Clarkisha Kent (she/her) is a culture critic and bringer of chaos. Her new book, “Fat Off, Fat On: A Big Bitch Manifesto,” was published this year, and Clarkisha is here to talk about it, along with a foray into the connections between purity culture and fatness and how we can use The Kelli & Kat Test to determine whether a piece of media has provided the audience with thoughtful representation of fat [Black] women and/or non-men.

Clarkisha Kent is a Nigerian American writer, culture critic, former columnist, and author of “Fat Off, Fat On: A Big Bitch Manifesto.” Committed to telling inclusive stories via unique viewpoints from nigh-infancy, she is fascinated with using storytelling and cultural criticism not as a way to “overcome” or “transcend” her unique identities (as a FAT, bisexual, and disabled Black African woman), but as a way to explore them, celebrate them, affirm them, and most importantly, normalize them and make the world safe enough for people who share them to exist.

Please connect with Clarkisha on her website and IG. The Kelli & Kat Test.

Also mentioned are the books “Fearing the Black Body” and “Belly of the Beast.”

This episode’s poem is by Ha Jin and is called “A Center.”

Bonus content with Clarkisha through Apple Podcast Subscriptions and on Patreon.

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Our thanks to AR Media and Emily MacInnis for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.