On my 2019 fat academic year in review

Welcome to my 2019 fat academic year in review (check out my 2018 review for the value of engaging in such a practice). I began the year with a promotion to Senior Lecturer R2, which was very exciting. Getting “over the bar” from R1 to R2 is a tough hurdle and one that many struggle to “leap”. I am officially a midcareer academic, with almost as many academic years behind me as I can expect in front of me. As a Fat Studies scholar, I am often without a proper academic home/discipline in scholarly spaces, but I continue my work. Keeping the lives of fat people at the centre of my scholarship is key for me as I work to achieve my hope for fat futures.

I am very excited that later this year, I’m hosting Fat Studies: Past, Present, Futures at Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand. Check out the CFP; I do hope you can join us in person or through the streaming option.

Journal articles

Pausé, C. J. (2019). Get together: Fat kids and physical education. Health Education Journal, 78(60), 662-669.

Parker, G. & Pausé, C. J. (2019). Productive but not constructive: The work of shame in the affective governance of fat pregnancy. Feminism & Psychology, 29(2), 250-268.

Pausé, C. (2019). Frozen: A fat tale of immigration. Fat Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight & Society, 8(1), 44-59.

 

Book chapters

Parker, G. C., Pausé, C. J, & Le Grice, J. (2019). “You’re just another friggin’ number to add to the problem”: Constructing the racialized (m)other in contemporary discourses of pregnancy fatness. In M. Friedman, C. Rice & J. Rinaldi (Eds.), Thickening fat: Fat bodies, intersectionality and social justice (pp. ). New York: Routledge.

Me & my copy of Body Battlegrounds; very pleased to have contributed a chapter about my fat positive radio show for the 2nd edition

Pausé, C. J. (2019). Everybody: Making fat radio for all of us. In C. Bobel & S. Kwan (Eds.), Body battlegrounds: Transgressions, tensions, and transformations (pp. 171-173). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.

Me & my copy of Happy Fat

*Not a book chapter, but I was thrilled to be a footnote in Sofie Hagen’s new book, Happy Fat

Funding

I was awarded an internal research grant to explore the experience of fat people in the healthcare system in New Zealand.

 

Conference symposium

 

Pausé, C. J. (2019, 5 December). Fattening up Sociology. In A. Simpson (Chair), Fat Studies. Symposium conducted at the Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

 

Journal reviews

Women’s Studies in Communication

Health Education Journal

Fat Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight & Society

Social Media + Society

 

Invited seminars

Pausé, C. J. (2019, 18 July). Queering fat therapy. Workshop conducted for the student counselling team, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

 

Pausé, C. J. (2019, 28 June). Fat stigma, discrimination, and bias: Implications for practice. Invited plenary talk at the Renal Society of Australasia conference, Auckland, New Zealand.

 

Textbook

Hoffnung, M., Hoffnung, R. J., Seifertm K. L., Hine, A., Ward, L., & Pausé, C. J., Swabey, K., Yates, K., & Burton Smith, R. (2019).  Lifespan Development (4^th Australasian Ed). Queensland, Australia: John Wiley & Sons.

 

Invited lectures (Fat Studies)

Pausé, C. J. (2019, 3 April). Ethics, fat stigma, and you. GENA737 Obesity Prevention and Management [12]. University of Otago Medical School, New Zealand.

Pausé, C. J. (2019, 1 April). Express yourself: Fat resistance on film. 230.110 Tūrangawaewae: Identity & Belonging in Aotearoa NZ [75]. Massey University, New Zealand.

Pausé, C. J. (2019, 20 March). Fattening up feminism. 175.720 Advanced Psychology of Women [35]. Massey University, New Zealand.

 

Podcasts

FOM celebrated being on the air EIGHT years in 2019!

Pausé, C. J. (2011-). Friend of Marilyn. [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved from iTunes. Produced weekly as a radio show on Manawatu People’s Radio 999AM, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

 

Media engagements

Rääbus, C. (2019, 16 Dec). What does fat shaming and weight discrimination do to your health? ABC Life [Online]. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/life/health-impacts-of-weight-stigma-and-fatphobia/11728522

Du Plessis-Allan Drive, H. (2019, 7 November). “Ice cream makes you happy” sign taken down after complaint. NewstalkZB. Retrieved from https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/heather-du-plessis-allan-drive/audio/dr-cat-pause-ice-cream-makes-you-happy-sign-taken-down-after-complaint/

Borissenko, S. (2019, 20 October). Fat people earn less, don’t get promoted and face public shaming. New Zealand Herald [Online]. Retrieved from https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12278108&fbclid=IwAR3GGPQ1Gpq3q3iVeoZOxhUBebUmvBKI_FOj0T4FTYx_tUvPd8BeCXMq8Sc

Moore, R. (2019, 13 June). Critics of new plus-size mannequins called out for ‘fat phobia’, experts defend Nike’s messaging. 1 News Now [Online], Retrieved from https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/critics-new-plus-sized-mannequins-called-fat-phobia-experts-defend-nikes-messaging

It was cool to invited back onto The Project; this time with enough time to plan my outfit. Made sure to wear the “Fat” necklace from Fancy Lady Industries.

The Project. (2019, 7 June). The language of fat. TV3.

McMillan, V. (2019, 8 May). With society steeped in anti-fat bias, keep the patient’s agenda to the fore. New Zealand Doctor [Online]. Retrieved from https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/print-archive/society-steeped-anti-fat-bias-keep-patients-agenda-fore

Nicholls, B. (2019, 11 April). Early Mornings with Barry Nicholls, ABC Radio Perth [Online].

