{The Body Liberation Guide} Generation after generation
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{The Body Liberation Guide} Generation after generation

Hi friend, First, a couple of announcements: I’m excited to support the SeekHer Foundation as a mentor for their new program ‘Our Bodies Belong’. Check out theirย siteย to learn more and apply for their Winter 2024 Cohort.ย  Also, I’ll be more or less unavailable from now through mid-January as I do a little hibernation, spend time…

Marginalization and the cost of things
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Marginalization and the cost of things

I’ve been thinking so much about the cost of things lately, and how they interact with cost of living and marginalization and capitalism and labor and psychology. Last week, I had the privilege of a behind-the-scenes chat with the organizer of Seattle Fat Con (affiliate link), an event happening in January here in town.  I’d…

{The Body Liberation Guide} Setting boundaries at the holidays (for fat folks + allies)
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{The Body Liberation Guide} Setting boundaries at the holidays (for fat folks + allies)

Hi friend, An ongoing pandemic, skyrocketing cost of living and ongoing cultural and political upheaval all over the world have sent relationships that were previously โ€œgrin, grit your teeth and get through itโ€ territory over into chaos and active conflict. At the same time, we humans seek closeness and community. We want and need celebration and…

{The Body Liberation Guide} Every kind of oppression is a body liberation issue
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{The Body Liberation Guide} Every kind of oppression is a body liberation issue

Hi friend, I have a lovely announcement to share before we get to the heart of this week’s letter:  Nic McDermid’s Fat Positive Practice Guidebook is now available! Nic has been speaking truth to power at the intersection of eating disorder treatment and body liberation for many years, and this is your chance to learn directly…

Phedre Devereaux: Your Instincts are Correct- What’s Happening in Palestine is Not Okay

Phedre Devereaux: Your Instincts are Correct- What’s Happening in Palestine is Not Okay

My heart remains so heavy for the Palestinian civilians being slaughtered in Gaza. A population already made up of 50% children, which speaks to the violence they have endured for so long now.  And heavy for Jews, particularly those in the diaspora, who have no say in what the government of Israel does and are…

{The Body Liberation Guide} What do the fatties want?
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{The Body Liberation Guide} What do the fatties want?

Hi friend, Here in Seattle, we’re well into our damp, drizzly, chilly, earthen season that will last with slight variations into next May. Though I offer outdoor photo sessions here year round, since it rarely gets very cold, indoor sessions are picking up. It’s also the time of year when I both slow down personally…

A quote from Marilyn Wann: "There is no kinder/gentler way to endorse intentional weight-loss goals (by any method)."
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Marilyn Wann: “There is no kinder/gentler way to endorse intentional weight-loss goals (by any method).”

I’m so excited to bring you a guest piece from Marilyn freakin’ Wann this week!ย Marilyn is one of the fat activists I admire the most, who’s been fighting for fat justice and rights since I was knee-high. She’s also the author of the book Fat!So?, and you can learn more about her here.ย Marilyn recently shared…

I’m a SeekHer mentor for 2024! | body inclusive business
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I’m a SeekHer mentor for 2024! | body inclusive business

I’m excited to be a part of this program and be a mentor! Check out SeekHer’s feed and links for more info. From SeekHer: In honor of #BodyAcceptanceWeek, we are excited to announce the launch of the newest SeekHer Scholars program โ€“ โ€˜Our Bodies Belongโ€™!โ โ In recent years, more people have experienced a surge in eating…

{The Body Liberation Guide} Reviving a series I think you’ll like
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{The Body Liberation Guide} Reviving a series I think you’ll like

Hi friend, This week, let’s do something a little different and revive the fat creator interview series, starting with artist Ashley Anne Strobridge.ย ย  Ashley is a Vermont-based artist who finds inspiration in both the natural world and fantasy. As a fat, disabled vegetarian, she creates whimsical designs in a variety of media that draw on…

{Ask a Fat Creator} Ashley of Astrobridge Artistry
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{Ask a Fat Creator} Ashley of Astrobridge Artistry

This is the Body Liberation Photos Ask a Fat Creator (and Allies) series, in which we find out more about the lives, work, and breakfasts of all kinds of large-bodied and marginalized creators and their allies. This interview is with Ashley Anne Strobridge, a Vermont-based artist who finds inspiration in both the natural world and…

