Image description: A fat blonde woman in a bikini with visible side rolls sits on a vintage red suitcase at the edge of the water on a beach, looking away. Content note: Dental procedures I feel like my poor dentist’s office has born the brunt of my ever-spinning analyses this year, while in truth, I…
In this podcast episode, Dalia Kinsey and I discuss the functions of propaganda, intersectionality and fatphobia, emotional labor and the world’s most important subjects, cats and plants.
You deserve respectful, effective treatment for PCOS, no matter what kind of body you live in. Here are 15+ articles, podcasts, books, support groups, programs and other resources to support your amazing, worthwhile body through PCOS diagnosis and treatment.
Image description: Lindley, a fat white woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, glasses and a sleeveless heart-polka-dot dress, stands with her arms raised and resting on each wall of a narrow brick alley. Superimposed on the image are the Fitness Protection logo and the words Body Love with Lindley Ashline. End image description. Photography is both…
Reader E. asks, “Dear Lindley, I’m working on accepting my body, but it’s so hard to sit at work and have to listen to diet talk all the time. How can I deal with this?”
Image description: A thin white man with close-cropped hair is shown from the neck up in two shots, side by side. In the first, he has a manic smile. In the second, he has an exaggerated frown. In both shots, his face and neck are covered with a pasty white substance. End image description. Photo…
Image description: A fat white women with shoulder-length blonde hair is shown in a black and white image with a black drape just covering the tips of her breasts and part of her torso. She is looking off to one side with a solemn expression, with tree limbs behind her. Today we’re going to explore…
For people in very large bodies, who are most affected by the physical and infrastructural inequalities built into a world that is designed to exclude fat people, moving through the world looks very different. In this guest post, Erica talks about the considerations that make up her everyday life, and how speaking out is gradually…
Image description: A young woman’s legs are shown propped up on a white wall. She is wearing a short black tutu skirt and black lacy socks that twine up (or down, since her feet are pointing up) her legs. Last week during a podcast recording, I was asked to talk about what I’d want young…
Because I have my fat fingers in so many pies, this chat with Chrystal Bougon of Curvy Girl Lingerie and All Bodies Electrolysis touches on lots of topics! If you’ve ever wondered about whether you can set boundaries with a photographer or how a good photographer works with mobility limitations or anxiety, this is the…
One part of interacting with healthcare providers while living in a fat body is that your value and worth as a patient are always, always conditional and based on your perceived compliance. I’ve been seeing my dentist, who I adore, for many years. My genetic lack of tooth enamel makes me a frequent visitor. In…
Think you can’t support a movement from your corner of the world? Think again! In this Instagram Live, Sara Stanizai, LMFT and I talk about capital-A activism (with hand gestures), using your power to change the world, what counts as activism and simple ways you can help the fat folks in your life. Listen to…
Image description: A fat white baby’s arm is partially seen between an overlapping floral blanket, blue onesie sleeve and the body and strap of a car’s seat and child safety seat. Image source: Al Soot on Unsplash It’s definitely the fat kids’ fault. That was the gist of a discussion I witnessed last week, in…
On this episode of the Rising Whole podcast, Prim Ormanovich and I talk about how coherency in your business comes from having an underlying ethical framework or cause, and how my own underlying framework led to me splintering my business into many separate parts — and then bringing it together again. The podcast is no…
So many of the dynamics around bodies, weight and worth are really about power, and it was fascinating to dig into those power dynamics with Leela Sinha, host of the PowerPivot podcast. We talk about being unafraid of power, claiming your power, whether vulnerability offers or contains inherent power, and the power in anger. You…
When someone in a marginalized body shares a deep fear with you and your first answer is, “Well, I work in that field and I’ve never seen that,” you are in the wrong. Especially if you do not share that marginalization. Especially if you are a healthcare provider. Especially if that fear is well-founded, well-documented…
You can assign points to food and you can talk about calories in calories out and you can talk about willpower and you can talk about dietsand you can talk about fatand you can talk about loss but until you start talking about the way human bodies actually work in the real world you’re not…
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…
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lindley Ashline (she/her) (@bodyliberationwithlindley) on Aug 26, 2020 at 9:29am PDT I never intended to get involved in the eating disorder community. I’ve never had an ED. But the prevalence of ED treatment clinicians and patients in the health at every size (#HAES) community forced me…
The first two paragraphs of the thought below deserve a content note for violence and fat hatred, though the rest doesn’t. Please protect yourself as needed. I got my first death wish this week. One of my anti-diet Facebook posts was apparently shared in a Facebook group for bodybuilders that spends some of their effort…
Today I’m thinking about the mental load of living as a fat person and how it’s affected by one small example: this Renfrew newsletter mess. (Trigger warnings apply.) If you live in a smaller body, you can say, “Oh, that’s terrible” and move right along with your life. But if you live in a fat…
Content note: Open bigotry; fatphobia in a medical and healthcare treatment setting. Image is Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.” “As I sit across from my 5’ 8” 350-pound client, I am filled with discomfort and fear. In the grip of my terror, I want to fix her, to make her healthy and to protect her from…
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…
Dear fat admirers and chubby chasers: We don’t care whether you find us attractive. At all. Every time I talk about the innate desirability, attractiveness or sexuality of fat women, men roll up to let the world know that unlike the rabble, they like fat women. A lot. In fact, they even have a thing…
“All relationships need boundaries. A boundary is an imaginary line that separates me from you. They separate your physical space, your feelings, needs, and responsibilities from others. Your boundaries also tell other people how they can treat you – what’s acceptable and what isn’t.” – Sharon Martin I didn’t learn to start setting boundaries until…
“But what I find so interesting about this whole conversation and about trolls in general is they’re so quick to put the onus on individuals. It could be really alleviating and lift all this fear – I guess except for the fear of change – but it really could alleviate a lot of fear to…
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,…
June’s Ask a Fat Creator interview is with sculptor and illustrator Saya Collins. For Saya, sculpture is more than an art form. It is a connection to their ancestry, to history, and to the earth itself. It is an extension of their mind, imagination and dreams. “The pieces I create are not perfect. They take…
Please stop asking us to describe our pain for your gain. You’re preparing a presentation for your colleagues, or your class, or your professional society on healthcare, Health at Every Size, or weight stigma. You want to include some stories of the harassment, bias, discrimination and hatred fat people face every day, but since you…
Over at Releasing the Phoenix, I’m talking with Ashley Nestler about photography as a liberating force, the Body Love Box’s origins, PCOS and stigma, and how to increase your self-confidence.
