Sunday links, 10/4/14

Fa(t)shion
–7 ways to incorporate cute critters into your professional wear.
-Igigi’s new Avant Garden collection is gorgeous–I especially love the Taryn dress in Scarlet Dahlia.
–50 floral crown styles and ideas.
–The Rumpus reviews the new anthology Women In Clothes. It sounds great, and I really hope it includes fat women among its 642 contributors (although I’ve read multiple reviews and articles about the book and haven’t seen size mentioned anywhere, so I’m not going to get my hopes up too much).
–On plus size sewing.
–Nicolette Mason’s collection for ModCloth launches on Monday! I’m so excited, especially about that gorgeous pale pink coat.
–Lessons my closet taught me.
-I love collages that feature a celebrity wearing every color of the rainbow, and this one with Viola Davis is no exception.
-Kath reviews a retro made-to-order dress from RAUES.
-UGH to Karl Lagerfield’s faux feminism in trademark tweeds.
-Natalie rounds up super-cute ways to incorporate Halloween into your everyday style.

Fat Acceptance
–Can your work force you to lose weight or get fitter? This shit is so fucked-up, and it’s an important reminder that sizeism is a civil rights issue, not just an issue of body image.
–Dear Bill Maher, stop tying fatphobia to the liberal agenda! XO, Virgie.

This video made by Addition Elle, featuring Nicolette Mason and other plus size bloggers and models with their significant others, is so sweet. I want to acknowledge, though, that it could be hard to watch for people who are single and don’t want to be. On one hand, it shows that fat people deserve love and can have happy relationships; on the other hand, no matter what your size, sometimes it’s just painful to watch other people having what you want. If you love this video as much as I do, awesome; if you can’t watch it, I understand that too.

Climate and Sustainability
-Long-time activist Todd Gitlin says that the climate movement has reached critical mass.
-SO MUCH yes: What’s wrong with the radical critique of of the People’s Climate March.
–The largest climate march in history matters more than you think.
–No, economic growth and climate stability do not go hand-in-hand.
–“No climate justice without gender justice:” women at the forefront of the People’s Climate March.
–These front-line communities know what climate justice would mean–and they’re not seeing it at the UN.
-Good news: Chile becomes the first South American country to tax carbon.
–Photo essay: scenes from the heart at the #FloodWallStreet sit-in.

Sunday links, 7/6/14

Charlie, a tiny chocolate lab puppy I met last week (I know it’s not the best picture of him, but it was hard to get him to stay still!)

Fa(t)shion
-I am so excited for Nicolette Mason’s collaboration with ModCloth. How amazing is that pink coat, and the teal dress, and the pink polka dot dress, and the semi-sheer black tulle skirt…
-If you’re in Detroit, check out the Detroit Fatshion Exchange.
–What pastel hair means for women of color.

Fat Acceptance
-Exciting news: the Fat Activism Conference, organized by Ragen Chastain and Jeannette DePatie, will be taking place in August. It’s all online, so people from any location can attend. There’s an amazing lineup of speakers and topics, and even though I’m not usually into online conferences, I am super-psyched for this.
-I so wish I could have read this in high school: Why being over 300 pounds isn’t the end of the world.
-Check out the new Tumblr Trans Fatties Unite.
-Taylor writes about a workshop on fat-shaming and fat acceptance that she gave to girls at her summer camp (which, btw, sounds like an amazing camp–it focuses on empowering girls through economic and environmental justice).
-Trolls sometimes claim that Ragen starts wheezing after walking short distances or uses a mobility scooter. She responds, “So what if I do?”
–Fat and sparkling: a YES to the body.
-Virgie interviews TaMeicka Clear, a body-positive life coach.
-Carol Rossetti’s body-positive illustrations are amazing.
-Marilyn writes about the New York Times’ decision to publish responses to that ugly fat-shaming letter….which were full of more fat-shame, and completely lacking the fat-pos/HAES perspective. *sigh*

The video quality isn’t great, but I can’t not share fat women dancing to Janelle Monae’s “Q.U.E.E.N.”