{The Body Liberation Guide} Generation after generation
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{The Body Liberation Guide} Generation after generation

Hi friend, An ongoing pandemic, skyrocketing cost of living and ongoing cultural and political upheaval all over the world have sent relationships that were previously โ€œgrin, grit your teeth and get through itโ€ territory over into chaos and active conflict.ย At the same time, we humans seek closeness and community. We want and need celebration and…

A photo of a fat white woman exploring her stomach rolls at a body positive photo session in the Pacific Northwest. Text reads, ยซ Client J. at their Body Exploration session ยป "Belly, companion, digester of snacks, you wobble when I laugh, rise and fall as I breathe, rollick, tingle, give me signals when someone around me is a liar or a danger or a friend, the site of my hunger (my aliveness), receiver of rubs and kisses from mother and lovers, layer of warmth, inspirer of gasps and of erections in tight short dresses, you move with me, a sign of my indelible perfection." ยป Virgie Tovar
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{The Body Liberation Guide} Fat hatred: Simple machines

Hi friend, The situation in Gaza is weighing on me so much this week, as is the grief of Palestinians and Jews at the occupation of Palestinian land by the state of Israel.ย Opining on these events is far out of my lane, so I encourage you to hope over toย this emailย from Vicky Bellman at Concentric…

A black-and-white photograph of a fat feminine figure standing nude in a forest clearing, under a huge tree branch. Their hands are on their hips.

Legacies

This is an image from greatly-missed departed photographer Laura Aguilar, who was active from the 1970s through 2000s. I’m thinking today about my forebears in art and activism, the legacies we leave when we’re gone, and the role of allies in keeping those legacies alive. More on this soon, after it’s had some time to…

Model E. eating a cupcake at Flaming Geyser State Park.
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{Body Liberation Guide} The interpersonal and social rewards of fat hatred

Model E. eating a cupcake at Flaming Geyser State Park.ย Browse stock photos for cooking, eating and interacting with foodยป Reader Michelle Molash has a great addition toย last week’s letterย on who profits when fat people are hated:ย โ€œThe entertainment industry profit from us. The fat buffoon who thinks he can do any number of things that only…

A dark blue background with this text faintly overlaid: "having privileges is not your fault - it does not make you a bad person - it is your responsibility to extend those privileges to everyone who lacks them." Layered on this is the first line of this post plus Lindley's logo.

Thin privilege is the ability to forget that fat people exist.

Despite there being more fat people in the United States than thin people, thin folks like to act like โ€” and occasionally seem to believe that โ€” we simply don’t exist. Living in a thin body is to exist in a bubble where everyone with a body unlike yours is invisible. Thin people won’t produce…

A plus-size femme person with bright pink hair, a tutu skirt and crop top leans against the doorway of a building painted in a pirate theme.
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{The Body Liberation Guide} Fat hatred: Money, money, money

A throwback to 2016 (!) with Client D. at their Wildest Dreams session.ย I’m currently booking body liberation photo sessions ยป Over in theย Body Liberation Blanket Fort, we’ve added some new emotes to cheer each other on, created a new #fatshion (clothing and fashion centered on larger bodies) channel and are reveling in glorifying o*sity with…

{The Body Liberation Guide} Fat hatred: Political power, toxic masculinity and sexism
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{The Body Liberation Guide} Fat hatred: Political power, toxic masculinity and sexism

Client J. at their Confidence session. I’m currently booking boudoir & portrait photo sessions ยป As Twitter continues to fall apart, where are y’all hanging out these days? It seems like everyone has splintered out to a dozen different platforms.ย I’m most active in the Body Liberation Blanket Fort these days, followed by Bluesky, but here’s where…

{The Body Liberation Guide} Should you use the word fat?
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{The Body Liberation Guide} Should you use the word fat?

