Hi friend, This weekend is my last set of events of the year, and I have offerings for you on both days! Fat Trauma: Healing though Community and Fat Joy How to attend: Buy access to this event or subscribe for all Blanket Fort events On Saturday, fat-positive therapist Kayla Stansberry is speaking to my Blanket Fort members about…
Let’s dig into the trauma we accumulate as fat people in a thin-obsessed world, and do some collective healing. Fat-positive therapist Kayla Stansberry will walk us through: Fat Trauma: Healing though Community and Fat Joy Saturday, November 94 pm Eastern/2 Central/1 Pacific Join us for this event only, or support the Fort for access to…
On August 18, parent coach Sarah Thunell will be joining us in the Body Liberation Blanket Fort to talk about body lib principles as they apply to children and parenting: Join us for about an hour at 4 pm Eastern/3 pm Central/1 pm Pacific on August 18. It’ll also be recorded for members to enjoy…
Here’s what’s coming up in the Body Liberation Blanket Fort, a body-positive and diet-talk-free community for people of all sizes.
I am SO FREAKING EXCITED to have one of my personal heroes as our June guest speaker in the Body Liberation Blanket Fort! On June 26, Ragen Chastain will be joining us for a webinar created just for us — Fat Health Myths. She’ll be sharing some of the myths about fatness and health that most…
What a busy week! In addition to my Seattle Erotic Art Festival art tour on Friday night (see yesterday’s post), I’ll be representing Body Liberation Stock at @weightinclusivenutrition‘s Spring Symposium Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. If you’re heading to the virtual symposium, check out my booth in the exhibitor area and enter to win $25 in stock…
I’ll be giving an art tour at the Seattle Erotic Art Festival this Friday, April 26 at 8:30 pm! Come hang out with me for an hour for: Aspirational Erotic: Body Size, Shame and Aesthetics Join photographer and body liberation activist Lindley Ashline to explore the origins and history of body image and weight stigma,…
Our first Body Liberation Blanket Fort discussion/support group is this coming Monday, April 22 at 8 pm Eastern/7 pm Central/5 pm Pacific! All Blanket Fort members, of any body size, are welcome. I’ll be hosting, but this is our first time doing this type of meeting, so we’ll collectively consider beforehand some topics we might…
Not only am I a sponsor of the 2024 Seattle Erotic Art Festival, I’m going to be doing an art tour! I’m so excited — I’ve never done anything like this. I’ll get you all the details on the art tour as soon as they’re finalized. To celebrate, I’m giving away TWO tickets to any…
We’ve got a full schedule coming up! Here’s what’s going on in the next couple of months. My Origins of the Feelings workshop is on January 20, and there are fresh new events in the Body Liberation Blanket Fort including a movie night and body doubling in addition to everyday community. Find all the details…
I hope you had a lovely second half of December. I spent mine making big plans for 2024, hanging out on Zoom/the phone with long-distance friends and family, and taking a few real, true days off. One of the things that’s important to me for the year we’ve just begun is holding more events and…
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 – ‘Our Bodies Belong’!In recent years, more people have experienced a surge in eating…
If you’re not yet familiar with Ali Thompson, you’re in for a treat. Ali, who goes by @artists_ali on Twitter and Twitch, is a phenomenal fat activist and one of the foremost ranters of my acquaintance. I like letting people describe themselves in their own words, so here’s Ali’s: Creator of Ok2BeFat 🏳️🌈 Twitch Affiliate🕹 They/She Demigirl💄 Fat Activist…
We’re body doubling/co-working at 10 am Pacific Monday over in the Body Liberation Blanket Fort! …
Our crew and Radical Body Love at the Exhale Retreat! As I get ready to send out a little surprise to everyone in the mail, I’m thinking about every single person who attended and the magic we created over those few days. Subscribe to my Body Liberation Guide and get first notice on future events:
Join me for my workshop Making Peace with Your Photos on December 7! We’ll explore: » The history and systems that determine how we feel about our bodies » How self-portraits allow us to reclaim our images » The basics of taking good-quality smartphone selfies » 3 powerful portrait and boudoir poses » How to…
So many thanks to Shelby Bergen and Tatiana Gill for treating our Exhale Retreat attendees to something special! Both of these amazing fat-positive artists have been so supportive of my work over time and I appreciate them so much! Go check out their art and buy something for yourself or a friend.