This fantastic story made the front webpage of the NZ Herald.

Arnold, N. (2019, 30 March). Fat? Why your body is not a problem to be fixed. Canvas Magazine, New Zealand Herald [Online] Retrieved from https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12216770

Winter, V. (2019, 21 March). The problem with Playboy and body positivity. SBS The Feed. Retrieved from https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/this-cultural-moment-is-being-exploited-the-problem-with-playboy-and-body-positivity

 

Online publications

Very excited that a piece I wrote for The Conversation on fat stigma and language was picked up and re-posted by several media outlets across Oceania

Pausé, C. J. (2019, 15 October). Changing the terminology to ‘people with obesity’ won’t reduce stigma against fat people. The Conversation [Online]. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/changing-the-terminology-to-people-with-obesity-wont-reduce-stigma-against-fat-people-124266

*Reposted by ABC (Australia), Otago Daily Times (New Zealand), Stuff (New Zealand), Whimn (Australia)

Pausé, C. J. (2019, 11 October). I’ve had enough, thanks: Why I’m not watching Netflix’s Insatiable. The Spinoff [Online]. Retrieved from https://thespinoff.co.nz/tv/11-10-2019/ive-had-enough-thanks-why-im-not-watching-netflixs-insatiable/

Pausé, C. J. (2019, 27 April). There’s a problem with one of the characters in Avengers: Endgame. The Spinoff [Online]. Retrieved from https://thespinoff.co.nz/media/27-04-2019/theres-a-serious-problem-with-one-of-the-characters-in-avengers-endgame/

 

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Dealing with Diet Commercials

In response to a request that I put about for fatphobic things for which  people would like some comebacks (a blog post I’m currently working on) I received the following request:

Suggestions for how to respond to the ENDLESS diet commercials from 12/26 – end of Feb. I used to be able to avoid them by just keeping off the TV and listening to my local public radio station. Since that company that starts with n became an underwriter it’s impossible.

Diet commercials are THE WORST. Their product doesn’t work, so commercials do one of three things:

Show Short-Term Success

Almost everyone loses weight short-term, and almost everyone gains it back long-term with many gaining back more than they lost. So what you’ll see in most commercials is people who are still in the weight loss “honeymoon” period, before they start the almost inevitable weight regain.

Rebranding Outliers

There are a few people who manage to maintain long-term weight loss, so diet companies sometimes cherry-pick them for their commercials, and try to make us believe that we are likely to have the same results. Think of it this way, there are people who survive skydiving accidents when their parachute doesn’t open. Based on diet ads logic, I could use them to advertise Ragen’s School of Parachute-less Skydiving – but I’ll bet you wouldn’t (and you definitely shouldn’t!) sign up to jump with me.

Cheating Death

In the case of the super dangerous things, like stomach amputation surgery, they not only cherry-pick the successes, they completely gloss over the very serious failures. There are many people who experience such horrible lifelong side-effects that they would give anything to take back the surgery. You won’t hear from them in the commercials made by the people who profit from butchering the digestive systems of fat people. And of course the people who are killed by the surgery will never get to tell their stories.

You’ll notice that every single ad for diets has a disclaimer that basically explains that the diet doesn’t really work/ Those aren’t there by accident, or by the grace of the companies shilling this snake oil. They are there because they are legally required. It’s the only way they can get away with what is essentially false advertising.

So what do you do about them? Here are some strategies that I’ve found helpful:

Mantra

Find a phrase to say to yourself (or out loud!) whenever you see one. I use “Hey, That’s Bullshit!” Other people have told me that they use “Nope, Nope, Nope’ or “LIES IT’S ALL LIES!” I’ve found that after a little time, it became such a reflex that my brain would say it before I had even fully processed the diet ad.

Gratitude

When you see these ads, you can think to yourself “I’m so grateful that I know better now!” Consider using it as an impetus to message an activist whose work has helped you to tell them thanks!

Report

If the ad is on a forum where you can report it, that can be helpful. For example, every time Facebook feeds me a diet ad, I report as misleading. I’ve successfully gotten a few taken down, but regardless I find it quite cathartic.

Regardless, remember that the diet industry perpetuates fatphobia and then preys on the people who are its victims – that’s all diet ads are. The industry is without morals, ethics, or even common decency and the decision to walk away from it forever is solid and sound.

If you have other suggestions for dealing with diet ads, please leave them in the comments!

Was this helpful? If you appreciate the work that I do, you can support my ability to do more of it with a one-time tip or by becoming a member. (Members get special deals on fat-positive stuff, a monthly e-mail keeping them up to date on the work their membership supports, and the ability to ask me questions that I answer in a members-only monthly Q&A Video!)

Like this blog?  Here’s more cool stuff:

New Coaching Program – Walk, Run, or Roll Any Distance, Starting from Where You Are

Jeanette DePatie and I have created a coaching program for walking, running, or rolling any distance, starting wherever you are now! It includes :

• Our Rock the Road Training Tool that customizes your weekly workouts starting exactly where you are right now, and gives you total flexibility (no more cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all workouts!)
• 6 weekly coaching video calls (you can watch online or just call in on your phone)
• Insights from guest coaches
• A dedicated Facebook group (with no weight loss or diet talk allowed!)
• Access to Jeanette and Ragen via a priority access email address.
  

Investment: $69 (DancesWithFat members get $20 off, check your member e-mail and member page for the coupon code!) 

