On a related note to my last post, here a few fatshion blogs I’ve discovered recently. I realized that I haven’t updated my blogroll in a while, and I need to do that–and I’m thinking about making a links page instead so it doesn’t clutter up the front of my blog.
In the meantime, check out these blogs:
These Girls Turn Heads
Culture Shocked
Arched Eyebrow
Chubby Guy Swag
Musings of a Curvy Lady
The Busty Traveler
Skittlis Fashion
A little while ago, I wrote about where we’re going as an online fat community–especially the troublesome-ness of having a lot of important FA discussions in a non-FA space, XOJane.
Lesley and Marianne have been on fire over there. You only have to look at my Friday links posts to see how much amazing writing comes out of that site, week after week. (There’s also some shitty writing, but obviously I’m not linking to it.) And there’s a great community in the comments, as long as you avoid certain posts.
But then Jane posts something like this. And just ew, ew, ewwww. Asking people to click on the site so that the writers can get bonuses feels so wrong and squicky and manipulative. What the hell kind of business model is that?
This is one of the many reasons why I feel torn about reading great writing on a site that, at its core, is about profit. I’m not going to stop reading Marianne, Lesley, s.e., Somer, Kate Conway, or any of the other authors I really like, but I do have issues with the kind of stuff that get done in the name of profit–from things that are merely gross like Jane begging for clicks, to things that are really awful and harmful like promoting Hugo Schwyzer, or cross-posting rape apologism from the Good Men Project. (No, I’m not going to link to either debacle. You can Google if you really want to know more.)
In other words, blargh. I have mixed feelings about XOJane.
But there have been a bunch of promising developments in the fat-o-sphere.
Issa from Love Live Grow is working on a site called Glorify, which will be a basecamp for the fat acceptance web. It’s going to have resources, message boards, a blog, and much more–and I’m going to be writing over there! It’s going to launch on February 14th, so stay tuned, and make sure sign up for the email list.
Also, Redefining Body Image has added a bunch of moderators, and they’ve been posting great stuff. They briefly had Facebook comments, which then disappeared, but I’m hoping they’ll add Disqus or some other way for non-Tumblr-ites to comment soon. There’s definitely a lot of fat acceptance happening on Tumblr, and it’s worth checking out even if you, like me, don’t have an account.
Another blog to keep an eye on is the Nearsighted Owl. Rachele has been posting amazing parodies of weight-loss ads called Shame-Less Ads, and all sorts of other goodness.
There’s been such an explosion of fat activism and fatshion all over the internet lately, and it’s awesome. I miss having a centralized place like Shapely Prose, and I feel kind of queasy about XOJane, but I’m glad to discover new blogs every day.
This is pretty much the winterized version of this outfit: just add leggings and a blazer.
Top and blazer: Deb, skirt: Kohl’s, leggings: American Apparel, shoes: Naot, tiny hat and earrings and pearls: So Good, bangles: Torrid
I love this floral top.
Pink + black + sequins = awesome.
Watkins Glen State Park, New York. Taken on a family vacation in 2006.
Two things I’ve been thinking and reading* a lot about lately are climate change–and how we can mitigate this already-occurring disaster by developing more sustainable ways to live–and travel. I’m having trouble reconciling my feelings about them.
On the personal level, my brightest-burning desire right now is to see the world. I’ve been outside the Northeastern US only a few times in my life, and I really want to see more of both my own country and other countries. I love New England–in fact, I’m pretty sure my veins run with maple syrup–and I know I want to settle down here eventually. This is my home, my community. The land I feel in my bones. I know that’s a gift: to be so connected to a place in this age of disconnection and displacement.
But I know I can’t settle down without experiencing at least a few of the natural beauties, and the cultures, of other places. I’m still working out the practicalities, but it’s definitely something I want to do.
And yet. I know that traveling, especially by airplane, has a huge carbon footprint.**
There’s just no way that regular international or even intra-national travel is sustainable–even at current levels, let alone if everyone in the US started doing it.
After getting way too excited in Deb–and acquiring some great work-appropriate basics, including a super-comfy black blazer–I discovered that the mall also contained a Torrid store!
I’ve been buying clothing online from Torrid for years, but had never made it to a real-life store. And although their clothing is much less exciting than it used to be–less goth/punk/alternative, more expensive, lower quality–they still have some stuff I like. Just walking into any non-Lane Bryant plus size store is a little too exciting.
Hell yeah Hello Kitty!
My experience with clothing stores in NYC may have been unfortunate, but I had a much better time at a mall in Connecticut, where we were visiting Steve’s parents on the way down. Steve and I are both from CT, but from different areas, so this was a mall I’d never been to before.
