One of the reasons my studio is located in my home: It gives me the ability to offer intimate, private spaces both indoors and outdoors. For Ms. J’s session, we took advantage of both kinds of spaces for lush, botanical photographs, starting with a sunny open space, then moving to leafy images that remind me…
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…
Imagine a (pre-COVID) concert hall, filled with a cheering, applauding crowd. Imagine a stage full of performers in bright colors and full voice. Imagine a marquee on the front of the hall, flashing brilliantly in the darkness with the words, LET’S TALK ABOUT FAT! And imagine that, as you skim that concert hall again in…
Body liberation stock Stock photos for the rest of us. Traditional stock photography sites offer images that almost always feature young, thin, white, able-bodied people. Does that really reflect the dizzyingly diverse array of people we see around us every day — or your customers? More people are demanding better from the companies they interact…
One of the factors of living in the Pacific Northwest is that the landscape tends to look like the Pacific Northwest — for better or worse. We tried three times (!) to have a sunny, summer beach photo shoot, and finally decided to roll with what Mother Nature gave us: low clouds, seaweed, chill, and…
“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…
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…
In a time of Facebook groups, Instagram threads and blog posts, many of us first encounter Health at Every Size (or HAES for short) and pick up some of its principles in online discussions. But when you’re ready to dig deeper, where should you go first? There are a thousand articles and thousands more blog…
Lyn at Century Massage and I partnered to produce a collection of stock photos focused on massage by and for people of color. It was a privilege to help represent women and men of color while also working with a massage therapist who’s helped me and my body personally. Century Massage is located in Renton,…
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…
Anni Jyn is here to create art that might make you feel good about yourself, be kind to others or hopefully make you do a little laugh if the situation calls for it! Tell me about you! What’s your name? What pronouns do you use? Where do you live? What do you like to eat…
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.
Thekla Richter’s small business branding photography session was so much fun! The weather cooperated perfectly, which is rare for Seattle in November: a beautiful sunny day with air crisp enough to keep us from getting sweaty. Thekla (pronounced Tech-luh — I was dying to know, too) writes middle-grade fantasy books (ask her about the space…
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…
Market Your Business in the Body Love Box Reach your ideal customers quickly and easily! If your business is grounded in body positive, fat acceptance or health at every size (HAES) principles, including your marketing items in the Body Love Box is a great way to quickly and easily reach prospective customers who are aligned…
Portfolio I help fat people see themselves as beautiful and worthy through photographs that celebrate the unique beauty of bodies that fall outside conventional “beauty” standards. I fight weight stigma by giving fat people a safe place to explore how their bodies look on camera and by increasing the representation of fat bodies in photography,…
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…
When I started my photography business in 2015, I had never seen or met another fat photographer. I wasn’t sure if it was even possible. (Because what we see around us tells us what is possible for people like us.) Now, of course, I know many fat photographers, both because I’ve deliberately sought out other…
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….
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…
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…
I stopped briefly in Salt Lake City while traveling, and this session shows how much we can accomplish even during a very limited session. Forty-five minutes, one hotel room, and two generations of one family willing to be vulnerable and explore the stories of their bodies. Most photographers would have done things like “brought out…
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…
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….
Hi! I’m Lindley. I create artwork that celebrates the unique beauty of bodies that fall outside conventional “beauty” standards. I fight weight stigma by giving people in large bodies a safe place to explore how their bodies look on camera and by increasing the representation of fat bodies in photography, advertising, fine art and the…
Cruelty is an inherent part of diet culture. Diet culture gives us a dichotomy: bodies are either good (thin) or bad (fat). In this framework, a “good” body is something that can and should always be the ultimate goal. Not only is a good body the only healthy, morally upright and worthy kind of body,…
February’s pick for the Body Liberation Book Club is the second half of The Body Keeps the Score by Van der Kolk. Join us on Thursday, February 27 at 7 pm for a fat-friendly hangout and book discussion. Newcomers are very welcome! The location is Unique Cafe, 12319 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98125. This…
Your free weekly guide to body liberation Join 5,000+ people who get information, inspiration and free body-positive stock photos with this thoughtful and useful newsletter. Leaving Twitter? Me too. See you on Instagram | Facebook | Bluesky New collaboration collection with Kat Max » This week’s Body Liberation Guide » Featured stock image » On…
Environmental portraits — where the subject is involved in an activity or an environment they love — are some of my favorite photographs to create. Almost everyone is more relaxed when they’re doing something they enjoy in a place they like to spend time! For Mx. O’s session, we chose a topic together: gardening. I…
Equity and Anti-Weight-Stigma Consulting I help people untangle their internalized weight bias and do better on an individual basis. Often, this looks like meeting (via Zoom) to untangle a web of beliefs, thoughts and assumptions around fat bodies that affect both your personal life and business. It may also look like walking through your website,…
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….
It’s generally quite cool year round here in the Seattle area, but in the summer it can get hot enough to make a dip in a nearby river refreshing. Ms. G and I spent her body-positive Confidence portrait session at Flaming Geyser State Park (named for a flame created by coal miners discovering a methane…
This plus-size beauty queen and Nevada’s Red Rock Canyon = magic. It was 95 degrees at sunset, but luckily Ms. D is used to the heat and I had plenty of water with me, so we took lots of breaks and it worked out fine. Better than fine, in fact. She’d chosen a sparkling sequin…
Radiance Healing Arts provides an eclectic blend of intuitive sessions, including various therapeutic massage and manual therapy techniques, Reiki, aromatherapy, spa services and compassionate listening. These sessions are offered by a licensed massage therapist and physical therapist assistant, Reiki Master and empath, communication trainer and lifelong healer committed to supporting your needs for balance, rest…
Just in case you need a reminder today: Cutting off contact with toxic people, or setting a no-contact or minimal-contact boundary for yourself, is a perfectly valid thing to do. We have this cultural expectation that if you just find the right words and make your case just right, a toxic relative or friend will…
Is sugar really that bad for you? Is it possible to be addicted to sugar, or to food in general? Can you give yourself diabetes by eating too many sweet things, or too much sugar? What kind of cultural currents and dialogue exist around sugar consumption that could affect how we think about it today?…
Branding Portrait Photos for Business Owners Designed with you in mind Customized, thoughtful photo sessions for heart-centered and liberation-focused small businesses. For products, too Product-focused photo sessions for Etsy shops, plus-size apparel and the merch side of your website. Body and fat positive Support your body while supporting your business. Your business is quirky. It’s…
Welcome! So you’ve been gifted a boudoir session? Congratulations! I’m so excited to have you. Here’s your guide to the complete boudoir experience, so keep it on hand and refer to it any time. To schedule your session, you or the person who gifted you the session can contact me at [email protected]. The Basics Hiya!…
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…
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…
Become a Body Liberation Stock contributor Spread some love, make the world a better place — and get paid to do it. Unlike most of the mainstream stock image sites, we’ve got motives beyond profit margin, which means caring about contributors. We want you to make a living wage too, so you get a stunning…
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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 like diabetes, though, caring for a fat body can be very different. Why? Because fat bodies are subject to weight…
