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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NAAFA Chronicles 76: December 1986
The NAAFA Chronicles reflect a piece of fat acceptance/fat activist history. In the December 1986 issue, you will find: a review of the news from 1986 relative to NAAFA and fat acceptance!
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.
NAAFA Chronicles 75: November 1986
CW: Discussion of intentional weight loss and weight loss surgery complications.
The NAAFA Chronicles reflect a piece of fat acceptance/fat activist history. In the November 1986 issue, you will find: discussion from a conference at the NY Academy of Science that diet-based approaches to permanent weight loss are "a disaster" and should be abandoned, updates on WLS procedures and more!
Anti-Racism Resources - AAPI
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In this edition of NAAFA’s anti-racism resources, we focus on Asian American and Pacific Islanders: history of Asian Americans; contributions made; what each of us can do to break the cycle of racism and violence against our AAPI family, friends and neighbors.
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.
NAAFA Chronicles 74: October 1986
The NAAFA Chronicles reflect a piece of fat acceptance/fat activist history. In the October 1986 issue you will find: the declaration of fat independence, protesting Oprah Winfrey’s statements on national television, making employment a higher priority, and more.
Anti-Racism Resources
Each month, we will be featuring educational resources on the NAAFA Community Voices Blog. Some resources will be historic information about systemic racism. Others will be resources on doing the internal work of understanding ourselves and how we play a part in that system. There may also be actions that can be taken to directly oppose racism. You can find more resources on the NAAFA website at https://naafa.org/antiracism-resources.
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!
WAGE DISPARITY FOR FAT AND OTHER MARGINALIZED PEOPLE
When people talk about diversity and inclusion in the workplace, they are usually referring to diversity as presented by ethnic, racial, gender identity, disability, and sexual identity demographics. Less often is body diversity considered. It has been reported that employers often perceive fatness as a sign that the fat person has less leadership potential, is not as intelligent, is less qualified and costs the employer more than their "normal" sized peers. Fat employees often receive a lower starting wage than employees with smaller bodies. The fact that body size is not covered by anti-discrimination laws in most states or other legislative districts affects everyone with marginalized identities.
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.
NAAFA Chronicles 73: September 1986
The NAAFA Chronicles reflect a piece of fat acceptance/fat activist history. In the September 1986 issue you will find: an FDA investigation of the gastric bubble is discussed, information on what happened to NAAFA's proposed name change, media and publicity, aerobics for large-sized people, and more.
ANTI-RACISM RESOURCES CELEBRATING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH 2022
Each month, we will be featuring educational resources on the NAAFA Community Voices Blog. This month, we focus on Women’s History Month 2022 and Black women that everyone should know. The breadth of the contributions of Black women to the U.S. is immeasurable. There are too many to recognize in this compilation, so here are just a few.
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!
NAAFA Chronicles 72: August 1986
The NAAFA Chronicles reflect a piece of fat acceptance/fat activist history. This month is the August 1986 issue of the NAAFA Chronicles featuring a settlement in a health spa lawsuit, activism committee report, a book review and more.
Decolonizing Wellness Book Giveaway!
Decolonizing Wellness Book Giveaway!
Dalia Kinsey (Nonbinary|No Pronouns) is a queer, small fat, Black Registered Dietitian, the creator of the Body Liberation for All podcast, and author of Decolonizing Wellness: A QTBIPOC-Centered Guide to Escape the Diet Trap, Heal Your Self-Image, and Achieve Body Liberation. Dalia and publishers are giving away a free copy of the book to someone in our NAAFA community. Read the blog post to enter the giveaway! Enter by 2/28/22.