Eat the Rules (formerly Fearless Rebelle Radio) was at the top of my podcast speaking wishlist for years, and it was such an amazing opportunity to appear in episode 168 with Summer Innanen! In this episode, we chat about: My story of growing up without television and pop culture and how this shaped my body…
On the Fat Girl Finds Love Podcast, I’m talking with Briana Cavanaugh about fategories, luck and privilege in relationships, finding a doctor you trust, and scars in photography. Give it a listen to learn more about my story as we celebrate the unique beauty of bodies that fall outside conventional “beauty” standards. Today we talked…
I was standing in the aisle between cubicles when I turned my back, gritted my teeth and said, rather shortly, “No, really, you can check the tag on my pants if you don’t believe me.” I’d made a casual comment about not being able to find black slacks that I liked, and a well-meaning but…
I got mentioned on The Mighty! How amazing is that? Check out the full article below.
Hi, I’m Gloria, or Glow! I’m one of the creators of Cranky Shop (formerly, Cranky Crafty Cat Ladies). I’m the chief soapmaker and bath bomb wizard, and I’m generally the public face of our operation. I live southeast of Seattle with my husband, tweenager, and lots of pets. When I’m not dreaming up new sudsy…
When you live in a fat body, you live in a world where bodies like yours are so far outside the norm that they’re only used in media to send a message. A fat body is never just a fat body: It’s a symbol, and 99.5% of the time, a symbol of something negative. Video…
It can feel very isolating to be in a space — especially a space that claims to be body positive! — and hear all about how someone in a body much, much smaller than yours “feels fat” or “needs to lose weight.” That’s just one example of diet talk, which is so woven into our…
Hi friend, I’ll be honest. I’m grieving. For everyone ill with the coronavirus. For fat folks sick with fear over the weight stigma they know they’ll encounter if and when they catch it. For those who’ve lost their jobs and businesses. And for my beloved cat Tansy, who passed away a few days ago. I’m…
Recently, I talked a little bit about the risks of movement in a larger body. In Ms. H’s hula dance portraits, you can see that the reward for her taking that risk is a beautiful, skilled, graceful performance. Through her Instagram, Danielle Bex (@danielle.bex) also demonstrates daily how joyful movement can be. She often posts…
I am probably the last person who should be making sports analogies, because I’m also probably the least sporty person on earth. I was pretty good at dodgeball as a kid, and I’m not terrible at Dance Dance Revolution, but as far as team sports? “Lulz,” as the cool kids are saying these days. But…
I didn’t want to write this today. My emotional strategy in this time of pandemic has consisted of three parts: Stay informed of every news update, stay home as much as possible, and distract myself. I’m reviving my love of jigsaw puzzles. I’m texting my relatives, who live far away from me. I’m re-reading the…
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…
Did you grow up believing you needed to wear a t-shirt over your bathing suit to cover it up? Do you still believe it? In the time and place where I grew up, I quickly picked up on that unspoken rule. Thin, bronzed (white) women wore bathing suits in public. Every other woman covered her…
Shelby Bergen is an illustrator and cat enthusiast from the suburbs outside of the Twin Cities. She loves using bright colors, patterns and shapes in her work, and loves making fun character designs. Shelby prides herself in keeping her work diverse, focusing on showcasing different types and sizes of bodies. When Shelby isn’t making art,…
What would happen if paint became a Big Thing? In fact, what would happen if one specific paint brand became a Big Thing, to the exclusion of all else? What if that paint brand became so popular that you were expected to use it in every room of your house? To the point that visitors…
Hi friend, what’s it like to go to the grocery store while thin? Let me tell you what it was like to go to the grocery store this week while fat. It’s having people glance your way and then look away quickly, as if having glimpsed something obscene or disgusting. It’s having a woman in…
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…
2021 update: Kathryn says of herself, “She’s queer now and getting a divorce! Thanks Fat liberation!!!!” Kathryn Max is a Body Liberation Artist and Activist living in Oakland CA. She credits making fat art with helping her cultivate a kind and compassionate relationship with her own body. Kathryn is currently working on her memoir “Fat…
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…
