Image description: A teal square with two round images of a fat woman running outside in a pink t-shirt and black leggings. First photo she is running through down a gravel path and second photo she is running across a wooden bridge. End image description.
Fat athletes are vastly underrepresented in stock images, and it’s high time someone did something about it.
Take a moment and picture the last image of a runner you saw that was part of an advertisement or article (in other words, not a marathon or candid photo of someone you know). What did the person look like? Was it a young, very thin white woman with blonde or brunette hair in a sleek ponytail, wearing athletic-but-sexy clothing, with perfect skin and no sweat, frozen in a perfectly-postured running stride with one foot on the ground in some beautiful location? The answer is very likely “yes.”
Does that person look like you? The answer to that may be “yes,” because there are indeed a few people whose bodies look like that not-really-a-true-story of a photo, but for the vast majority of people, the answer is no.
And what a crying shame that is, because so many people of so many different appearances and sizes and shapes and ages and ethnic heritages and levels of ability are runners!
“Nobody of any size is obligated to participate in fitness, but I think that we should all be welcomed.”
– Ragen Chastain, Dances With Fat
Representation matters. When the vast majority of humans aren’t represented, and only one type of body is, that’s a big issue, because we know from studies and common sense that the bodies we see represented around us — especially the bodies we see celebrated and honored — become what is “normal” to us. And when the bodies that are represented are not only all from one small population, but are then altered beyond what’s possible for human bodies to achieve, we can’t possibly measure up. That affects both our body image and our sense of what’s possible for us.
Back in 2018, I had the opportunity to photograph fat athlete and activist Ragen Chastain, including some photos of her running, jogging, and walking. Ragen has graciously agreed to release a portion of those images as stock photos here at Body Liberation Stock.
Plus-Size Running Photos for Body Positive, Anti-Diet & HAES Marketing
Here are three photos from the new mini-collection at Body Liberation Stock, the world’s first and best site for high-resolution stock images of plus-size and fat people for commercial use. These images can be used on your website, social media, flyers, brochures and other marketing materials to represent more of your customers, clients and prospects. You’ll also be helping to change the world by increasing the representation of large-bodied and fat folks.
These stock photos are often used by:
- Health at Every Size healthcare providers, authors, therapists, nutritionists and dietitians
- Body image, intuitive eating and life coaches
- HAES eating disorder treatment professionals
- Inclusive and fat-friendly fitness pros and personal trainers
- Plus-size fashion designers, retailers and ecommerce
- Body-positive bloggers and influencers
Shelbey Osborne is a 200-hour Yoga Teacher. She is passionate about yoga and astrology and uses these teachings to help individuals connect deeper to their own intuition. She is an advocate for body acceptance and applying a self-compassionate approach to all areas of our lives.