They almost got me. I started noticing something that disturbed me about the way people were interacting online last spring. Now, to be clear, people have been shitty to each other online since time immemorial. And around the time of the 2016 Presidential election, that online shittiness reached a fever pitch that has extended into … Continue reading Pay No Attention to the Mob Behind the Curtain: On Cancel Culture
Updated, May 2021: I wrote this piece in 2019 and it was long overdue for an update. I’ve removed the “White Fragility” framework because WOW that did not age well, and I should never have used it. I know better now, and I'm sorry. I updated the definition of “deathfat” and credited author and fat … Continue reading Fategories – Understanding the Fat Spectrum
Earlier this week, Lena Dunham released her small collection for a plus-size brand I had never heard of called 11 Honoré. https://www.instagram.com/p/CM5DvNWLnI7/ The collection was 5 pieces, which included a skirt with a scalloped hem, a matching blazer, an oversized yellow shirt, a dress with a handkerchief hem, and a white tank top. Definitely not … Continue reading About Lena Dunham’s Fashion Line
"Oh boy, how much do you weigh?" His name was Dr. Pfeffer. My discharge papers from the emergency room told me to make an appointment with him. I had a large obstructive kidney stone that wasn't going anywhere on its own. I get them sometimes, usually they pass with little fanfare. This one (1.1cm) had … Continue reading A Plea
One of my favorite ways to get to know someone is to find out what their weirdest, most out-of-the-blue, most inane trigger for Big Anger is. My husband's is chicken and waffles; he finds the combination of a sweet breakfast item with a savory non-breakfast item simply unbearable and there mere sight of chicken and … Continue reading The Minnesota Starvation Experiment, Ancel Keys & Why Science Won’t Save Us
Sometimes a book, movie, or piece of art enters the public consciousness to such a degree that you feel like you know what it's all about, even if you haven't actually read it or seen it. I had this experience when I visited The Art Institute of Chicago for the first time last summer. It … Continue reading Book Review: Fearing the Black Body – The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings
I'm a big Star Wars fan. And one of my favorite arcs in the whole franchise is from "The Last Jedi." (Yeah, I like the new trilogy, die mad about it, haters.) Luke Skywalker, Jedi of myth and legend, is talking to Rey. Rey is a young girl from nowhere, daughter of no one, she … Continue reading Moving Rocks: On Burning Health at Every Size to the Ground
I used to work for this nonprofit organization. We were a big org that was focused on animal welfare. Like many organizations in this field, our office was blindingly white. There were probably less than 5 non-white people who roamed our labyrinthine hallways, and any given white staffer could easily rattle off their names. In … Continue reading Activism and Obedience
When I ditched diet culture and started practicing Intuitive Eating (IE) a few years ago, I would have guessed that my biggest challenge would come in the form of a dessert buffet or magnificent, bottomless bowl of pasta. Little did I know that "honoring my fullness" with a plate of cacio e pepe made of my hopes … Continue reading Eating Intuitively While Working Remotely
Did you know that you can declined to be weighed at the doctor's office?! YES, I KNOW. The internet has been telling me for years at this point. I hear it all the time: in shareable graphics, in posts from others either fretting about declining to be weighed or triumphantly describing declining to be weighed … Continue reading Unbearable Weight: Why I Don’t Decline Being Weighed at the Doctor’s Office
Fluffy Kitten Party 