Smashing stereotypes about fat bodies, Nothing to Lose is the critically acclaimed dance production by Force Majeure that opens at Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre next week after a sold out premiere season at the Sydney Festival. Artistic Director of Force Majeure, Kate Champion says: ‘My interest in working with bigger bodied, fat dancers has been in…
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I just read Suzanne Rofe’s piece on negotiating life as a “hefty lass”. I understand everything she had to say. But I am sad that I do. I was once with a friend and we were indulging ourselves by watching the trite rom com about death, Moonlight and Valentino (featuring Jon Bon Jovi). A character…
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When I was a kid, my little sister and I would kill time by making videos. Amongst re-makes of Titanic and Twilight, one of our favourite videos to make was a mock, weight-loss reality T.V. show. This entailed me shoving pillows up my sweater and stomping around in front of a camera. I’d rub chocolate…
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I have been writing for Lip since 2009. When I first started writing, fat acceptance was only a fledging concept in my mind – I had a rough idea of what it was, mostly through livejournal communities such as fatshionista and I had a rough concept of what exactly “fatshion” was as well. It’s no…
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It’s no secret I indulge and sometimes (OK, mostly) enjoy conspicuous consumption. I think fat women in particular have been denied the right to enjoy fashion and consume it the way that straight sized women have been able to (or, I suppose, the way that well-off women, who would likely to be able to afford…
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This morning, a perfume I’ve wanted for years, but was never able to get for various reasons (sold out, unavailable, prohibitive cost and not enough money at the time) arrived, along with a bunch of free samples. I was so excited it was like Christmas had already come for me. Which was convenient, because it…
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Last Thursday night was the Fat Stories launch at the Brisbane Powerhouse. It is a free exhibition being held in the Visy Theatre foyer and runs until November 5th. I had just arrived back from Melbourne that afternoon and was in a bit of a fluster trying to work out what to wear to the…
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Do you ever worry about how your body and/or body parts are perceived by society? Attention: People With Body Parts is a new international project that aims to address the issues of body image – to encourage us to celebrate our body parts and their connections to ourselves and to others. ‘Our bodies are filled…
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‘Are you still interested in the job?’ ‘No.’ ‘Do you still want to come out?’ ‘No.’ ‘Are you going to buy that?’ ‘No.’ Later on: WHY DID I SAY NO? If self-sabotage were a job, I’d be the CEO of the company. I can’t remember when I first became aware that I have a tendency…
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I’ve spoken before about how correlation does not equal causation. There are often links between obesity and diseases and illnesses, that’s true. I don’t deny that at all. But for some health problems, I don’t believe that obesity can cause the illness or disease, particularly when it is one that average to slim people also…
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Real women have curves: the unfortunate slogan of the backlash to a media dominated by stick-thin girls with flawless skin and either disproportionate or no curves. To a fashion industry creating ideals that are near impossible for women to live up to, without sacrificing their health. What was once a stance against heavy Photoshopping and…
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I’ve mentioned before that I don’t read print magazines much anymore. Nowadays, I will usually only read if I’m bored, or if I’m at the airport and need to kill time. There’s too much in “women’s” magazines that raise my blood pressure and I like to keep it low. Caffeine addiction already does the damage,…
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There are lots of fashion labels and companies that have savvy fashion marketing and do it well. Domino Dollhouse, an independent American plus size brand is one such company I can think of. Autograph, an Australian brand, does a relatively decent job too. Then, there are the companies that make you think, at best, that…
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This morning, I was reluctantly watching Sunrise (I know, I know) when, what I assume is a regular rotating panel of women came on to discuss the current issues. One of today’s current issues was: Australian retailer, Witchery, is now introducing a size sixteen to their range. The women were asked what they thought of…
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