I just wrapped up development of my mini session for the TEDD WIND Inclusivity Conference! I’ll be talking about inclusive marketing on Oct. 22 at 1:30 pm Central time (CST). Just a couple of the topics we’ll cover: * Why be size-inclusive, anyway * What your public presence is telling potential clients * Auditing the…
From @alissarumsey: Building inclusive and fat-friendly businesses: why is so important (for us, for our business, and for the collective) and some things to think about when it comes to being inclusive in your digital/online space. Loved this convo with @bodyliberationwithlindley, who shared so much of her wisdom along with some practical tips. Lindley will be…
Bri at @bodyimagewithbri on Insta is always a freaking delight to talk to, and it was lovely of her to ask me to join her for a chat about fat community! We chat about online vs. in-person community, why fat community is important in the first place, and my upcoming Exhale Retreat with Laura Burns….
Laura @radicalbodylove and I went live to talk about the upcoming Exhale Retreat! We’re dishing on the venue, what to expect from the yoga portion of the retreat, what to expect from me, accessibility, and ways we’re designing the experience to leave you rested and uplifted rather than drained and needing a vacation from your vacation.
While in the planning stage for the Exhale Retreat, Laura and I did a TON of research to make sure the venue we chose was the best possible for fat folks. We chose Alderbrook Resort because it had the best combination of location and accessibility. But first, I went out in person, walked through every…
Starting in September, I’m opening up five special spots for mini portrait and boudoir sessions at this November’s Exhale Retreat, exclusively for retreat attendees. The price is $199 and you’ll receive: » A 30-minute mini session with me at the retreat (your choice of boudoir or portraits) » Zoom reveal session after the retreat (to…
Laura and I spent ages researching venues for the Exhale Retreat, and we’re so excited with the venue we found, Alderbrook Resort on Washington state’s lovely Hood Canal, part of Puget Sound. No hotel offers perfect lodging for fat and superfat guests, but we think this is as close as it gets. I even went…
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…
On May 18 (this Wednesday), I’m talking about building size-inclusive businesses for Everybody Belongs in Bozeman (Montana), though you don’t have to be in Montana to tune in. The “Every BODY Belongs in Bozeman” campaign is a week-long community initiative and fundraiser, taking place May 15-21st, 2022, during Mental Health Awareness month. The week will include…
This Thursday, May 19, I’ll be at Third Place Books (masked) with Summer Michaud-Skog in Lake Forest Park, just north of Seattle, WA. I’m excited to be stepping in for this free event to ask Summer some questions about her brand-new book Fat Girls Hiking: An Inclusive Guide to Getting Outdoors at Any Size or…
I’m partnering with Laura Burns of Radical Body Love and we’re bringing you four days of spacious rest just for fat folks on the beautiful Hood Canal here in Washington state. We designed the Exhale Retreat to let you take a long, deep breath out and inhale connection, rest, and ease. Exhale will be held…
For the month of December, enjoy these podcast episodes while I slow down, take a breath and plan for next year.
Learn how to use a powerful place for community! In this friendly and free basic workshop, learn how to use Discord, a popular Facebook alternative. 🗓️ November 28, 2021 ⏱️ 8 pm Eastern/7 CST/6 MST/5 PST 💸 Free (donations accepted) We’ll cover: » What is Discord? » How is Discord different from Facebook, Twitter or…
I prepared these two German pieces for an audition and they’re both so floating and lovely! “Die Lotosblume” (“The Lotus Flower”) is a poem written by Heinrich Heine, and published in his Buch der Lieder (The Book of Songs, 1827). Set to music by Robert Schumann in 1840, this Lied is part of Schumann’s Myrthen…
This was one of my most memorable recital songs! Not only is the composer’s name (Engelbert Humperdinck) fun to say, but playing the Dew Fairy in this scene was a delight. I will happily wear fairy wings any time. The Dew Fairy Aria is from the opera Hansel & Gretel, first performed in 1893 in…
I first heard the song Caledonia when it was covered by the group Celtic Woman (as it has been by many other performers), but Dougie MacLean’s original version (he wrote it in 1977) is enchanting, too, in a different way. MacLean says it only took him ten minutes to write this song, which sounds unbelievable,…
Lindley Ashline and Ann Duweke singing Patrick Hawes’ “Quanta Qualia” at the Hope for Japan Concert, November 19, 2011. I fell in love with Hayley Westenra’s rendition of this piece, and from there discovered all of Hawes’ mesmerizing music. It was such a joy to be able to perform Quantia Qualia. This isn’t a recent…
Some events are just events. Some events are transformative for everyone involved, and Camp Heal was one of the latter. Around a hundred people gathered in Angeles National Forest for three days to explore, laugh, cry, improve their body image, be vulnerable, move forward in recovery from eating disorders, and enjoy a body-safe camp experience….