Jobs and the Economy
–Who’s responsible for the moral compass of the new economy?
–For the new economy movement to succeed, it must be led by those for whom the mainstream economy has never worked.
–Mourn the fall of the mall.

Everything Else
-A photography exhibit explores what femme looks like.
–Going without water in Detroit.
-Kate Harding’s analysis of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions is spot-on. (And that’s all I’m going to post about the SCOTUS’ streak of suckiness, because ARGGHHH.)
–Penned in: letters reveal the lives of transgender women in prison.
–Border crossing is a verb.
-I agree so much with this way of looking at activism: The danger of fetishizing revolution.
–30 bisexual women discuss their long-term relationships with men.
–“Enjoy your houseful of cats”: on being an asexual woman.
–Stop analyzing your single friends.

Lily Allen’s new music video about online trolls is great (and how awesome is her outfit?)

Sunday links, 1/26/14

I love Jill Scott.

Fa(t)shion
–Re/Dress’ spring vintage lookbook is fabulous–and it includes their new masculine/butch styles.
-Despite all the hype, European brand Mango’s new plus size line doesn’t have many interesting styles, and has a fairly small size range.
-This year’s Big Thrifty will be on May 3rd, at a new, larger space in Malden.
-And for New York fatties, the Big Fat Flea will be May 4th.
–16 things teen girls wore in the winter of 1996, as told by the Delias*s catalog.

Fat Acceptance
-Caitlin Thornton interviews the always awesome Mary Lambert about body image, makeup, and fashion.
–Fat and bad knees.
-So much yes to Marilyn Wann’s rant about people who claim to be fat-positive but brag about their weight loss.
-Why it’s important to focus on children’s health, not their weight.
–Things that are still a diet.
–The tyranny of “the normal”: why the BMI is and has always been a hot ton of oppressive bullshit.

Climate and Sustainability
–“We can’t trust capitalism to fix this” global warming mess.
-A conversation with George Monbiot about the great rewilding.
–Why, not what: the heart of climate activism.
–Solar wins: how sunshine will save the planet (really!)

A beautiful short film about reclaiming our energy and economy from fossil fuel companies:

Our Power Film // Black Mesa Water Coalition from Our Power on Vimeo.

Everything Else
-Nicolette Mason is the best. After Jezebel’s ridiculous stunt of offering $10K for unretouched pictures of Lena Dunham, Nicolette decided to raise the same amount of money for women’s empowerment instead.
–Food gentrification and the culinary rebranding of traditional foods.
-If you can, donate to Youngist, which publishes the voices and stories of millenials (and, unlike many outlets, actually pays its authors).
-I like this daring new approach to fighting for a fairer economy.
–“Nobody knows my life but me”: an elegy for Dr. V.
–Afterthoughts and aftershocks: why a dozen different editors failed Dr. V.
-Sarah Kendzior writes brilliantly about the cruelty of the mainstream media (but unfortunately uses some ableist language to do so).
–Reimagining freedom: one student’s take on the Zaptatistas’ Escualita.
–Remember that famous about obedience to authority? Here’s how Stanley Milgram got it all wrong.
-Sick of Dan Savage’s asshattery, and want some better advice about sex and relationships? Check out Cardinal Rules.
-Suey Park writes about the importance of community in activism. I love these beautiful words she quotes from Jeff Yang: “These threads won’t weave themselves, nor will these chains break of their own accord, and unless we join hands and swim together, unless we become each others’ sidekicks, the river of memory will sweep us away. “

Friday Links, 9/6/13

Muriel Landers (source: Fuck Yeah Historical Fat Ladies)

Whew, am I glad it’s Friday.