This mall contained not only Lane Bryant (which we don’t even have anymore in Boston), but Torrid and Deb!
PROM DRESSES IN MY SIZE HOLY CRAP.
When I walked into Deb, it was so exciting I almost wanted to cry. Here was a store full of trendy, colorful, fun–if cheaply-made–clothing, and I could actually try on half of it!
I loved the twirliness of this one. It would be perfect for contra prom!
This makes me so happy. (source: Living ~400 lbs.)
Lots and lots of links this week. For whatever reason, the internet has been unusually full of interesting. Enjoy!
Fa(t)shion
–5x DIY plus size Edwardian or steampunk costumes.
-I just came across the Etsy shop Youniquely Chic, which has gorgeous–and indeed unique–steampunk and industrial jewelry.
-Check out the DAMN GIRL THAT STYLE IS FAT! zine.
–What fashion’s “ethnic” prints are really called.
–My history with a headscarf.
-I like this Etsy treasury of galaxy-print things.
–Statement necklaces are the best.
–Geeky tees for Valentine’s Day!
-Betty Le Bonbon has an amazing collection of plus size retro clothing.
-If you’re in Cleveland, Ohio, you can shop Rachel Kacenjar’s closet. She has deeply discounted clothing mostly in sizes 12-24, and it all sounds fabulous–I wish I could teleport there!
–Feminist fashion frustration of the day.
-This crystallized prosthetic leg is gorgeous.
-So, I know this post isn’t actually about Kat’s tutu, but…PINK OMBRE TUTU. WANT.
–Stop commenting on my chipped nails.
-The new issue of Skorch Magazine is out!
-A woman at Arisia, a sci-fi convention here in Boston, made an amazing TARDIS dress. (Small world story: one of my coworkers is friends with her, and the coworker’s husband helped her paint the dress!) Unfortunately, some people have been insulting her size, which is idiotic and disappointing. She rocks, so much.
Fat Activism
–Falsely filling in the story: on the bullshit of assuming that a fictitious fat, disabled woman must have “brought it on herself.”
-If you’re in Brisbane, join other fabulous fatties for a Chunky Dunk swimming party!
-Also in Australia (Newtown) is the world premiere of a documentary about a fat femme synchronized swimming team.
-Huzzah for fat burlesque!
-Also huzzah for fat pole-dancing. That shit requires amazing upper-body and core strength. I’ve tried aerial acrobatics, which is similar, a few times–it’s really hard.
-And, even more awesome fat dancing!
-Lesley Kinzel answers the question, How can I stop believing my life will be better if I lose weight?
–The HAES files: from dieter to diet survivor.
-Reflections on Lena Dunham’s “thin for Detroit” remark.
-This story of a girl who almost died due to medical fat-phobia is terrifying. Just terrifying.
–Looking the part.
A store window display in New York
While poking around Tumblr (which I am getting more and more tempted to join, although the last thing I need is another way to waste time online!), I found this critique of fatshion:
Fashion is a (too) large part of fat activism and I can understand its allure but basically as I see it fatshion doesn’t mean shit against the actual issue of CLOTHING for larger/deathfats, medical access, spacing access, race, class and other intersecting oppressions.
I mean who is buying all that expensive ASOS poorly made clothing? Not anyone over an AUS size limit of 26. Maybe poor women like me drive themselves broke to have what we’re taught acceptably pretty acceptably fat women should have. Maybe middle class or wealth privileged smaller fats.
And also we talk about fatshion at the expense of talking about the complex ways clothing is used as social markers and about the way clothing can be used to visually construct identity.
The Sugar Monster added her perspective as another fat woman who feels alienated from fatshion.
I feel….well, pretty much the same way as Lisa Monster:
This is really important, and I really would like to be able to add to it. I definitely feel that finding the “fatshion” community was so important to me in my self acceptance, and I think right now I’m stuck between that place and being able to join the dialogue about the real issues for fat people, and I hope that it doesn’t seem hypocritical of me to be agreeing with all of this and still posting and reblogging all of the pretty clothes. I’m still trying to find my voice right now, but I really want to thank everyone who has spoken out in the past and who is speaking out now about the issues that exist within this community.
Fatshion has been a huge (no pun intended) part of fat liberation for me. And I’ve been into playing dress-up–ahem, I mean fashion–ever since I was a little kid. It’s a form of creative expression for me, and it’s not something I can or want to give up. But I also think it’s important to recognize that fatshion doesn’t do it for a lot of fat people, for a lot of reasons. That there are many other paths to liberation. That fatshion, perhaps unfairly, takes up a lot of space in the fat acceptance movement–especially online.
Tutus And Tiny Hats 