My humanity gives me inherent worth. My body is worthy because it’s mine. My body deserves love, attention, and care no matter what. My body is worthy no matter its health status. My body is worthy no matter its age. My body can “pull off” anything I want to put on it. My body and…
“They don’t know any better.” When I talk about weight stigma/weight bias and fatphobia in healthcare, that’s often the excuse that people make to me on behalf of healthcare providers. “That’s how they were taught.” In 2022, that excuse just isn’t good enough any more. Not only do we have a half-century of evidence that…
We know how heavy and exhausting existing in this world can be. We all carry the weight of holding boundaries, managing others’ entitlement, navigating systems of oppression, and all the other burdens fat folks are made to hold on a daily basis. We are tired! In a culture that has commodified self-care down to bubble…
AAAAAAAAA! I’ve done my first published book blurb, and it’s for Amanda Martinez Beck’s excellent new book More of You! Here’s what I wrote (plus extra text that was cut for length): “More of You grapples with some of the central conflicts of today’s body liberation movements. Beck’s religion informs her writing as she reconciles…
Some days, caring for our fat bodies looks exactly like caring for any human body. On other days, we may need a little extra something to carry on. When it comes to chronic health conditions, though, caring for a fat body can be very different. Why? Because fat bodies are subject to weight stigma: discrimination…
I had a nightmare last night that I needed an abortion and couldn’t find the clinic. Lots of people are living that nightmare today. I made a post of all the resources I’ve been sharing on Twitter and in my newsletter. Many of them are for everyone, though some are specifically for plus-size and fat…
Thin privilege is not being turned away from sterilization surgery like a hysterectomy based on your body size. Yes, this is a thing that happens to some fat people. It’s the duty of medicine to find ways to provide care for all people. A failure to provide equitable care is a failure of healthcare, not…
Happy Pride, loves. I see you. I’m proud of you. You deserve every good thing. You have shed a thousand skins to become the person you are today. And if you ever feel overwhelmed by the many people you once were, remember, your bones have grown, but what makes them has never changed. » Nikita…
New benefit for supporters! The Body Liberation Photos Health at Every Size® library contains 2,000+ articles, pieces of research and resources for fat activists, HAES healthcare providers and fat allies. This library is just one of the many benefits of supporting Body Liberation Photos, from stock photo credits to exclusive resources to free workbooks. Supporters also…
I recently went on the RD Real Talk podcast with Heather Caplan and Shelby Gordon to talk about what’s been going on in Health at Every Size® this year, and where we go from here. Here’s the episode description from Heather: A LOT has happened in the Health at Every Size® and weight-inclusive communities since Marquisele…
This is a copy of one of my slides from the How to Run a Body-Inclusive Business workshop I did for Every BODY Belongs in Bozeman last week. Want the full recording? The Eating Disorder Center of Montana is making it available free for folks who sign up for their newsletter at https://mailchi.mp/edcmt/community-newsletter-sign-up. Please also…
Thin privilege is not having to think about whether you’ll fit. What if you had to plan every time you left home? What if you had to pause at the door of every store or restaurant to see if there would be enough space to move or a place you could sit? What if you…
One of the transgressions of which Mikey Mercedes, ASDAH leadership and I have been accused is of “capitalizing” on the events of the last month for publicity and profit. (Those events, in case you’re coming to this late, can be found here.) Not only should Mikey and I, as professionals and experts, have the opportunities…
Yesterday, I posted a Twitter thread to tell the story of when I lost my ever-loving mind and almost got a huge Health at Every Size® healthcare provider group shut down. That group is owned by @jennifer_rollin. I wasn’t going to name names. I’m already exhausted from the last two weeks. Whistleblowing is zero fun,…
I started my corporate career as a technical editor. I worked with rocket scientists at the Missile Defense Agency; retired firefighters, police and EMS at the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and software engineers and architects at a variety of companies. Every one of them was convinced that their particular set of obfuscatory* jargon was absolutely…
It’s been an interesting week or so since Mikey Mercedes and I went public. In the time since, there’s been a lot of excellent discussion in marginalized communities. In the Health at Every Size®-aligned healthcare provider groups to which I have access or connections, there’s been a silence that echoes almost as loudly as the…
So this is a combo of assumptions, guesswork and actual oral history I have heard from people who were there. (Also Barbara Bruno’s HAES history pieces, which you’ve likely seen but just in case are here: https://asdah.org/history-of-the-health-at-every-size-movement-part-1/) Despite Bruno’s inclusion of fat activism in her HAES history, I don’t believe that HAES was ever meant…
I will try to write up something coherent soon, but one of my big takeaways from the last week (see link in bio if you don't know what's up) is that the larger the audience, the less likely the #HAES figure to take any risks. I'm seeing a lot of thin white women with big…
I cannot tell you how alone I have felt in #HAES and ASDAH spaces, especially when events like the ones I've talked about have happened. I felt alone when Maria Paredes lashed out at fat people on Instagram and then hid all the evidence, while not a single thin person objected. I felt alone when…
Some of the reactions to my and @marquisele‘s experiences with Lindo Bacon have been along the lines of, “Everyone has opportunities that don’t work out, so what?” What you’re missing is that often, these tainted opportunities are the only ones marginalized people *get.* 🧵 For us, it’s not one bad experience out of 100. It’s…
Today I am thinking about the consequences of doing while fat. Whatever we are doing, we cannot do it in the way that thin people can. We do not get the same publicity or opportunities. Our careers are stifled because we're either given nothing, or a trap. Lindo Bacon once privately complimented me on my…
When Mikey Mercedes posted her incredibly problematic experience with Lindo Bacon this week, I wasn’t surprised.