Deadline to enroll: February 1st!

http://realbigpublishing.com/product/rock-the-road-coaching-program/

Wellness for All Bodies Program: A simple, step-by-step, super efficient guide to setting and reaching your health goals from a weight-neutral perspective.  This program can be used by individuals, or by groups, including as a workplace wellness program!
Price: $25.00 ($10 for DancesWithFat members – register on the member page)

Body Love Obstacle Course

This e-course that includes coaching videos, a study guide, and an ebook with the tools you need to create a rock-solid relationship with your body. Our relationships with our bodies don’t happen in a vacuum, so just learning to see our beauty isn’t going to cut it. The world throws obstacles in our way – obstacles that aren’t our fault, but become our problem. Over the course of this program, Ragen Chastain, Jeanette DePatie, and six incredible guest coaches will teach you practical, realistic, proven strategies to go above, around, and through the obstacles that the world puts in front of you when it comes to living an amazing life in the body you have now.
Price: $99.00
($79.00 for DancesWithFat members – register on the member page)

Love It! 234 Inspirations And Activities to Help You Love Your Body
This is filled with thoughtful advice from the authors Jeanette DePatie, Ragen Chastain, and Pia Sciavo-Campo as well as dozens of other notable names from the body love movement, the book is lovingly illustrated with diverse drawings from size-positive artist Toni Tails.
Price: $9.99 softcover, $7.99 Kindle, ($6.95 + free shipping for DancesWithFat Members)

Non-Members click here for all the details and to register!

Book and Dance Class Sale!  I’m on a journey to complete an IRON-distance triathlon, and I’m having a sale on all my books, DVDs, and digital downloads to help pay for it. You get books and dance classes, I get spandex clothes and bike parts. Everybody wins! If you want, you can check it out here!  (DancesWithFat Members get an even better deal, make sure to make your purchases from the Members Page!)

Book Me!  I’d love to speak to your organization. You can get more information here or just e-mail me at ragen at danceswithfat dot org!

I’m (still!) training for an Iron-distance triathlon! You can follow my journey at www.IronFat.com .

If you are uncomfortable with my offering things for sale on this site, you are invited to check out this post.

 

 

 

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In Celebration of Armchair Activism

Armchair Activism, sometimes called “Slacktivism” can tend to be put down as “not real activism” That’s bullshit (it’s also ableist  and classist AF, but we’ll get to that in a minute.)

The truth is that all kinds of activism are important. And while participating in a big march can help raise awareness, so can signing an online petition, or helping a Tweet against an advertiser go viral, or any of a ton of things we can do from home.

Now, people who are oppressed have the right to deal with it however they choose, and getting involved with activism is an option but never an obligation. One of the ways that those wanting to be allies, as well as more privileged people within a marginalized community, can use their privilege is by being involved in activism.

Armchair activism has plenty of benefits:

A Response To The Double Oppression Of Capitalism and Marginalization

At least here in the States, being part of a marginalized community often means lower pay and longer hours (or more jobs) just to be able to afford the basics of life. That can leave people with fewer options for activism that takes them away from their homes and computers. Black and brown people can be risking their lives at activism events where racist police may become involved. Armchair activism allows people to do what they can, when they can, in ways that may keep them safer.

A Response to Ableism

Far too often, in-person activism events are not made accessible to disabled people. Beyond that, there can be tremendous effort involved in getting to these events and participating in them for disabled people, people for whom crowds/face-to-face interaction are difficult, and those with chronic illness and pain.

For Ourselves

Activism isn’t just about the effect it has on others. In fact, we can never control the outcome of our activism. It’s also about the impact it has on the people doing it. It gives us the chance to take action against oppression, to fight back. That matters.

Public Activism

In a discussion online about what to do about the Bigger Loser Reboot disaster, and people suggested signing the petition against it, and Tweeting at the sponsors. Someone in the thread suggested that people shouldn’t sign online petitions or Tweet, but should rather send hard copy letters. Now, there’s nothing wrong with hard copy letters, but they can be thrown out with nobody being any the wiser. The thing about social media activism is that it’s public and the company perpetuating harm can’t simply throw it in the bin.

By The Numbers

Another benefit of social media activism is that it can grow exponentially. Recently Amtrak tried to charge two disabled passengers $25,000 for what would have been a $16 ticket. The passengers when public on social media, the story went viral, got picked up by the news, and Senator Tammy Duckworth got involved. Amtrack backed down. All driven by armchair activism.

To quote Teddy Roosevelt, doing what we can, with what we have, where we are, is an important and completely valid type of activism. Vive the armchair!

Was this helpful? If you appreciate the work that I do, you can support my ability to do more of it with a one-time tip or by becoming a member. (Members get special deals on fat-positive stuff, a monthly e-mail keeping them up to date on the work their membership supports, and the ability to ask me questions that I answer in a members-only monthly Q&A Video!)

Like this blog?  Here’s more cool stuff:

New Coaching Program – Walk, Run, or Roll Any Distance, Starting from Where You Are

Jeanette DePatie and I have created a coaching program for walking, running, or rolling any distance, starting wherever you are now! It includes :

• Our Rock the Road Training Tool that customizes your weekly workouts starting exactly where you are right now, and gives you total flexibility (no more cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all workouts!)
• 6 weekly coaching video calls (you can watch online or just call in on your phone)
• Insights from guest coaches
• A dedicated Facebook group (with no weight loss or diet talk allowed!)
• Access to Jeanette and Ragen via a priority access email address.
  

