Meet NAAFA’s First-Ever International Intern!
By Ieva Militina
My fat liberation journey started with body positivity through various brands and influencers. I don’t remember when I heard something first about fat acceptance, but I know that when I saw Happy Fat by Sofie Hagen on sale in my local bookstore, I was genuinely interested to read it. I was living in Riga, the capital of Latvia, and this was sometime after the lockdowns of Covid. Sofie’s book opened my eyes to some of the ways fatness is being stigmatized in our culture, which resonated with me very much because I have been fat all of my life.
[Accessibility Description: A visibly fat person in a black polka-dot swimsuit is floating underwater in a pool, arms stretched out to the sides and eyes closed, captured mid-movement in a playful pose resembling a jump in the air. The greenish pool tiles form the background.]
The second step was a lecture at the Design Museum of Barcelona by Magdalena Piñeyro in the spring of 2023. I had been thinking about these things conceptually before, and even talked to my friend Aga from Spain about interest to learn and do more in that direction (we have since founded the European Body Liberation Network). But during the lecture by Magda, it all clicked. It almost brought me to tears to have my experiences validated like that, and that was the moment I clearly knew - I can not imagine doing anything else with my life. My unique expertise in the social impact field, and my professional communications skills, put me in a privileged position that I simply have to use to bring this topic to Latvia. I have struggled with experiences of anti-fatness all my life, the full spectrum of it. Bullying, mistreatment in the doctor's office, being laughed at, not being able to find clothes, constantly being given advice on how to lose weight by strangers in public places, yada yada yada - you name it. I’ve experienced everything fat activists talk about across the world, all of the things that we well know make fat people feel invisible and left out. I knew if I could help even one fat person feel validated like Madga made me feel in that moment, my existence would be worthwhile, and the suffering I have endured would not go in vain.
I was determined to bring size discrimination to attention in Latvia. I had already founded a nonprofit in hopes that it would motivate me to make some change through my professional life. I wasn’t sure about my neurodivergence back then, but I knew I was unable to stay motivated in a standard 9-5 job. At that point, my non-profit had only existed on paper, but not in reality. After I had a moment to work on thinking about ways to go about fat liberation in Latvia strategically, I connected it with what seemed easiest for me - writing and executing grants funded by the European Union. Step by step, since September 2024, I have been able to employ myself full-time. I am now proud to be a full-time professional fat activist as the founder of Flourish NGO.
![[Caption: Ieva and other speakers at the first public event produced by Flourish NGO. Photo credit: Flourish NGO]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7be2c55ceb261b71eadde2/28e29422-77b3-4273-849d-3fe43a1f727a/Ieva+Article+Pic+2.png)
Ieva and other speakers at the first public event produced by Flourish NGO. Photo credit: Flourish NGO
Before this, the fat liberation movement in Latvia was not formed in the terms we all now know. Yes, there were and are some body positivity advocates and influencers, and some activities for “plus size gals,” but we didn’t even have Latvian words to talk about this. So my first step was to initiate the recognition of official translations of terms like “fat acceptance,” “weight stigma,” and others by the Terminology Commission, a government agency that approves new terms for official Latvian use. My primary win was advocating for using the word “fat” not “corpulent” in these translations. The commission suggested “corpulent” at first, as a way to be more "sensitive" to fatties, but for me, it was important to maintain the rebellious nature and use word "fat" specifically because it is somewhat controversial and because I wanted to honor all the work of past activists who have gone with this approach in the world.
The next step was to launch a survey called “Stories of Fat Bodies” to get an image of what is actually happening with fat people in Latvia. Slowly but surely I managed to get financing to write up the first report on perceived weight discrimination in Latvia and based it on 95 stories from the survey. That project allowed moving on to the next step - creating a publicly accessible base of information in Latvian language so that people looking for information about fat as a social justice issue can easily find it online. Joined by my friend and now colleague Annija, this year we managed to create a website with a glossary, information on where to find help in situations of experienced discrimination, and a podcast about different aspects of fat liberation. We established weight stigma as a prevalent and harmful issue in Latvian context.
