE class. A teacher came along and told us that we would soon be having swimming lessons over at a nearby private school’s swimming facilities. At first, I was excited. I like swimming, I had a swimming pool at home, and my standard swimming costume of a one-piece, a rash shirt, and board shorts was something I … [Read more...]
Mixed-Race, Non-Binary, Queer Fat Femme: How I Fail and Succeed in Finding Liberation
I am a Black, mixed-race, fat, queer, non-binary person. Most saliently, I am femme. I have come to understand radical femmeness, femme magic, femme community, femme love, and femme power through my relationships with other womxn and femmes of color. While femme communities evoke safeness and security for me, they also often exist on the basis of trauma. Femininity leaves us … [Read more...]
Healing the Wounds of Growing Up in a Fat-Shaming Family
In the immortal words of Brianna in the classic film Bring It On: All or Nothing, "I've always had a big ass. It runs in my family. We're a big-assed family." My family never used to do “thin” well. My father hovered between “normal” and “more to love,” my mother had a substantially emphasised hourglass shape, and both of my younger brothers were noticeably chubby. As for me? … [Read more...]
11 Reasons Your “Concern” for Fat People’s Health Isn’t Helping Anyone
This article originally appeared in EverydayFeminism.com and is reprinted by permission. “I’m just concerned about their health.” “I’m a feminist, but I don’t think fat is a feminist issue.” “I’m body-positive, but I don’t believe in glorifying obesity.” “I think people of size deserve respect, but I think they’d find it easier if they were thin.” “Studies have … [Read more...]
Superfat Erasure: 4 Ways Smaller Fat Bodies Crowd the Conversation
For most of my life, and especially since coming into a fat identity, I have usually been one of the fattest people if not the fattest person in any given room I enter. When I came into fat activism, I did it operating under the (false) assumption that my experience of fatness was the same—or at least similar, or perhaps comparable—as other fat people’s. The more my community … [Read more...]
To Hell With Fatphobia? Working Through the Contradictions of Weight Loss and Body Positivity
Weight loss is a topic that has loomed over me my entire life. As I have shared many times before, I was always a “chubby kid” or “fat kid” in my schools and my neighborhood group of friends. This led to nearly daily bullying from my so-called “friends,” and I often wished I could just cut the fatness out to make it all go away. These feelings worsened in middle school when a … [Read more...]
4 Lessons My Aging Body Has Taught Me About Radical Self-Love
One of my 92-year-old mother’s favorite sayings is something along the lines of, “Aging is no walk in the park.” In fact, it’s probably the watchword of all the residents in her independent living complex, where if you’re under 80 years old, you’re considered a real youngster. Compared to these folks, I’m still practically a teenager. Unfortunately, my own aging body hasn’t … [Read more...]
Why Must Plus-Size Fashion Be “Flattering”?
"Flattering." One quick search through the unread promotional e-mails in my inbox found hundreds of results for this word. “The Most Flattering Swimsuit Ever,” subject lines teased in order to entice me to open them. The word "flattering" is so deeply ingrained in fashion, and particularly in plus-size fashion. But while some still see this word as a guideline, I see it more … [Read more...]
You Don’t Have to Love Your Body, But You Can’t Hate Mine
As a fat activist, it has been really disheartening to see “body positivity” becoming the be all and end all of mainstream fat politics and activism. “Body positivity” is focused around individuals liking (and loving) their own bodies, whether those bodies are fat or not. For me, it has been worth the time and energy to try to make peace – and yes, “love” – my fat … [Read more...]
Seeing Ourselves Beautiful: 10 Bloggers Fighting Fat Shame & Affirming Body Positivity
I first started getting into body positivity about five years ago, when an acquaintance introduced me to the Fatshionista community on LiveJournal. At the time I had just wanted to get some ideas for outfits. Little did I know that what I would end up getting was an introduction to an amazing and wonderful new world. When the other community members on Fatshionista started … [Read more...]
7 Ways the Body Positive Community Can Do Better
Body positivity is a word that only entered into the mainstream lexicon within the past year or so. While some media outlets would like you to believe this concept starts and ends with white cis models and celebrities size 14 and under, there are advocates who have been working and fighting for the fair and equal treatment of fat sizes since the 1960s. The amount of times … [Read more...]