Investment: $69 (DancesWithFat members get $20 off, check your member e-mail and member page for the coupon code!) 

Deadline to enroll: February 1st!

http://realbigpublishing.com/product/rock-the-road-coaching-program/

Wellness for All Bodies Program: A simple, step-by-step, super efficient guide to setting and reaching your health goals from a weight-neutral perspective.  This program can be used by individuals, or by groups, including as a workplace wellness program!
Price: $25.00 ($10 for DancesWithFat members – register on the member page)

Body Love Obstacle Course

This e-course that includes coaching videos, a study guide, and an ebook with the tools you need to create a rock-solid relationship with your body. Our relationships with our bodies don’t happen in a vacuum, so just learning to see our beauty isn’t going to cut it. The world throws obstacles in our way – obstacles that aren’t our fault, but become our problem. Over the course of this program, Ragen Chastain, Jeanette DePatie, and six incredible guest coaches will teach you practical, realistic, proven strategies to go above, around, and through the obstacles that the world puts in front of you when it comes to living an amazing life in the body you have now.
Price: $99.00
($79.00 for DancesWithFat members – register on the member page)

Love It! 234 Inspirations And Activities to Help You Love Your Body
This is filled with thoughtful advice from the authors Jeanette DePatie, Ragen Chastain, and Pia Sciavo-Campo as well as dozens of other notable names from the body love movement, the book is lovingly illustrated with diverse drawings from size-positive artist Toni Tails.
Price: $9.99 softcover, $7.99 Kindle, ($6.95 + free shipping for DancesWithFat Members)

Non-Members click here for all the details and to register!

Book and Dance Class Sale!  I’m on a journey to complete an IRON-distance triathlon, and I’m having a sale on all my books, DVDs, and digital downloads to help pay for it. You get books and dance classes, I get spandex clothes and bike parts. Everybody wins! If you want, you can check it out here!  (DancesWithFat Members get an even better deal, make sure to make your purchases from the Members Page!)

Book Me!  I’d love to speak to your organization. You can get more information here or just e-mail me at ragen at danceswithfat dot org!

I’m (still!) training for an Iron-distance triathlon! You can follow my journey at www.IronFat.com .

If you are uncomfortable with my offering things for sale on this site, you are invited to check out this post.

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When the mood grabs ya…

I had the best fucking time last night 100% on my own at home! I had started the day a it early, well, for a Sunday. One of my besties is in Little Shop of Horrors in Gilroy, his show was at 2pm, but we wanted to eat and have a fun day of it before that time. So we hit up a fun breakfast place in San Jose before hitting the road south. We decided to hit up a couple of wineries for some tastings and I was so glad that we did!

If you’ve never been, wine tasting in Gilroy is so much less fussy than say Napa or Livermore. It’s more chill, down to earth, I guess more working class in general. We have visited as a group a few times in the past but I do not think we’d previously been in this part of the winter. It worked out in our favor, I think, since there weren’t any crowds and we had the second winery all to ourselves.

I’m no wine snob, I’m willing to try any wines, it’s fun. I particularly enjoy hearing origin stories of wineries or little family histories often told in such settings. I love hearing about each wines’ unique notes and stories, too. I feel it is a more guided journey rather than simply buying a bottle based on label and price point alone. It certainly tastes better anyway! Ha-ha! Each time I discover something new or find myself rethinking previously formed opinions.

I used to think I hated white wines, specifically chardonnays. Now I know I simply don’t care for the older style “buttery – oaky” finish. I have even bought bottles at wineries because I was so surprised by how much I liked something I didn’t think I would. I find that it forces me to check with myself and really pay attention. Plus our taste buds change over time so it’s always nice to find something new to enjoy when it was not pleasant before.

I was riding a pretty great buzz the entire day! When we got to the theater we found they had beer and wine and my friend Tom bought me a glass of Pinot Grigio, yum! We sat down and waited for the show to begin and that’s when P showed us this basket of a truly great snack mix on our table. I didn’t pay much attention at first but soon found myself munching away on tiny pretzels and cheesy crackers and other fun stuff in there. They even provided free snack refills! I don’t think I had been to that theater before but it was nice and accessible, even if the chairs weren’t the most comfortable, but that could have simply been that mine had a back leaning a bit far for my taste.

The show was really good! I had seen many iterations over the years, but it was the first time Jery had been in the show. The vocals were great and over all the show was a lot of fun. P and I were particularly in love with this one part where the three backup vocalists are outside the window of the flower shop and Jery made this face we all know too well and we were just splitting our sides over his dramatic face in an otherwise hilarious moment. It was brilliant! When you get to see your bestie take on so many big roles over the years it was awesome to see him have fun with one that would seem to be more background player but was in reality was integral to the show.

P is my favorite photobomber (my camera blurred him out).

Plus he’s always down for a selfie!

Real friends celebrate mutual silliness!

We all met up again for dinner afterwards at Applebee’s and were back to our usual silly selves. I swear we are like twelve year old boys when we’re together, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. There is a lot of love in our little crew. We’ve known each other for over twenty years. We give each other a lot of shit, but it always comes from a good place. It was a great day and they dropped me back off at my apartment when all was said and done. I just didn’t know that my night wasn’t completely over!

