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.

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.

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SELF CARE FOR FAT BODIES - COMMUNITY RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESOURCES

SELF CARE FOR FAT BODIES - COMMUNITY RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESOURCES

During #fatliberationmonth, NAAFA invited Anna Chapman (@iamannachapman) as a guest on the NAAFA Webinar Series. During Anna’s episode, Self Care for Fat Bodies (From Practical to Pampering), we promised to create a blog post compiling the resources, suggestions, and information crowd-sourced from Anna and webinar participants. This is that post!

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Moving Women’s Fatshion Forward Through The Years - Part 2

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.

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Moving Women’s Fatshion Forward Through The Years - Part 1

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.

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Report from the International Weight Stigma Conference

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.

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#isupportnaafa - Angela Livingston

#isupportnaafa - Angela Livingston

I love all the programs aimed at rounder bodies, directed toward the needs of fat people, and created for the various identities of the fat community (we are a diverse community!). Also, people who are fat allies, those who have an attraction to fat people, and those who simply want to understand fat issues are able to learn about the fat community through NAAFA’s literature and online resources. That is the reason that I think NAAFA is truly needed for anyone who is able to see wonderful fat bodies of various sizes of fatness as worthy of respect and love.

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Meet Bats Langley, NAAFA's 2022 Fat Liberation Month Logo Designer and Artist

Meet Bats Langley, NAAFA's 2022 Fat Liberation Month Logo Designer and Artist

Bats Langley is a popular artist and illustrator, best known for his adorable children’s books about a very friendly monster called Groggle, his fine art work, his work for kids’ publications like Cricket and Scholastic magazines, and of course, his character Gus. Gus is a whimsical guy, a character who is “an exploration in bigness,” and whose adventures “reveal a freedom of being big, without the societal constraints or expectations of being a bigger person.”

When Bats set about creating the 2022 Fat Liberation Month logo, he first reflected on how the word “fat” is empowering to so many but is also loaded and challenging for people, especially those new to fat liberation concepts. Bats admitted that, even for him as someone who embraces his own body and creates art representing bodies of all shapes and sizes, it was hard to hear “fat” without remembering all of its negative connotations. So he wanted to make sure the word “fat” looked friendly and inviting in his logo design, with the word “liberation” looking strong and supportive. Bats started with a focus on the a, which could represent both acceptance and activism. “Fat Liberation Month is about both being accepting of your body and yourself and who you are, but also about this activism, making a movement to change the world.”

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Media and Research Roundup

Media and Research Roundup

For the latest information and research on fatness, check out the Media and Research Roundup. This issue features: studies around weight loss surgery complications, discussion on the body positivity vs fat liberation, Lizzo’s statement that body positivity is leaving out black and brown folx, new regulations from the FAA and more.

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What Freedom Ain't: Fat Liberation for Folks Who Mean It
Activism, BIPOC, Events, Fat Liberation Month, Guest Posts Darliene Howell Activism, BIPOC, Events, Fat Liberation Month, Guest Posts Darliene Howell

What Freedom Ain't: Fat Liberation for Folks Who Mean It

As fat activists and our accomplices continue to imagine a world free from fat antagonism and shaming, discrimination, and inaccessibility through NAAFA’s first ever Fat Liberation Month and beyond, let us also be reminded of the things that can hold us back. We can keep each other accountable, build more effectively, and perhaps move more expeditiously toward liberation. This is what freedom ain’t.

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6 AAPI Influencers and Activists You’ll Love To Follow

6 AAPI Influencers and Activists You’ll Love To Follow

Of the many plus-size identities out there, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are some of the least represented larger bodies in plus size media. Writer Laurel Dickman has put together a list of 6 AAPI influencers and activists that you will love to follow!

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a torah that is fat
Guest Posts, Fat Liberation Month Darliene Howell Guest Posts, Fat Liberation Month Darliene Howell

a torah that is fat

What I love about fatphobia...wait, that didn't come out quite right. Let me try again: what I find so deeply compelling about the work of Fat Torah is that the insidious pervasiveness of weight stigma --harming so many different people in so many different ways-- also means that the healing and liberation can start from anywhere.

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What fat liberation means to me: It's not just about "all bodies"
Activism, Fat Liberation Month, Guest Posts Lindley Ashline Activism, Fat Liberation Month, Guest Posts Lindley Ashline

What fat liberation means to me: It's not just about "all bodies"

In this reflection on Fat Liberation, Lindley Ashline talks about how she defines it, how fat liberation differs from body liberation, fat liberation vs body positivity, how she arrived at this point in fat liberation and how it affects her business as a photographer, activist and writer.

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Reflections on Growing Up Fat and Chinese-American

Reflections on Growing Up Fat and Chinese-American

In Chinese culture, women are supposed to be small. Not just in stature, but in how we exist in the world. There is this old school idea that Chinese girls should be quiet, small, slender, take up as little space as possible. There is no being loud, there is no taking up space, there is absolutely no being fat. Well. I’m fat. And I always have been. I grew up culturally Chinese American.

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What Fat Liberation Means to Me: Instagrammers Celebrate Fat Liberation Month!

What Fat Liberation Means to Me: Instagrammers Celebrate Fat Liberation Month!

At the beginning of Fat Liberation Month (May), NAAFA invited everyone to post in social media sharing what fat liberation means to them, using the #fatliberationmonth. There have been photos, video, graphics and written captions expressing the thoughts of fat folx all over social media! Here are a few of the responses we have seen so far this month on Instagram. We invite you to share your thoughts on fat liberation on your favorite social media platforms using the hashtag #fatliberationmonth also.

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Diets Really Don’t Work
Guest Posts, Medical, Fat Liberation Month Peggy Howell Guest Posts, Medical, Fat Liberation Month Peggy Howell

Diets Really Don’t Work

Stop believing the diet industry’s marketing. Stop believing the hype and the lies. We are not all meant to be the same. We come in all sizes; short, tall, thin, fat and everything in between. Learn to accept and celebrate our differences.

Stop buying into the lies that you are not fine just the way you are. Don’t believe the diet and healthcare industry when they tell you they are only concerned about your health. It’s not your health, it's your money that concerns them!

Take the time to consider what you are hungry for and enjoy the best possible food you can. Find an activity that you enjoy, whether it’s walking, swimming, dancing, working out...include that in your life on a regular basis. Focus on the things that matter like family, friends and helping others. The rest will take care of itself!

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