Client J. at her Confidence session this week. I’m currently booking boudoir & portrait photo sessionsยป It’s been a few weeks since you’ve heard from me, and it was because I was out having a lovely time wandering around California on an epic road trip. I’m coming to understand that, just as much as any…

A dark blue background with this text faintly overlaid: "having privileges is not your fault - it does not make you a bad person - it is your responsibility to extend those privileges to everyone who lacks them." Layered on this is the first line of this post plus Lindley's logo and the words, "Why are you upset at fat people, rather than our oppressors?"
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Not all thin people

Let’s talk about a dynamic that we fat people who talk about fat constantly, endlessly, infuriatingly get from thin people: #notallthinpeople. Any time a fat person writes about discrimination, hatred, bigotry, or ill treatment at the hands of thin people, you thin folks get uncomfortable. Maybe your heart sinks a little, or your stomach gets…

{The Body Liberation Guide} It’s time for me to tap the sign
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{The Body Liberation Guide} It’s time for me to tap the sign

Client M. and their incredible sleeve tattoo. I’m currently booking boudoir & portrait photo sessionsยป Before we get to it, I have an extra unicorn chaser for you this week! Blanket Fort member Jeri Lynn is hosting an adorable batch of foster kittens and running a live cam so we can all enjoy their precious floof.  Also,…

{The Body Liberation Guide} But why DO people hate fat people?
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{The Body Liberation Guide} But why DO people hate fat people?

From a recent session with Kyra Sutherland ofย Joyful Divergence. I’m currently booking small business photo sessions ยป This week I have aย Body Liberation Blanket Fortย update for you before we swing into the regular letter.ย  The Blanket Fort is my fat-friendly and body-safe community that centers fat folks and welcomes everyone. And it’s going strong, with…

{The Body Liberation Guide} A celebration, a request, a frustrated grump and a note for supporters
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{The Body Liberation Guide} A celebration, a request, a frustrated grump and a note for supporters

A mother and daughter I photographed in Salt Lake City in 2019. This is a bits-and-pieces week: a celebration, a request, a frustrated grump and a note for supporters.ย  Let’s start with the celebration!ย Last week, the Body Liberationย Guideย went out toย 5,317 of you. The rate at which y’all open these emails is spectacular, too โ€“ almost…

{The Body Liberation Guide} Doing the math
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{The Body Liberation Guide} Doing the math

A sneak peek of my shots from my dear friend K.’s wedding. I’m currently booking portrait and boudoir sessionsยป This week, I want to build a bit on what I told you in last week’s letter about how getting into media articles works. I talked a bit about the calculation that goes into responding to…

{The Body Liberation Guide} Do plus-size passengers deserve a bigger seat on a plane?
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{The Body Liberation Guide} Do plus-size passengers deserve a bigger seat on a plane?

An image I created at the 2019 NAAFA convention in Las Vegas, NV. Browse stock photos of fat peopleยป The subject line of this email โ€“ Do plus-size passengers deserve a bigger seat on a plane? โ€“ is the title of an article in the Dallas Morning News in which I was quoted this week.  The article itself is pretty…

A dark blue background with this text faintly overlaid: "having privileges is not your fault - it does not make you a bad person - it is your responsibility to extend those privileges to everyone who lacks them." Layered on this is the title of the post plus Lindley's logo
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100+ Examples of Thin Privilege

“Privilege is a set of unearned benefits given to people who fit into a specific social group. Thin privilege is backed and promoted by a multi-billion dollar diet/wellness industry.” ยป Cori Rosenthal The longest-running series over on the Body Liberation Photos Instagram and Facebook pages is my thin privilege series. A common objection to the…

I guess we need to talk about NEDA | The Body Liberation Guide
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I guess we need to talk about NEDA | The Body Liberation Guide

A leafy summer botanical boudoir session with R.ย Learn moreย about my boudoir sessionsย ยป Hi friend, A quick note before we get started: I’m now on the new social platform Threads as @bodyliberationwithlindley. I guess we need to talk about NEDA โ€“ the (American) National Eating Disorders Association โ€“ today. Honestly, I was reluctant, because they’ve been…

A group photo of the crew at One Connection Healthcare, a Health at Every Sizeยฎ-aligned primary care office in Ballard, WA
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The images we seeโ€”or donโ€™t seeโ€”matter | The Body Liberation Guide

A group photo of the crew at One Connection Healthcare, a Health at Every Sizeยฎ-aligned primary care office in Ballard, WA. Learn more about my small business photo sessions ยป Last week, I had the joy of attending this year’s Weight Stigma Conference. I tuned in remotely โ€“ the conference itself was in Denver this year, but for the…