I was blissed out and still buzzing from the day’s boozin’ so I put on some music and started to groove a bit on my own. And then a song popped into my head! “Alexa, play Back to Life by Soul II Soul!” This is when I started to really dance around my house! Ha-ha! Then it was PM Dawn! Then it was Jon Secada! Then it was SWV! I was having the time of my damned life! Ha-ha! Just swaying and twirling in my kitchen and living room. The puggo never does appreciate it when I dance or sing for him. Such a grump! Ha!

I didn’t even turn on my television until I was pooped from dancing and needed to wind down before bed. I text some friends and even invited my FWB over, but they get up early for work and it was already 8pm. I did not even care, I was just wanting to share my good mood. Truly I cannot believe how happy I was and so carefree last night! And the best part is that I have no hangover what so ever! The key there is that I never got super drunk, I drank water throughout the day, and just kept drinking so it never peaked or valleyed. Not recommending this as an everyday life hack or anything, but damn I was feeling awesome! I think I am my best self when I am dancing and there is nothing wrong with that, regardless of sobriety.

I guess I needed to not only hang with loved ones but to also have that blissed out self care time as well. I’ve been doubling down on my self care because I know I usually deprioritize it. I had had a massage on Friday and felt so much better physically all weekend, too. If you live in Northern California or the SF Bay Area, I HIGHLY recommend A Sovereign Embodiment for any body work or ritual/spiritual needs you may have. Also check out and support the fundraiser if you are able to! It is such valuable and important work they are doing and they have given so much to our community already. I can personally attest to the quality of body and spiritual work they do. I had pain in my right foot for about two months, I knew it was nothing serious, but Irene investigated and worked out what felt like a million knots tangled into each other in the ball of my foot and not a day later I was dancing around without a care in the world! THAT IS SPECIAL! When she read my cards for the upcoming year I saw and felt things I both knew and didn’t want to. Ha-ha! This is work but it is necessary! Growth isn’t comfortable, but it vital!

I hope that you are able to do things that feed you, heal you, serve you, and get you to whatever your version of “blissed out and dancing in the living room” is! We all deserve to feel good in our bodies and tap into a purer form of our true selves from time to time. It may look and feel very different for you and that is fantastic! Whatever it is, just do it! You deserve it! Wooooooooooo!

***

I’m here for realness and sincerity, honesty and vulnerability, I’m here for the good and juicy bits of life that shine for me when I know I’m heading in the right direction.

Rad Fatty Love to ALL,

<3
S

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Four Types Of People Who Break The “No Weight Loss Talk” Rule in Fat-Positive Spaces

In response to my post about how we can and should have spaces that don’t allow diet or weight-loss talk -a question I got a lot is “Who are these people who blatantly break the rules?

I think they fall intofour basic groups:

Trolls

These are people who are trying to do harm. Sometimes it’s because they personally hate fat people for whatever twisted reason, sometimes it’s because they are desperate for approval and they are trying get it from other trolls. There are options to deal with them – I wrote an entire guide about it.

Fully Bought-In and Over-Entitled

These are people whose buy-in to the weightloss paradigm is so complete that they believe they should be entitled to talk about weight-loss wherever and whenever they want. They like to start their post with phrases like “It’s ok to love your body but…” and “Except, I mean, you can’t deny that…” etc. They’ll defend Weight Watchers like you bad- mouthed their mother and often weaponize their internalized fatphobia, saying things like “Well, I’m fat but I still think [insert anti-fat belief here]”

The Specialist Special Who Ever Specialed

These are people who think that their weight loss talk is such a special case that they deserve to break all the rules. Their posts often talk about health issues or disabilities or age. This is a double issue because not only are they breaking the rules, but they are adding healthism and/or ableism and/or ageism to their fatphobia. Weight loss doesn’t get any more likely to succeed due because someone has a health issue, disability, or is aging, but people in those categories can face even more pressure to give up on their Size Acceptance and Health at Every Size practice, which makes this rule-breaking even more harmful. People are allowed to attempt weight loss for whatever their reasons might be, but there is no reason that justifies breaking a group’s rules of no weightloss or diet talk.

But The Group Had Fat In The Name

These are people who saw fat in the name of the group, assumed that the group would be anti-fat, didn’t bother to read the rules, and then charged into the posts and comment with their bullshit. It’s not even that they were trying to harm fat people, as much as that they’ve literally never considered that there might be a space where fat isn’t vilified. When called out they are likely to morph into a member of the Troll or Fully Bought In Group.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, we have a right to safe spaces – to create them, to maintain them, to participate in them. We do not owe anyone a debate on our right to exist. We deserve spaces safe from the people and beliefs that oppress us, and we have every right to create and protect them.

Was this helpful? If you appreciate the work that I do, you can support my ability to do more of it with a one-time tip or by becoming a member. (Members get special deals on fat-positive stuff, a monthly e-mail keeping them up to date on the work their membership supports, and the ability to ask me questions that I answer in a members-only monthly Q&A Video!)

Like this blog?  Here’s more cool stuff:

New Coaching Program – Walk, Run, or Roll Any Distance, Starting from Where You Are

Jeanette DePatie and I have created a coaching program for walking, running, or rolling any distance, starting wherever you are now! It includes :

• Our Rock the Road Training Tool that customizes your weekly workouts starting exactly where you are right now, and gives you total flexibility (no more cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all workouts!)
• 6 weekly coaching video calls (you can watch online or just call in on your phone)
• Insights from guest coaches
• A dedicated Facebook group (with no weight loss or diet talk allowed!)
• Access to Jeanette and Ragen via a priority access email address.
  

Investment: $69 (DancesWithFat members get $20 off, check your member e-mail and member page for the coupon code!) 

