The Fat Lip

In our culture, fat people are expected to be making every effort to become un-fat. Every day we must be proving that we’re trying our hardest to lose weight in order to make sense to the rest of society, and as long as we continue to prove our efforts and talk about our healthy decisions we get a pass.

My friend Alison Zwecker joins me as co-host for the day, and we’re talking about social inclusion and the “good fatty.”

So “good fatty” is a concept that refers to a fat person who is deemed exempt from social exclusion based on how they handle or react to their fat. There are several different types of fat person who are generally considered “good” in our culture, and fat activist Stacy Bias outlines these types thoughtfully and beautifully on her blog (http://stacybias.net/2014/06/12-good-fatty-archetypes/). It’s a huge concept and way more than we could take on in one 30 minute show, so we’ve chosen to focus on the good fatty archetype that we encounter most frequently: the work-in-progress.

A work-in-progress fatty is one who is fat but who is doing everything in their power to become un-fat. This good fatty is on the swirling ride of diet culture without even knowing it and without knowing that they can choose to get off. They have been dieting their whole life and they know that part of the deal they have made with society is that they must announce their desire and intention to lose weight in return for its approval.

In this episode, Alison and I talk about the tornado of diet culture, the good fatties who are trapped inside, and what we can all do to keep the vortex at bay in our own lives.

The music in this episode is Talking With You by Artificial.Music and is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

“Fat” is a loaded word in our culture, and it can take years to unpack the feelings and shame this tiny little word can create in a person. But “fat” is also bold and powerful. That’s why it’s so integral to the name of this show, and that’s why embracing it can change your life for the better. Today we’re talking about the word “fat” and I’m excited to welcome Virgie Tovar, celebrated fat activist, editor of the acclaimed anthology Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love, and Fashion, creator of the body positive hashtag #LoseHateNotWeight, and designer and host of Babecamp, a course on body image, self love, and breaking up with diet culture.

 

The music in this episode is Talking With You by Artificial.Music and is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Welcome to The Fat Lip! We’re calling this Episode 0.1 because it’s not a full length episode but just a quick introduction to the show and to what you can expect going forward. Take a listen and let us know what you think!

A transcript of this or any episode of The Fat Lip is available upon request.

The music in this episode is Don’t_Stop by Mr. Logistix (buukwerm) and is licensed under a Creative Commons License.