A plus-size Black woman closes her eyes and smiles in the sunshine while holding a wing-pattern scarf behind her head in front of water and a cloudy sky.
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Black Voices on Juneteenth 2024

What is Juneteenth? Why do we celebrate it? And how can white people help Black people on this day without taking over? Juneteenth is on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. Since as of 2021, Juneteenth is now a U.S. federal holiday, more white people are aware of its existence, and thus more white people need to…

8 Books and Resources on Weight, Faith and Spirituality
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8 Books and Resources on Weight, Faith and Spirituality

โ€œThere is an Indian proverb that says that everyone is a house with four rooms, a physical, a mental, an emotional, and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are…

Then what am I supposed to talk about? | The Body Liberation Guide
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Then what am I supposed to talk about? | The Body Liberation Guide

I first wrote this piece in November 2020, but it unfortunately hasn’t lost any of its relevance, as Donald Trump continues to be in the news. (For folks outside the U.S., feel free to swap in any larger-bodied politician of relevance.) A perennial problem is cropping up yet again: the fatphobia of the American left….

The one with the broken-heart bullets | The Body Liberation Guide
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The one with the broken-heart bullets | The Body Liberation Guide

Once a friend of mine observed that in their daily life, they just felt like they didnโ€™t see many fat people at all. And itโ€™s true: fat people are often missing from public life, especially very fat people. Why might that be? BMI is bull, but letโ€™s use the masterโ€™s tool for a moment to…

10 Tips for Making Your Weight Management Practice More Weight Inclusive | The Body Liberation Guide
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10 Tips for Making Your Weight Management Practice More Weight Inclusive | The Body Liberation Guide

One of the most important issues facing weight management, bariatric, dietetic, endocrinology, special interest groups, and other provider groups and practices today is weight stigma. Itโ€™s important to update your resources, handouts, training, certifications and other materials to remove stigmatizing language in order to improve patient compliance and positively impact clients.ย  Here are ten ways…

How to use the Southwest customer of size policy | The Body Liberation Guide
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How to use the Southwest customer of size policy | The Body Liberation Guide

Last week, I talked about aย big negativeย of the trip I just took. This week, though, I want to share a big positive: Southwest Airlines’ customer of size policy.ย  Southwest is the only American airline that makes an actual effort to be good to fat people. They weren’t always this way; in fact, they used to…

The photo that got me harassed all week | The Body Liberation Guide
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The photo that got me harassed all week | The Body Liberation Guide

I’ve just returned from my first long trip during the pandemic. I traveled from the U.S. west coast to east coast for my sister’s MBA graduation. We come from a blue-collar background, she’s a single mom who fought every step of the way for this, and I’m so proud of her I’m about to burst.ย …

Football players and BMI | The Body Liberation Guide
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Football players and BMI | The Body Liberation Guide

Let’s talk about football players and BMI. When the topic of body mass index, or BMI, comes up, one of the first responses is usually someone pointing out that some very obviously muscular and fit people — like football players — are considered obese* by BMI measurements. And thus, the argument goes, BMI is a…

41 Fat-Positive Patreons to Follow and Support
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41 Fat-Positive Patreons to Follow and Support

With the major and still-growing popularity of crowdfunding subscriptions in supporting creators — from Patreon to Ko-fi to Instagram and Youtube subscriptions — it seems like everyone is offering one. That includes lots of your favorite body-positive, fat-positive, Health at Every Sizeยฎ and body liberation creators. In fact, there are lots of reasons to financially…

The plus-size guide to period panties | The Body Liberation Guide
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The plus-size guide to period panties | The Body Liberation Guide

Maybe you remember the advent of (mainstream anyway) period panties from a few years back? For a long time, there were no options to speak of for fat bodies, but no more! With the help of my brilliant assistant Kit, at the link below are nine options to choose from, carrying a range of sizes…

Stop saying that weight loss doesn’t solve anything | The Body Liberation Guide
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Stop saying that weight loss doesn’t solve anything | The Body Liberation Guide

Hereโ€™s one concrete action you can take to help end weight stigma: Stop saying that weight loss doesnโ€™t solve anything. And Iโ€™m going to need you to read alllll the way to the end of this letter before you @ me, because I am not jumping on the diet bandwagon here.