Deadline to enroll: February 1st!

http://realbigpublishing.com/product/rock-the-road-coaching-program/

Wellness for All Bodies Program: A simple, step-by-step, super efficient guide to setting and reaching your health goals from a weight-neutral perspective.  This program can be used by individuals, or by groups, including as a workplace wellness program!
Price: $25.00 ($10 for DancesWithFat members – register on the member page)

Body Love Obstacle Course

This e-course that includes coaching videos, a study guide, and an ebook with the tools you need to create a rock-solid relationship with your body. Our relationships with our bodies don’t happen in a vacuum, so just learning to see our beauty isn’t going to cut it. The world throws obstacles in our way – obstacles that aren’t our fault, but become our problem. Over the course of this program, Ragen Chastain, Jeanette DePatie, and six incredible guest coaches will teach you practical, realistic, proven strategies to go above, around, and through the obstacles that the world puts in front of you when it comes to living an amazing life in the body you have now.
Price: $99.00
($79.00 for DancesWithFat members – register on the member page)

Love It! 234 Inspirations And Activities to Help You Love Your Body
This is filled with thoughtful advice from the authors Jeanette DePatie, Ragen Chastain, and Pia Sciavo-Campo as well as dozens of other notable names from the body love movement, the book is lovingly illustrated with diverse drawings from size-positive artist Toni Tails.
Price: $9.99 softcover, $7.99 Kindle, ($6.95 + free shipping for DancesWithFat Members)

Non-Members click here for all the details and to register!

Book and Dance Class Sale!  I’m on a journey to complete an IRON-distance triathlon, and I’m having a sale on all my books, DVDs, and digital downloads to help pay for it. You get books and dance classes, I get spandex clothes and bike parts. Everybody wins! If you want, you can check it out here!  (DancesWithFat Members get an even better deal, make sure to make your purchases from the Members Page!)

Book Me!  I’d love to speak to your organization. You can get more information here or just e-mail me at ragen at danceswithfat dot org!

I’m (still!) training for an Iron-distance triathlon! You can follow my journey at www.IronFat.com .

If you are uncomfortable with my offering things for sale on this site, you are invited to check out this post.

via Dances With Fat https://ift.tt/2TFkJfX

Love Song To IRL Fat Community and The Plus Bus

Online fat community is absolutely amazing, and I have met incredible friends and fellow activists online. There can also be something really special about being in physical space with other fat people.

In Los Angeles, The Plus Bus is a blend of both – they are a fat-positive clothing store and community space and in addition to the brick and mortar store, they have onsite community events and even online shopping events. I have tremendous appreciation for folks like Jen and the staff at The Plus Bus who create this kind of community because it is not easy to do.

So, you may remember that Jeanette DePatie and I created a series of songs –revamping holiday classics into body love anthems. Now there’s one more. The lyrics to this came to me as I was driving home from what was supposed to be Jeanette and my final recording session. The song came on the radio and the first lyrics of the chorus popped into my head.

I wrote the rest on the drive home, called Jeanette who was immediately in (Jeanette and I are the kind of friends where one of us says “I have an idea” and the other says “What time?”)  So I e-mailed Jen Wilder (the owner) and she agreed to let us record there.

This is the result, with special thanks to Allyson for all of her help with the video filming!
(Full disclosure: Jeanette and I aren’t affiliated with The Plus Bus, other than the fact that we love what they do and they gave us permission to film there!)

 

Was this helpful? If you appreciate the work that I do, you can support my ability to do more of it with a one-time tip or by becoming a member. (Members get special deals on fat-positive stuff, a monthly e-mail keeping them up to date on the work their membership supports, and the ability to ask me questions that I answer in a members-only monthly Q&A Video!)

Like this blog?  Here’s more cool stuff:

New Coaching Program – Walk, Run, or Roll Any Distance, Starting from Where You Are

Jeanette DePatie and I have created a coaching program for walking, running, or rolling any distance, starting wherever you are now! It includes :

• Our Rock the Road Training Tool that customizes your weekly workouts starting exactly where you are right now, and gives you total flexibility (no more cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all workouts!)
• 6 weekly coaching video calls (you can watch online or just call in on your phone)
• Insights from guest coaches
• A dedicated Facebook group (with no weight loss or diet talk allowed!)
• Access to Jeanette and Ragen via a priority access email address.
  

Investment: $69 (DancesWithFat members get $20 off, check your member e-mail and member page for the coupon code!) 

Deadline to enroll: February 1st!

http://realbigpublishing.com/product/rock-the-road-coaching-program/

Wellness for All Bodies Program: A simple, step-by-step, super efficient guide to setting and reaching your health goals from a weight-neutral perspective.  This program can be used by individuals, or by groups, including as a workplace wellness program!
Price: $25.00 ($10 for DancesWithFat members – register on the member page)

Body Love Obstacle Course

This e-course that includes coaching videos, a study guide, and an ebook with the tools you need to create a rock-solid relationship with your body. Our relationships with our bodies don’t happen in a vacuum, so just learning to see our beauty isn’t going to cut it. The world throws obstacles in our way – obstacles that aren’t our fault, but become our problem. Over the course of this program, Ragen Chastain, Jeanette DePatie, and six incredible guest coaches will teach you practical, realistic, proven strategies to go above, around, and through the obstacles that the world puts in front of you when it comes to living an amazing life in the body you have now.
Price: $99.00
($79.00 for DancesWithFat members – register on the member page)

Love It! 234 Inspirations And Activities to Help You Love Your Body
This is filled with thoughtful advice from the authors Jeanette DePatie, Ragen Chastain, and Pia Sciavo-Campo as well as dozens of other notable names from the body love movement, the book is lovingly illustrated with diverse drawings from size-positive artist Toni Tails.
Price: $9.99 softcover, $7.99 Kindle, ($6.95 + free shipping for DancesWithFat Members)

Non-Members click here for all the details and to register!

