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.
Want to write for the Community Voices Blog? Submit your idea here!
The NAAFA Chronicles reflect a piece of fat acceptance/fat activist history. In the March 1987 issue you will find: a prominent health writer taking a stand against dieting, activism letter writing campaign, an update on the 1987 Convention planning, and an invitation to volunteer with NAAFA.
Read MoreFatshion (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.
Read MoreFatshion (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.
Read MoreSwim/pool parties in fat community is a long tradition that hasn’t been recognized by the general public. With the airing of Shrill’s pool episode in 2019, suddenly everyone was saying, “What a great idea!” So we’ve taken a look at the history of fat swim parties and are sharing this piece of history with you.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreI 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.
Read MoreBats 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.”
Read MoreNAAFA is excited to show our support to QWOCMAP’s Queer Women of Color Film Festival. QWOCMAP’s Queer Women of Color Film Festival, their signature event, is hosted this weekend in San Francisco (June 10-12). The festival is FREE to attend (registration required). There is fat-friendly and accessible seating available. Be sure to check out the COVID safety procedures if you are planning to attend in person. The festival will also have an encore virtual screening. Join QWOCMAP’s mailing list for more info. NAAFA is a co-sponsor of Saturday night’s Centerpiece Screening, Hearts Aflutter. Hearts Aflutter features several short films, including fat protagonists on screen and fat filmmakers behind the camera. Additional info and registration at link in bio.
Read MoreDecolonizing 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.
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.
Fat Pig, is an unprecedented operatic performance that you have to see. Victory Hall Opera presents FAT PIG: a new chamber opera featuring the first romantic lead in opera to be written specifically for a plus-size woman.
The world premiere chamber opera written by Matt Boehler, commissioned by Victory Hall Opera, will be held for two performances only; January 22 & 27, 2022, 8:00pm ET at V. EARL DICKINSON THEATER AT PVCC, 501 College Dr., Charlottesville, VA 22902.
Read MoreLatinx Heritage Month runs from September 15 through October 15 and it’s a time of celebration for Americans to honor the histories, cultures, and contributions of US residents whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. As it has in the past, this month NAAFA will shine a spotlight on some Latinx folks who have been working in Fat Liberation.
Read MoreThank you to everyone who made our first Fat Liberation Month such a success!
We're already thinking about next year! What did we do well? What needs improvement? We would love your input! To share your thoughts about Fat Liberation Month 2021, please fill out our FLM Evaluation Form.
Read MoreAs 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.
Read MoreAt 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.
Read MoreEveryone at NAAFA is proud and excited to announce our first-ever Fat Liberation Month! Here at NAAFA, we’ve planned lots of fun and educational activities for May. All of them are free of charge to fat community and fat-positive folx of all sizes. We hope they will entertain you, teach you, inspire you, and fortify you with an extra, supersized dose of support as you strive to live your best fat life during what is, for many, one of the most challenging times in modern history.
We can’t wait to see all the ways you choose to celebrate Fat Liberation Month yourselves. Use #FatLibertionMonth on your favorite social media sites to show off how you’re celebrating and to check out how others are celebrating, too!
Read MoreIn December 2020, Dr. Lily O’Hara had the great pleasure of presenting a webinar to medical students at California Northstate University (CNSU) on fat phobia in medicine. In the webinar, she discussed concepts related to weight-based oppression, and how fat people and people with larger bodies can experience such oppression in encounters with medical settings and medical practitioners.
Read More#NAAFAGivingTuesday is your opportunity to support the work of NAAFA and specific programs that work to support you. This year, our #NAAFAGivingTuesday campaign focuses on the NAAFA Webinar Series program. Help us help fat community and others who want to learn by supporting this essential program!
Read MoreNAAFA Founder, Bill Fabrey, and NAAFA Community Outreach Director, Tigress Osborn, will engage in a lively dialogue about how the fat acceptance movement has changed since the organization was founded in 1969.
Read MoreNAAFA welcomes author, podcaster and activist Dr. Joy Cox! Dr. Cox will be conversing with NAAFA Board Chair Elect and Community Outreach Director, Tigress Osborn, about her new book, Fat Girls in Black Bodies: Creating Communities of Our Own, and much more!
Read More