This lovely piece is one of a set of fusions of Baroque and Brazilian music by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. (Thanks, Wikipedia) This isn’t a recent video, but I’m re-sharing it as a way of releasing old body shame. When this video was taken, I was bothered by the way my fat body moved…
March’s pick for the Body Liberation Book Club is Fat, Pretty and Soon to be Old by Kimberly Dark! Join us on Thursday, March 26 at 7 pm for a fat-friendly hangout and book discussion. Newcomers are very welcome! Purchasing the book from this affiliate link helps me continue to offer free resources: https://amzn.to/2TDyJoQ About…
Some events are just events. Some events are transformative for everyone involved, and Camp Heal was one of the latter. Around a hundred people gathered in Angeles National Forest for three days to explore, laugh, cry, improve their body image, be vulnerable, move forward in recovery from eating disorders, and enjoy a body-safe camp experience….
Everywhere we go, we’re surrounded by diet culture, the cultural forces that cause us to feel bad about our bodies and want to shrink them into acceptability. Diet culture causes poor body image, encourages eating disorders and makes $71 billion in profit for the diet industry every year. More and more often, people are pushing…
This is an oratorio piece from the Dixit Dominus, a psalm setting by George Frideric Handel (catalogued as HWV 232). It uses the Latin text of Psalm 110 (Vulgate 109), which begins with the words Dixit Dominus (“The Lord Said”). (Thanks, Wikipedia!) This isn’t a recent video, but I’m re-sharing it as a way of…
Some events are just events. Some events are transformative for everyone involved, and Camp Heal was one of the latter. Around a hundred people gathered in Angeles National Forest for three days to explore, laugh, cry, improve their body image, be vulnerable, move forward in recovery from eating disorders, and enjoy a body-safe camp experience….
This is of course the song with a famous rendition by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. “Con te partirò” was never part of an opera, but was an individual piece written by Francesco Sartori (music) and Lucio Quarantotto (lyrics). It was released first as a solo piece by Bocelli and then as a duet with…
December’s pick for the Body Liberation Book Club will be Fat Girl by Judith Moore! Join us on Thursday, December 26 (yes, the day after Christmas) at 7 pm (Jalisco restaurant, 12336 31st Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125) for a fat-friendly hangout and book discussion. Newcomers are very welcome! About the Body Liberation Book Club…
This calendar is provided as a public resource for the body positivity, fat acceptance, plus-size fashion, and Health at Every Size (HAES) communities. I’m not affiliated with any events except the ones in bold, and at this time I’m not compensated for any event listings. The calendar is current on hold due to so many…
I was honored to recently be part of a roundtable series, a collaboration between the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and Yoga & Body Image Coalition (YBIC), called Growing & Thriving Together: A Roundtable Series on Diversity, Inclusivity & Accessibility in Yoga and Fitness Spaces. The discussion for which I was a panelist focused on…
Get an edge on your holiday shopping and support fat artists at the first annual at Artists’ Open House & Overstock Sale! We’ll have a range of body-positive and creative goods for you, including: THE BODY LOVE BOX: Overstock boxes from previous months, books, stickers, bookmarks, self-care items, zines, figurines, and art prints Body Liberation…
November’s pick for the Body Liberation Book Club will be Heavy by Kiese Laymon! Join us on Friday, November 29 at 7 pm (Amante Pizza on Roosevelt Way in Seattle) for a fat-friendly hangout and book discussion. Newcomers are very welcome! Content note: Heavy contains potentially difficult material, including descriptions of sexual abuse. Reading this…
I’m the official photographer for Project HEAL’s Camp Heal 2019! Join us in Angeles National Forest outside Los Angeles this September to help heal your body image. In this video, I’m talking about eating disorder recovery and who has the “right” body for it, why I’m lending my skills to the camp, and my fave…
I was delighted to have Hannah Schnabel join me for a portrait session for Representation Matters.me, my body positive and diverse stock photo site. Hannah is the mind behind plus-size clothing line Belle Ampleur. Hannah Schnabel has over a decade of experience designing clothing for stage and film. She’s designed and built everything from corsets, to a…