Book and Dance Class Sale!  I’m on a journey to complete an IRON-distance triathlon, and I’m having a sale on all my books, DVDs, and digital downloads to help pay for it. You get books and dance classes, I get spandex clothes and bike parts. Everybody wins! If you want, you can check it out here!  (DancesWithFat Members get an even better deal, make sure to make your purchases from the Members Page!)

Book Me!  I’d love to speak to your organization. You can get more information here or just e-mail me at ragen at danceswithfat dot org!

I’m (still!) training for an Iron-distance triathlon! You can follow my journey at www.IronFat.com .

If you are uncomfortable with my offering things for sale on this site, you are invited to check out this post.

via Dances With Fat https://ift.tt/38m0zM9

The High Cost of Fatphobia

It has become quite a popular practice to calculate the “costs” of fat people. (As if it’s ok to decide that a group of people with shared physical characteristics should be eradicated to make things cheaper for everyone else.) There are many, many problems with the calculations, but I think it’s important to realize that in our society fat people live under intense, constant, stigma and oppression.  That means that any calculation about the “cost” of fat people is actually a calculation about the cost of that stigma and oppression. This came up in several conversations today so I thought I would repost this.

Let’s start with healthcare costs since that’s one of the most popular things for people to calculate.  Studies from Yale showed that over 50% of doctors find fat patients “awkward, ugly, weak-willed and unlikely to comply with treatment” and 28% of nurses said that they were “repulsed” by their obese patients.   Mary Huizinga of Johns Hopkins found that “The higher a patient’s body mass, the less respect doctors express for that patient.  And the less respect a doctor has for a patient the less time they spend with that patient and the less information he or she offers.”

This leads to increased healthcare costs in a number of ways:

Fat people are treated so poorly by health care professionals – given no respect, called liars, told that all of our problems are due to our fat, lectured extensively about our weight regardless of the reason for our visit – that some of us start avoiding the doctor.  This leads to us not getting early intervention and, for some, only going to the doctor when the situation is more advanced and therefore more expensive.

When we do brave the poor treatment, discrimination and bigotry and go to the doctor our actual complaints are often ignored and whether we have tendonitis, strep throat, or a broken toe we are told that the cure is to eat less and exercise more.  Thin people get all the same health issues as fat people but they get interventions that have been shown to effectively address their health problems. Fat people are given an intervention intended to change our body size, which not only hasn’t been proven to effectively address health issues, but hasn’t been shown to effectively change our body size.

Because of fat stigma we are denied evidence-based care which means that instead of taking part in interventions that address health issues, those issues continue unabated while we try to change our body size because our health care provider tells us that is miraculously curative.  So sometimes we don’t get evidence-based healthcare until our health issues are in the advanced stage (and therefore much more expensive) and sometimes we never get evidence based healthcare and we die trying to lose weight.  Then all of those costs are chalked up to our fatness rather than the fact that we aren’t able to access good, evidence-based medical care.

Because our society enjoys blaming people for their health, there is shame and stigma attached to health issues that can often be effectively treated – like Type 2 Diabetes.  That shame and stigma are especially bad for fat people since despite the fact that thin people get these diseases, and despite the fact that a thin person and a fat person can have the same eating and exercise habits but very different weights, we are told that these are brought on by being fat, and that our fat is our fault.  Because of this stigma and blame, fat people are often too ashamed to seek medical care and so we don’t get good early treatment, and delayed treatment means higher costs and worse health.

Nobody is obligated to prioritize health, it’s not a barometer of worthiness, nor is it completely in our control – there are many factors (including oppression and access) that can have a profound affect on health. Still, a mountain of evidence has shown that when it comes to personal choices, habits are a much better predictor of health than body size, and there’s not a single study where more than a tiny fraction of people are able to maintain significant weight loss long-term. Yet medical professionals ignore this evidence and instead tell us that if our healthy habits don’t make us thin then they aren’t making us healthy.  So fat people give up on healthy habits because they almost never make us thin.  So because stigma leads to misinformation, our health hazard ratios go up along with our purported “costs”.

Although eating disorders are dangerous and in some cases deadly, fat people who present with disordered eating are often encouraged to continue and even escalate the behaviors. The fat stigma that these professionals hold means that they mistakenly believe that becoming thin by any means necessary is better than being fat.  Then all the costs that ensue from the disordered eating are chalked up to body size.

The costs of weight loss attempts, especially those that are “medically supervised”  are often folded into people’s calculations of how much fat people “cost society”.  The problem is that these interventions should never have been recommended in the first place since they do not meet the requirements of evidence-based medicine.  The people supervising these programs do not have a shred of evidence that would lead them to believe that the intervention will succeed, but they keep prescribing it and taking money for it, and in the end the fat people who are victims of a scam also get blamed for the cost of the scam.

Even when we lose weight and gain it back, which studies show us is the most likely outcome, we are encouraged to diet again. This leads to weight cycling (also known as yo-yo dieting) which has been correlated to many of the same issues to which being fat has been correlated.  So again, bad medical advice can lead to health issues but they get charged to the accounts of the fat people who were poorly advised.

