Catching Up with Ash Nischuk, Infinifat Liberation Champion
Photo of Ash Nischuk, a queer, white, Infinifat person, sits near a window wearing a grayish blue tiedye tank top. The sun shines through the shades onto her skin, creating a linear pattern created by the sun's rays.
Ash Nischuk (she/her), aka @ash.fatlip on Instagram, is a queer, fat, disabled influencer, podcast host, writer, and creator who has been an advocate for fat liberation for at least a decade. She's also the Founder and Editor of Vast Magazine, an online publication created for all people, by fat people. In 2016, Ash expanded the concept of the “fat spectrum” by adding the category of “Infinifat,” a term which she coined to describe people of any gender who are larger than U.S. women’s clothing 34/36. (See Editor’s note for more on terminology). Identifying as Infinifat herself, she's been an example of what it means to fight against all fat oppression and marginalization, but especially as they're experienced by those on the fattest end of the spectrum (Superfats and Infinifats).
Ash remains active online and has been consistently supportive, is always ready to share resources, to listen attentively, and to help in any way she can. Change is inevitable, though, and Ash has observed some pretty major shifts in this community. There have been significant wins, painful losses, and some scary, agonizing times, especially over the last couple of years. I was able to speak with Ash recently about what life has been like for her, feelings she has about maneuvering online given the elusiveness of "safety" as an infinifat person, and her thoughts on the current state of the fat liberation movement.
Angel Austin: Ash! How are you, friend? I mean this very genuinely. How are you right now, in this moment?
Ash Nischuk: I’m doing okay! As you know I tragically lost my brother last year, and the anniversary of his death is next week, so it’s a sad time. I’m getting through it, though, with the support of my friends.
Austin: Can you take some time to very generally sum up what's been going on in your life?
Nischuk: I’ve mostly been taking some time off, unplugging from social media. It’s been a hard year, and at first I tried to just bulldoze my way through it, keep busy, and not think too much. It…did not work. Haha. So I’m trying a different tactic and being easier on myself. It’s hard to step back but I know it’s what I need right now.
Austin: How are you feeling about your own journey to fat liberation right now?
Nischuk: I feel good overall. Individual fat liberation is a lifelong journey, as you know. No matter how much work you’ve done, we’re still infinifat people trying to exist in a world that wishes that we didn’t. Those outside pressures affect all of us, no matter how much fat liberation work we’ve done. But being in community with other Superfat and infinifat people helps, and knowing that the work I do is pushing the needle even a little keeps me driving forward.
Austin: What are you feeling about the fat liberation movement now overall? Where do you see it going?
Nischuk: It has improved exponentially since I came to the movement, but it still has so much further to go. Seeing mainstream media outlets using the word “fatphobia” is something that I could not have imagined ten years ago, but we’re seeing it more and more today. The loose concepts of fat lib are slowly starting to make it to the surface in our culture. But there are still roadblocks—healthism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and white supremacy still keep people from fully buying in to fat liberation. These prejudices are woven into our culture and our history, and until, as a society, we can reckon with these things and tear them down, we won’t be able to see true fat liberation. It’s easy to get discouraged by that, and it’s easy to feel powerless. But we aren’t. The progress we have made in fat lib is because of the work that we’ve done, so we keep chipping away, doing the things we can do. We can’t magically fix these huge social problems, but we can be visible. We can make one other fat person feel okay in their own skin. And that’s not nothing!
Austin: Is there a solid fat community in your opinion? Please explain. What are some things we're getting right? What are we getting wrong?
Nischuk: I often reference “the fat community” and by that I mostly am talking about the collective population of fat-identified people. I don’t know if I’d say we actually operate the way I’d want a “community” to, though. There are a lot of individuals with their own priorities and drives, and there are also all of those prejudices I mentioned before—fat people aren’t more collectively enlightened than anyone else. All of these limitations keep us from creating a safe, supportive community. And I will also say that I don’t think it’s all our fault either. There are many thin “experts” that are taking up a lot of space in fat liberation. It’s disheartening that so many not-fat people are getting paid—to write books and as speakers at conferences, etc.—as “experts” on marginalized bodies.
Austin: What do you want for the fat community? What do you dream? In a perfect world, how would it be?
Nischuk: First of all, I want fat people to be considered reliable witnesses to and experts in our own experiences. Too many people believe they know something about a fat person’s quality of life, or about our hardships, or about how we feel about our bodies. They create entire narratives about the lives they believe we lead, entire online forums to try to humiliate us, entire films about their fictional takes on our lives. It’s wild. I just want them to actually listen to us and to believe us. And if that’s too much, truthfully, I just want them to leave us alone. I don’t need to be liked. I don’t even need to be understood. But I do want to be able to live my life in peace. Nothing that I am doing or have done affects not-fat people in any way—insisting that fat people are worthy of respect doesn’t take anything away from thin people. In a perfect world not-fat people would just let fat people live in peace.
Austin: If you wrote a love letter to the fat community, what are some of the things it would say?
Nischuk: I would say that I love them and am in awe of them. I see all of the brilliance and comedy and talent and work that fat people put into the things they do, and I am in awe. I know how hard it is, and I know everything that they are overcoming every day, and I am proud. I would want them to know that wherever they are in their fat liberation journey, they are doing great. Even being able to identify as fat at all is a step in the right direction. Owning that word, the one that was probably used as a dagger against them more times than they can count, is progress. And I would want them to know that the rest of us need them. This movement exists because we insist that it does and because we are all making small moves that improve the lives of all of us. I would want to encourage them to keep making those small moves because together those small moves make big changes.
Ash's presence in my life and in this community has been integral to my personal liberation. It's been a brutal year for Ash and for so many of us. Online attacks, tragedy, grief and loss on many fronts, sickness, financial hardship, and just existing have been difficult to navigate. Being fat, especially Superfat or Infinifat, adds another layer of oppression and difficulty. We have survived to the degree to which we can establish reliable community. We relate to each other. We lean on each other. We hold space for each other. We need non-fat people to see us, be our accomplices in this work, or get out of our way and leave us alone.
Author’s Note: If you're fat (especially Superfat or Infinifat) and finding it difficult to negotiate life (online and/or offline) or just need some resources that offer clarity and additional support, I recommend the resource list by Val&Co found here. Reference the information found at the end of the post (Content warning for other info on the page, which includes descriptions of anti-fat trolling and discussion of fat death. The resource section is clearly marked RESOURCES). Know that you're not alone. You are valid. You are seen and appreciated. You are worthy of respect. You deserve to be heard. You belong in this community.
Editor’s Note: Size acceptance and fat liberation circles have been talking about the stratification of different fat sizes for decades, including using the term “supersize” to describe people on the largest end of the spectrum. NAAFA and Nolose Conference, BBW Bash events, and other fat liberation groups and fat-friendly gatherings often held special workshops or affinity spaces for supersize participants. In 2006, the term "superfat" was created at a Nolose Conference in 2006 , and is documented in the essay Community Origins of the term “Superfat” by Cherry Midnight and Max Airborne). Ash’s 2016 article, Beyond Superfat: Rethinking the Fat Spectrum, identifies four categories of fat based on US women’s clothing size: Fat, Midfat, Superfat, and Infinifat. She also discusses the term “Lane Bryant fat,” coined by author Roxanne Gaye to identify a distinction between people who can shop in some popular plus size stores and those who are not served by plus size retailers. In 2019, Fluffy Kitten Party's article Fategories – Understanding the Fat Spectrum helped popularize the category breakdown as discussed by Ash. Have other citations for the history of discussing the fat spectrum? Let us know at blog@naafa.org.