I’ve got my own story, you see.
Being fat is having your very existence considered to be dangerous. Any sort of visibility whatsoever — from walking down the street to posting a selfie online — is considered dangerous because we might encourage others to look like us. (See: “glorifying o*”) Our bodies are considered, against all actual evidence, to be inherently diseased,…
It’s important to understand that confidence isn’t a cure-all. One of the big issues with “just be confident and advocate for yourself! Don’t let anything stop you from fulfilling your dreams!” is that for fat folks, it simply doesn’t work that way. Sure, what a good friend calls “Confidence Magick” is helpful as each of…
Please join me and Dalia Kinsey to talk about Dalia’s new book, Decolonizing Wellness! We explore: » What called Dalia to write this book» What “decolonizing” means when it comes to wellness» Why there’s a need for wellness information specifically for non-white folks» The ramifications of praising celebrity body parts, and more ◇─◇──« »──◇─◇ Dalia…
Something I often see happen when fat folks talk about something or someone fatphobic is thin folks treating this as optional knowledge. Something they can choose whether to believe. Most recently it was in yet another discussion about Brene Brown, who’s been openly fatphobic her whole career and has blithely ignored the multiple fat folks…
You are worthy of rest. Up until a couple of years ago, I was forever getting sick, mostly colds and respiratory stuff. Once I got it, I’d be miserable for weeks, and if a cough settled in, well, it was staying for at least a month. So I was sick basically all the time. I…
An ongoing series about the privileges of thinness in a world filled with diet culture.
The question “What about fat animals?” comes up pretty regularly in body liberation spaces.
You know how sometimes things just don’t work out? Are a disaster from end to end? Well, that was my first try at a chat with author Dalia Kinsey. First, our FB live didn’t want to start. Then I couldn’t add Dalia to the chat. Then the audio and video were off sync so badly…
I don’t generally think of myself as what I call a “101-level educator.” That’s the kind of person whose talent is bringing people who are brand new to a concept gradually through it. To be honest, I don’t have the patience or emotional energy to gently and patiently convince people that fat people are both…
An ongoing series about the privileges of thinness in a world filled with diet culture.
I wish I could just talk about loving your body. I really do, y’all. I would be perfectly content to post pretty photos and talk about why you should paint your stretch marks with glitter. (Which is totally worth doing, by the way.) But I can’t reconcile myself to staying safe and dainty and quiet….
People keep calling me brave for speaking out about fat hatred. I’m not any braver than any other fat person. Bravery is what’s required to exist while fat. Brave is trying methods designed to fail to shrink your body because everyone says you have to shrink, and failing, and trying again. Brave is your doctor…
An ongoing series about the privileges of thinness in a world filled with diet culture.
I’ve learned that my sharing about the trolling and harassment I’m targeted for online is having a chilling effect, and I’m having to come to grips with that. Within the span of a few days, a friend told me that she’s been hesitant to start the selfie Tiktok account she wants to run due to…
An ongoing series about the privileges of thinness in a world filled with diet culture.
One of the things I consistently hear from folks in larger bodies is that they can make a certain amount of progress on their body acceptance journeys, but then get tripped up by infrastructure.
When someone criticizes our favorite works — whether it’s a book, movie, workshop, song, blog or painting — it can feel really bad. And that’s putting it mildly.
An ongoing series about the privileges of thinness in a world filled with diet culture.
Your worth is not dependent on your health. That meme about how “your weight is not your worth” goes around a lot, and it’s true! But your health is also not your worth. You don’t gain worthiness points for being closer to the pop culture vision of “health.” and you don’t lose worthiness points for…
An ongoing series about the privileges of thinness in a world filled with diet culture.
In which I describe how Health at Every Size®, fat liberation, fat acceptance, and body positivity advocates can use the Help a Reporter Out (HARO) list to change media narratives around bodies and weight. How to HARO: Help a Reporter Out, or HARO, is an email list that reporters use to find sources for stories….
What would your life look like if you just…didn’t worry about what other people’s bodies looked like or were doing? What could you focus on if you didn’t feel the need to judge the clothing or body size or expression of the people walking past you in public? What might it look like if the…
Taking COVID precautions is an act of fat* allyship. Getting vaccinated and boosted is allyship. Staying home is allyship. Not eating in restaurants is allyship. Not flying or traveling is allyship. Not going to events, concerts, conventions and other crowded places is allyship. You might be fine if you get sick, and you might have…
✨ For the month of December, enjoy these podcast episodes while I slow down, take a breath and plan for next year. ✨ It’s always a delight to talk with the Fat Faces, and this time we did it on the record! We dig deep into my entrepreneurial journey, why I chose to work with…
✨ For the month of December, enjoy these podcast episodes while I slow down, take a breath and plan for next year. ✨ “I guess that’s what’s hard for me to understand. What harm does it to do to a concern troll to start trolling the systems that are doing this? Troll the airline industry….
✨ For the month of December, enjoy these podcast episodes while I slow down, take a breath and plan for next year. ✨ “Fat people can’t be photographers.” Is that true? I’ve spent the last five years finding out, and on this episode of Fashion for All – The Smart Glamour Podcast with Mallorie Dunn…
I went way out of my comfort zone with Chelsea of Chelsea Levy Nutrition and ate on camera for a special Instagram live eating support session. It is so important to normalize fat folks eating in public. Too often, we get stares, comments or open stigma for simply doing what humans need to do: eat….