In the autumn of 2023, the Ministry of Health of Latvia wanted to hear testimonies and opinions on their emerging “Plan to Tackle Ob*sity.” My friend Aija, who is also a board member of Flourish NGO, is a nutritionist who has closely been with me on this journey, backing my ideas with a medical viewpoint. She sent over this information to me, and I had two weeks to prepare an official letter addressing concerns that the Plan didn’t have a single word about eating disorders and weight stigma. I met that deadline and secured backing from local nutritionist associations. A few months later, we were very glad to hear that the Ministry had accepted our input and addressed our concerns. This plan is now the first official document in our country that mentions weight stigma as an issue, and activities to introduce parents, educators, and medical staff have also been included in it. This makes me very proud!
What’s next?
That’s the thing I want to figure out by interning with NAAFA! A few years ago, a friend of mine applied for a program with the Baltic American Freedom Foundation (BAFF). This organization exists to deepen the ties between and among Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the United States. I applied for BAFF’s Professional Internship Program scholarship, which allows interns to immerse ourselves in American culture while gaining the experience, knowledge, and skills to advance our careers. What’s unique about them sending me to NAAFA is that not many interns from nonprofits join this program, and I am definitely the first one to connect my internship with fat liberation. And to be honest, where else would I want to do it than in the USA and in the world’s longest-standing organization with as much experience as NAAFA has?
We live in interesting times. Politically, the US has a huge influence on the mood and decisions around everything that is related to the war in Ukraine and Russia, which borders Latvia. Many people back at home follow what’s happening in politics in the US, and many international decisions have direct influence on what we all hope for - the soonest resolution of the conflict. The US is shifting cultures globally. With the capitalist culture, as well as the movie and music industry, it has strongly infiltrated our daily lives in Latvia, too. Black Fridays, global online trends and newest Hollywood blockbusters– we are also a market for all these. While undeniable, and impossible to delay, in my opinion it affects our culture both positively and negatively. We are losing our traditional ways and differences that set us apart from other countries. I would not go as far to say that we are getting Americanized, but slowly it is going that direction. Young people use more and more English expressions amidst our own, too. Meanwhile, being a part of a global culture allows us to be in the loop of what's happening and get more opportunities globally.
While here in the US, I am just curious about everything. How similar is the actual life to everything we have seen over decades through movies? What are the traditions besides the ones we have seen? I am very curious to learn about the current political climate, as this is something portrayed very vividly in the media in Europe, but I believe we only see a very selected perspective. And above all, I am very eager to learn and experience fat acceptance that is more common and embedded into the culture in the US, so that I know what directions my work can go in future!
Learn about Latvia from Ieva
Latvia is a country in Northern Europe, bordering Estonia, Lithuania, and Russia, and the beautiful Baltic Sea. It is a small country that is very green. Imagine Lord Of The Rings vibe, lush moss forest with no end in sight. Imagine yourself with a friend or family member and a small basket in hand, strolling and looking for yellow chanterelles or porcini mushrooms. (Some say that picking mushrooms is a national sport!) Or imagine yourself in summer, spending a day on the beach of white sand and no people in sight. As a slogan said a long time ago, Latvia is “a country best enjoyed slowly.”
Latvia is very flat. Our highest mountain is just 1,024 feet (and yes, we still call it a mountain!). You can get almost anywhere in the country in under 3 hours, and getting to the capitals of Lithuania and Estonia takes just about four hours by bus. Weather-wise, I would suggest imagining Canada with four distinct seasons. On average, the highest temperatures in summer reach about 85°F, but the average winter weather would go somewhere below freezing down to 14°F. In short, it is very different in most ways from Phoenix, where I am now. I am learning about these differences almost every day! I also have to constantly think about when to wear what and how to navigate myself to get things done here. Plus, Latvia uses the metric system, so it is confusing to jump into a new measurement system– I still have to use an app to be able to write down the height and temperature in a format you understand. A work in progress! 🙂
For the past 15+ years, I have lived in Riga, the capital of Latvia. It is a city on the biggest Latvian river Daugava, and the Old Town looks very similar to some German cities, and it is not a coincidence. Riga was founded by German crusaders in 1201 as a settlement for trade and a base for conquering the surrounding lands in pursuit of bringing Christianity. It is a walkable, green and beautiful place to live in. Public transportation is used a lot. Spending time in cafes and restaurants is a common pastime. There are about 600k inhabitants in Riga (out of 1.8 million in the entire country), and the city is small enough that when going out in Riga, you always meet somebody you know!
If you want to find out more, have a look at the official website for tourism in Latvia.
