What Fat Liberation Means to Me
Happy Fat Liberation Month! Celebrating with these throwbacks of being unapologetically fat while doing some of my favorite things: playing roller derby, organizing @sfvzinefest, weightlifting, and traveling with my partner.
First organized by NAAFA in 2021, Fat Liberation Month is an annual month-long celebration of fat folx and fat-positivity. Learn more about Fat Liberation month here, and be sure to check out this year’s schedule of events here (including a magick and tarot event on Saturday, 8/6 hosted by me! Register for that here.)
When I think about what fat liberation means to me, I think about the personal impact, as well as the greater social impact.
For me personally, fat liberation has given me a life where I’m no longer white knuckling to survive each day, but I’m thriving beyond my own (and society’s) expectations. Before discovering body positivity and then fat acceptance and then fat liberation, my wellbeing was suffocated by fatphobia. A minute didn’t go by that I wasn’t consumed by insecurity, shame, and guilt. I felt limited by fatphobic expectations—and I believed those limitations. Fat liberation showed me that those limitations are false garbage, and that I’m worthy and capable of so much more than systemic fatphobia would suggest. My total wellbeing has done a 180 since shedding the pressure of fatphobia and embracing the ideals of fat-positivity and body neutrality 14 years ago. It’s not always a cake walk because, you know, self assuredness doesn’t mean that systemic oppression just *poof* disappears. But I’m so grateful for the vast knowing and freedom of fat liberation that carries me through life today.
Then, I think of the social impact. Fat liberation is a movement towards human rights for all. Yes, it’s true, there are still protections for many folx that don’t apply to fat folx, like discrimination in the workplace, for instance. And don’t get me started on medical discrimination. Just a few weeks ago I had to drop a rheumatologist who told me it would be a good thing if I had hypothyroidism because it would make me skinny (among other fatphobic remarks and problematic behavior).
Sometimes it can be overwhelming to consider these gigantic systems that require massive change, or really total dismantling, but then I come back down to the interpersonal and community level that my capacity can comprehend. And I really believe that it’s the interpersonal work we do on a regular basis that creates the foundation for larger change. It might not seem like “enough”, but I really do see fat liberation in a #fatvanity selfie, in wearing whatever the fuck we want in public, in advocating for ourselves with our doctors, in setting boundaries with those around us about weight loss and diet talk. Those we touch around us, whether we know about it or not, creates a ripple effect out towards their friends, loved ones, and communities, and so on. Who knows how far the reach of a single conversation could go!
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