Body Liberation Guide

Hi friend, I was featured in Authority Magazine recently! It was pretty cool to get to talk at length about something vital to fat and other marginalized folks – community building. In a world where larger-bodied people are openly discriminated against, paid less, promoted less often, stereotyped, and shamed, activism and community building have also become an important…

Hi friend, This week’s quote above is from Brooke Hull (they/them), a fat graduate student, who said it casually one day recently on Zoom with me. I promptly pounced and wrote it down, and am going to repeat it because it’s so important: “There’s so much more to the fat experience than just the horror…

Hi friend, SEEN. is now open to the public! Please share it with anyone who you think might find it useful. Now, to this week’s letter: I’ve got a podcast for you this week! I had a blast appearing on Abbey Roberts’ podcast Hangry Thoughts. We discuss how my photography and work challenge societal norms, conventional…

Hi friend, Funded by my Patreon supporters is a new fat creator interview! Raised in the sleepy northern Toronto suburb of Willowdale, Jay Danger is a quintessential product of the 90’s. Brought up by the sounds of Eminem, Tupac, and Biggie, and steeped in the influence of A Tribe Called Quest, MF Doom, and Mos…

Hi friend, I now have a ko-fi page! This is where anyone who’d like to make a one-time payment in support of my work, without committing to a monthly patreon donation, can do so. Please feel free to share it. View my ko-fi page » Also: It’s been 140 days of genocide in Palestine. Fatties for Palestine is making…

Hi friend, I have to admit it: I’m tired. Not mentally or metaphorically, as I often moan about it in my grappling with anti-fatness and prejudice, but physically. My spouse has been having a health issue that’s not my story to share, and in trying to ease it, we’ve put our bed down flat for the…

Hi friend, Before we dive into this week’s letter, some good news to share – Body Liberation Photos was featured over at Dating News! I had a lovely chat with their managing editor, and it resulted in a whole article about bodies in the media, how BLP got started, and why it’s important to celebrate…

Hi friend, I spent last week on partial strike in support of a ceasefire in Palestine, and in mourning for the 20,000+ Gazans dead and thousands more starving to death. I saw news of the strike just after I’d sent out last week’s newsletter, so I didn’t have a chance to mention it there, but I knew…

Hi friend, If we’re lucky, aging will happen to every one of us, but we talk about it so little, and we all deserve to understand aging and be treated better in our aging bodies. Some of it is that social media is a young person’s game. It burns out people, especially activists, as we…

Hi friend, As I write this, it’s 19° F, unusually cold for Seattle. The little brown birds are pecking at seeds out on the deck, and I need to bring the hummingbird feeder inside and thaw it. I always think about fat joy more in the winter, which is a season that’s – well, not…

Hi friend, One of the things that’s important to me for the year we’ve just begun is holding more events and workshops. I’ll be announcing the new Blanket Fort schedule next week, and right now I’m excited to announce my first workshop in over a year! On Saturday, January 20 at 4 pm Pacific time…

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 their site to learn more and apply for their Winter 2024 Cohort.  Also, I’ll be more or less unavailable from now through mid-January as I do a little hibernation, spend time…

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 “grin, grit your teeth and get through it” territory over into chaos and active conflict. At the same time, we humans seek closeness and community. We want and need celebration and…

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…

Hi friend, This week, let’s do something a little different and revive the fat creator interview series, starting with artist Ashley Anne Strobridge.   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…

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 “grin, grit your teeth and get through it” territory over into chaos and active conflict. At the same time, we humans seek closeness and community. We want and need celebration and…

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. Opining on these events is far out of my lane, so I encourage you to hope over to this email from Vicky Bellman at Concentric…

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

A throwback to 2016 (!) with Client D. at their Wildest Dreams session. I’m currently booking body liberation photo sessions » Over in the 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…

Client J. at their Confidence session. I’m currently booking boudoir & portrait photo sessions » 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. I’m most active in the Body Liberation Blanket Fort these days, followed by Bluesky, but here’s where…

Client J. at her Confidence session this week. I’m currently booking boudoir & portrait photo sessions» 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…

Client M. and their incredible sleeve tattoo. I’m currently booking boudoir & portrait photo sessions» 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,…

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

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.  Let’s start with the celebration! Last week, the Body Liberation Guide went out to 5,317 of you. The rate at which y’all open these emails is spectacular, too – almost…

A sneak peek of my shots from my dear friend K.’s wedding. I’m currently booking portrait and boudoir sessions» 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…

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

A leafy summer botanical boudoir session with R. Learn more about my boudoir sessions » 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 – the (American) National Eating Disorders Association – today. Honestly, I was reluctant, because they’ve been…

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

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….

Once a friend of mine observed that in their daily life, they just felt like they didn’t see many fat people at all. And it’s true: fat people are often missing from public life, especially very fat people. Why might that be? BMI is bull, but let’s use the master’s tool for a moment to…

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. It’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.  Here are ten ways…

Last week, I talked about a big negative of the trip I just took. This week, though, I want to share a big positive: Southwest Airlines’ customer of size policy.  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…