Now let’s look at the cost of societal discrimination, bigotry, oppression and stigma:

Movement is beneficial for everyone’s health, and though nobody is obligated to exercise, when fat people who are interested in it attempt to engage in physical activity we often find ourselves the subject of ridicule.  Being “moo’d” at in the gym, having people throw thing at us from cars, and being humiliated for wearing a swimsuit are all things that are reported by fat people as regular occurrences.  A lot of my “normal weight” friends complain about having trouble finding the time to exercise, imagine how much harder that is when carving out time to exercise also means carving out time to be ridiculed and humiliated.

The media giving fat people tons of negative messages about our bodies, and having those messages reinforced by everyone from our parents to our doctors to strangers at the gym is an effective way of convincing fat people to hate our bodies.  It also turns out that people don’t take good care of things that they hate, and health issues and costs ensue.

To be crystal clear, it doesn’t matter how much fat people coast – it is not ok to find a group of people you can identify by sight, calculate their cost on society, and then have a national campaign to eradicate them because you’ve decided things would be cheaper if they didn’t exist.

But since that’s what’s happening let’s understand that until we end stigma, oppression and bigotry against fat people it is impossible to calculate the costs (if any) of our body size separate from the cost of our stigmatization.

Thus, any attempt to calculate of the cost of being fat will, in fact, be a calculation of the cost of being stigmatized and oppressed for being fat. Therefore, if the current cost calculations about being fat indicate that it’s the “greatest threat to public health”, then the actual greatest threat to public health is fat stigma and oppression. This is actually good news since we have no idea how to make people thinner but we do know how to stop stigmatizing fat people and we could do it right now.

Of course when you point this out you are told that the cure for social stigma, oppression and bigotry against fat people is…wait for it…weight loss!  Yes, people actually suggest that the problem isn’t that we’re being bullied, the problem is that we aren’t giving the bully our lunch money.  In other words, if we do what our oppressors want us to do and lose weight, they promise they’ll stop oppressing us.  The cure for social stigma is not weight loss, it’s ending social stigma, and I, for one, will not have the cost of the bigotry, hate, stigma, and bullying that I deal with charged to my account.

For a list of the research used in this post, go here and scroll to the bottom.

Was this helpful? If you appreciate the work that I do, you can support my ability to do more of it with a one-time tip or by becoming a member. (Members get special deals on fat-positive stuff, a monthly e-mail keeping them up to date on the work their membership supports, and the ability to ask me questions that I answer in a members-only monthly Q&A Video!)

Like this blog?  Here’s more cool stuff:

New Coaching Program – Walk, Run, or Roll Any Distance, Starting from Where You Are

Jeanette DePatie and I have created a coaching program for walking, running, or rolling any distance, starting wherever you are now! It includes :

• Our Rock the Road Training Tool that customizes your weekly workouts starting exactly where you are right now, and gives you total flexibility (no more cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all workouts!)
• 6 weekly coaching video calls (you can watch online or just call in on your phone)
• Insights from guest coaches
• A dedicated Facebook group (with no weight loss or diet talk allowed!)
• Access to Jeanette and Ragen via a priority access email address.
  

Investment: $69 (DancesWithFat members get $20 off, check your member e-mail and member page for the coupon code!) 

Deadline to enroll: February 1st!

http://realbigpublishing.com/product/rock-the-road-coaching-program/

 

Wellness for All Bodies Program: A simple, step-by-step, super efficient guide to setting and reaching your health goals from a weight-neutral perspective.  This program can be used by individuals, or by groups, including as a workplace wellness program!
Price: $25.00 ($10 for DancesWithFat members – register on the member page)

Body Love Obstacle Course

This e-course that includes coaching videos, a study guide, and an ebook with the tools you need to create a rock-solid relationship with your body. Our relationships with our bodies don’t happen in a vacuum, so just learning to see our beauty isn’t going to cut it. The world throws obstacles in our way – obstacles that aren’t our fault, but become our problem. Over the course of this program, Ragen Chastain, Jeanette DePatie, and six incredible guest coaches will teach you practical, realistic, proven strategies to go above, around, and through the obstacles that the world puts in front of you when it comes to living an amazing life in the body you have now.
Price: $99.00
($79.00 for DancesWithFat members – register on the member page)

Love It! 234 Inspirations And Activities to Help You Love Your Body
This is filled with thoughtful advice from the authors Jeanette DePatie, Ragen Chastain, and Pia Sciavo-Campo as well as dozens of other notable names from the body love movement, the book is lovingly illustrated with diverse drawings from size-positive artist Toni Tails.
Price: $9.99 softcover, $7.99 Kindle, ($6.95 + free shipping for DancesWithFat Members)

Non-Members click here for all the details and to register!

Book and Dance Class Sale!  I’m on a journey to complete an IRON-distance triathlon, and I’m having a sale on all my books, DVDs, and digital downloads to help pay for it. You get books and dance classes, I get spandex clothes and bike parts. Everybody wins! If you want, you can check it out here!  (DancesWithFat Members get an even better deal, make sure to make your purchases from the Members Page!)

Book Me!  I’d love to speak to your organization. You can get more information here or just e-mail me at ragen at danceswithfat dot org!

I’m (still!) training for an Iron-distance triathlon! You can follow my journey at www.IronFat.com .

If you are uncomfortable with my offering things for sale on this site, you are invited to check out this post.

 

via Dances With Fat https://ift.tt/2R68reR