I was the fat kid. The token ‘Fatty Boomba’ at primary school. I relished tucking into a meal more than an excavation of the sandpit. I avoided the monkey bars because lifting my weight was a struggle. I was always the first chosen for trivia, yet the last for a game of kickball. Although aesthetically,…
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I love Tumblr for many reasons. It has opened me up to new worlds, educated me on concepts I previously had difficulty understanding or not even thought about at all, and introduced me to many new friends. But, like every form of social media, it can have its dark side. I’m mostly in my little…
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Women face a lot of pressure, from themselves, from friends, from family, even from outside sources. And none seems more harsh and critical than when a woman is pregnant. Recently, a friend who just became pregnant went to her in-laws with her husband and the first thing the mother-in-law said to her? “Wow, you’re fat!”…
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Today my father told me he wanted to walk to our local café for coffee. We’ve both been walking a lot more recently because my parents have downsized to one car and, as my mum is still working, she has the car the vast majority of the time. I thought it would take the both…
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My mother went to the doctor once when she had a really bad headache. The first thing he said to her, brusquely, was “You need to lose weight. You’re too large. You’re going to die.” She told me later she was so shocked at the statement that she doesn’t even remember what he prescribed for…
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Bingo wings, tuckshop lady, truck drivers. Fat arms. I can remember the first time I was made aware that apparently fat chicks should cover up their arms. It was in the last year of primary school and the women who worked at the tuckshop had the unfortunate aforementioned nicknames, usually with ‘arms’ added on to…
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Australian comedian, Wendy Harmer has been approached (more than once) by diet giant Jenny Craig to star in their campaigns. This made her embarrassed and not a little offended. What made her feel even worse though, was the news that a Jenny Craig representative was invited (as part of a group of other invitees) to…
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The other day I was browsing Tumblr when I noticed a gif from a movie that had been re-blogged by a friend of mine. The gif was from The Sitter and included the star, Jonah Hill, and the woman playing his girlfriend (or, really, the woman he wants to be his girlfriend), Ari Gaynor. The…
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As a movement, and speaking in very general terms, feminism has been guilty of marginalising the voices of other people. While it has been rejected on ignorant grounds which rely on stereotypes (feminists are hairy, scary people who hate men and burn undergarments), it has also been quite fairly rejected on the grounds that it…
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I helped set up and attended the first ever Brisbane Fatty Clothing swap the other week. After some hassle of figuring out how to transport three very large garbage bags full of clothing (and the bags had rips all over them, from my kitten – a fact I didn’t realise until I’d gotten out of…
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Next week, Brisbane is hosting its first ever Fatty Clothing Swap. It is on Saturday, the 10th of March at 12 pm – 3 pm at the Graduate Centre Function Room, Griffith University, 226 Grey Street, South Bank, QLD. Here is the Facebook event page. Clothing must be either gently worn or new with tags,…
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I have always been what is derisively referred to as a “bleeding heart”. I’m not a sucker for a sob story, but people being treated poorly is one of my trigger points. I may have spoken before about a project I’ve become involved with — a friend of mine is doing a study and a…
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February is a big month in fatshion and Tumblr land. It’s the start of Fatshion February. I believe this is the second year it has run and last year was a huge success. It’s exactly what it sounds like – showing off your fatshion in February. Last year I was too late to the tumblr…
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Recently I read Lesley Kinzel’s article over at XoJane magazine – What’s wrong with fat shaming. I related to most of the points and instances she brought up, but one in particular stood out to me. 4. I am out dancing at a club with friends. I notice a small group of guys at the…
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