NAAFA Community Voices Blog
Sharing thoughts and ideas from fat community.
Image shows a young black woman with blonde hair and wearing glasses, a pink sweater and a laptop on the desk in front of her.
Blog postings are shown in date order of posting (newest to oldest). You may search by author, tag or use the following categories: Events, From the Newsletter, Guest Posts, History, Legislation, LGBTQIA+, Medical, Press Releases, Resource Guides, Videos, Webinars.
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Moving Women’s Fatshion Forward Through The Years - Part 2
Fatshion (the term currently being used for fat fashion) and fatshionistas (those that love fat fashion) are something we see on social media every day. But what do we know of the history of women’s fat fashion?
This is part 2 of a 2-part review of the history of fat fashion visibility.
Moving Women’s Fatshion Forward Through The Years - Part 1
Fatshion (the term currently being used for fat fashion) and fatshionistas (those that love fat fashion) are something we see on social media every day. But what do we know of the history of women’s fat fashion?
This is part 1 or a 2-part review of the history of fat fashion visibility.
Report from the International Weight Stigma Conference
The annual Weight Stigma Conference (WSC) is an international interdisciplinary gathering of scholars, advocates, community leaders, and others whose work addresses weight stigma (bias against people who are considered “overweight” in their cultures). Founded by British scholar and activist Dr. Angela Meadows in 2013, the conference has been held in Birmingham (UK), Canterbury (UK), Reykjavik (Iceland), Vancouver (Canada), Prague (Czchek Republic), Leeds (UK), and London (UK). Although the conference was founded in 2013, COVID-related delays made this year the 8th offering of the in-person conference, with a commitment to adding more virtual elements in 2023 and a fully hybrid conference in 2024. 2023 and 2024 locations are yet to be announced.
NAAFA has supported the conference as a sponsor for many years. This year, for the first time, we sent an official delegation. Board Chair Tigress Osborn and Board Member-at-Large Elaine Lee traveled to Berlin in July to represent NAAFA at the conference and learn from fat community leaders from sixteen countries.
FAT HISTORY FLASHBACK
This a Fat History Flashback that explores the events surrounding an issue that effected fat community. It is a feature of Fat Liberation Month and is created by NAAFA.
RESEARCH SURVEY OPPORTUNITIES
NAAFA is introducing RESEARCH SURVEY OPPORTUNITIES, a new monthly feature in the NAAFA Newsletter and on the NAAFA Community Voices Blog,.
The purpose of this feature is to share the opportunity to participate in surveys or studies that directly affect fat community. These research participation opportunities have been presented to NAAFA for possible sharing by the individuals or organizations that are leading the research. They were not created by nor are they sponsored by NAAFA.
Asexuality for Pride Month
According to Meriam Webster, Asexuality (Ace) is: not having sexual feelings toward others : not experiencing sexual desire or attraction. Basically, it is an inborn absence of sexual desire.
Fat Liberation or Body Positivity can be hard spaces for Asexual people to navigate sometimes because for many, body liberation also includes sexual/sensual aspects of their lives. For myself personally, talk of fat sex/pleasure or images of those things makes me uncomfortable.
Finding safety in Queer spaces can be hard for Asexual people. When you are Fat and Asexual, it also comes with all the Fat bias, weight stigma, Fat hate too.
Asexual people are not wrong or broken or looking for attention. We are here and we are valid.
Media and Research Roundup - May 2022
For the latest information and research on fatness, check out the Media & Research Roundup. This issue features: body positivity and what "everyone knows"; Texas State Troopers are facing disciplinary action based on their waist circumference; how food hierarchies can be antifatness, classist and racist; a petition against weighing children in school, and more!
Mental Health Awareness Month: My Journey to Becoming Fearlessly Just Me
When I was 10, the doctor told my mom that I was 30 pounds overweight. At the time, I weighed 120 pounds and according to the infamous “chart”, I was supposed to weigh 90 pounds. It would impact the choices I would make along the way in everything from relationships and job-related experiences to how I view weight loss.
I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and was told that what I was experiencing was depression. At that moment, I was speechless. There was a name to what I was going through. And it made me reflect on my life as a whole. My therapist told me that I probably developed this as a child because of that experience when I was 10 and she said that she was in awe that I had dealt with this for so long on my own.
So every year, when May rolls around, I celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month by sharing my story. It continues to evolve. No one is perfect and it’s perfectly okay to seek help when you need it.
Media and Research Roundup - April 2022
For the latest information and research on fatness, check out the Media Research Roundup. This issue features: "A Jar of Fat", a play written by Seayoung Yim, Plus Size Mommy takes on ABC and media that get plus-size pregnancy risks wrong, Tigress Osborn talks about NAAFA's work with Google in developing guidelines for inclusivity in marketing, and more!
In Celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Month
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. To our Asian and Pacific Islander community members, we honor you and past generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have made positive contributions to American history, laying the groundwork for future generations to continue their important work.
Remembering Dr. Cat Pausé
Dr Caitlin (Cat) Pausé, scholar, a mentor, a teacher, an activist, and a tireless advocate for fat rights, passed away in her sleep on March 26th, 2022. Dr. Angela Meadows shares her memories of Cat and the accomplishments she made in fighting for fat community.
FAT POLITICS IN ACTION: PENDING LEGISLATION SEEKS TO PROTECT AGAINST WEIGHT BIAS
“The cultural shifts around acceptance of fat and questioning the diet industry and the pervasiveness of diet culture, some of those things have empowered more fat people individually to think about, ‘Oh, when my rights are being violated, this is not my fault.’ ” - Tigress Osborn, NAAFA Board Chair
Riding the wave of these cultural shifts, there are two legislative bills currently making their way through the State Houses of Massachusetts and New York.
“I AM MORE THAN…”
Happy Poetry Month! Poet, Vanessa Chica Ferreira, shares some of her poetry with us. She states, "Poetry for me is the ability to create, connect, release, contemplate, be petty, to remember, it is to heal, inform, be used for activism, to honor my mother’s memory. It is a shapeshifter that changes with my needs. Poetry helps me unlearn what I was taught about how to exist in a fat body. It gives me the courage not only to advocate for myself but also for others." Vanessa also invites readers to consider writing an "I am more than" poem themselves!
Media and Research Roundup - March 2022
For the latest information and research on fatness, check out the Media Research Roundup. This issue features: lack of plus-size representation in fashion week, being weighed at the doctor’s office, anti-discrimination in Brazil, WW’s violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act Rule and more!
NAAFA Statement of Support and Accountability
We at NAAFA have been closely monitoring the situation Mikey Mercedes has brought to the community’s attention involving the harm that Lindo Bacon has caused to members of the Health at Every Size (HAES) and fat activist communities. We strongly oppose any institution or person that discriminates, causes harm, or impedes any fat person from the respect, equal opportunity, dignity, or rights we deserve.
We share this post as an offer of transparency around our own relationship with Lindo and HAES, and we encourage anyone who has still not done so, to read Mikey’s statement, as well as her follow-up tweets outlining accountability steps.
Driven to End Weight Stigma
In this piece for Women’s History Month 2022, Barbara Altman Bruno PhD gives us a glimpse into why she felt “driven” in working to end fat stigma and toward fat liberation. Dr. Bruno conveys some of the history of the fat acceptance/fat liberation movement from her perspective, the beginnings of Health At Every Size and her work in preserving our history for the future.
Media and Research Roundup - February 2022
For the latest information and research on fatness, check out the Media and Research Roundup. This issue features: how far we have gone and how far we need to go to change the pervasiveness of the "ideal body" in teen magazines, don't weight me cards, body neutrality, and more!
Media and Research Roundup - January 2022
For the latest information and research on fatness, check out the Media and Research Roundup. This issue features: a travel article featuring Chubby Diaries travel blogger, Jeff Jenkins; a podcast interview; long term risks associated with WLS; Jessamyn Stanley shows how fitness instructors can become a fat ally and more!
How A Doctor’s Allyship Is Changing My Life
Medical avoidance was the norm after my teenage years. The loathing and judgement from medical systems was too much. Avoidance put me in the hospital twice. I could not bear the thought of going to the doctors. I would cry at the thought of it. If for some reason I had to go, the entire time was panic-inducing.
Fast forward to 2020 and my forties. I was a few years into learning about Health at Every Size (HAES), weight biases, and Fat Liberation. I decided to take the leap and sought after a weight-neutral doctor. After researching in my area, I found one.
Introducing Ally Week
Our 2022 Ally Week explores the meaning of allyship in fat community -- how others show up for us and how we show up for others. We know thin people have a lot to learn about how to be allies to fat folx; we also know that fat folx with other privilege have a lot to learn about how to center marginalized people in fat community and how to show up as allies for other oppressed groups. NAAFA volunteers, guest speakers, special bloggers, and others have worked together to create programming about being allies; how we operate in our relationships of all kinds; how we invest our time, energy, and money; and more.
All events are free. Most are open to everyone, but our Fat Fridays Virtual Social Club is an affinity space limited to fat people. If you don’t understand why, our Intro to Allyship workshop will include discussion of safe spaces and why sometimes not showing up is an important part of allyship.