Climate and Sustainability
–A great interview with Naomi Klein on grassroots climate activism and the problem with many big green groups.
-If you want to see more pictures from the Energy Exodus, check out this Flickr set.
-Have I mentioned lately that I love David Roberts? Well, I’m going to say it again.  His top 20.5 parting insights on climate change, written before he started a year-long sabbatical, are brilliant.
-An important reminder about the history of the Brayton Point coal plant, which stands near the site where Native Americans were massacred in 1676.
-I love the #PowerShiftJourneys profiles of young leaders.
–The NYT has a great profile of Mosaic, the solar energy investing site.
–We should add climate change to the civil rights agenda.
–Solidarity in diversity is key to powering up the climate movement.
-Sandra Steingraber writes about her experience spending 15 days in jail after a civil disobedience action.
-Bill McKibben writes about the necessity of a leaderless, decentralized but connected climate movement.

One thing I never get tired of watching: fabulous fat bellydancers.

Fa(t)shion
-The Advanced Style coloring book is now out! Whooo!
-This comic about fashion tips from nature is great.
-I’m so jealous of Nicolette Mason, who got to visit Tarina Tarantino’s sparkle factory!
-Also of Haley and Amanda, who got a sneak preview of the new Re/Dress store that’s opening in Cleveland.
-I just found out that there’s a Canadian plus size clothing company called Laura. It must be named after me, right? 😉
-This bride’s pink ombre tutu is amazeballs.

Friday Links, 11/23/12

FA
-The Fat Nutritionist has a lovely post of advice on dealing with the holidays.
–It’s not because I’m fat.
–This New Moon article about food and eating is amazing. I hope it reaches many, many girls.
–The end of fat people: goodbye, Hostess.
-Lesley writes movingly about her preteen eating disordered years.
-A lovely piece–complete with adorable baby pictures!– by a mother who found that she could no longer hate her chin once she saw the same feature on her daughter.

Fa(t)shion
–A new study shows that, despite the growing number of fatshion bloggers, mainstream companies have not responded by making more plus-size clothes. Although that’s disappointing, I agree with Nicolette Mason’s quote in the article. She says that the independent plus-size marketplace is thriving, and gives many examples of indie plus-size lines. Also, how cool is it that there’s a study called “Frustrated Fatshionistas: An Institutional Theory Perspective on Consumer Quests for Greater Choice in Mainstream Markets?”
-Threadless’ TARDamask shirt is back in stock! They only have a few sizes available (and unfortunately no Men’s 2XL, which should fit me according to the size chart), but if you wear one of those sizes, check it out.
–These costumes are amazing.
-Who knew that Land’s End made some nice plus size clothing, including this lovely sequined skirt?
–The real cost of your clothing.
–Smart internet shopping for style lovers.
-This plus size Australian clothing swap sounds like so much fun!

Other
–Tuesday was Transgender Day of Remembrance, which should be a day of action for cisgender people.
-Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Labor under Clinton, is working on a film about inequality in the US. He’s amazing–I took a class with him in college, and he’s probably the best lecturer I’ve ever heard. He can make any concept understandable and fascinating, and he’s got a great sense of humor. The inequality in our society right now is a huge, huge issue, and I’m glad he’s trying to bring it to light. I highly recommend donating to his Kickstarter, or at least passing on the word.
-A must-read from Dahlia Lithwick: I didn’t come back to Jerusalem to be in a war.
–Cliff mocks the latest issue of Cosmo, which is as ridiculous as usual.
-A beautiful story by an adopted transwoman whose Korean birth mother gave her the courage to transition.
-A great comic from The Oatmeal about creating things for a living.

Friday links, 10/19/12

Yup, I have a ball pit.

–Meet Alexis Wiseman, who might just become the first autistic Miss America.
-A great write-up of Cheryl Strayed’s Dear Sugar column in the New Yorker.
–When I loved Reagan: heartfelt reflections on an embarrassing video from the author’s teenage years, and on the ways that girls are raised.
–Yes, there are fat women getting Hollywood roles…but we still treat them like crap.
-How going out in the world while fat can be an act of rebellion.
–I showed my son a video of two men getting married and he didn’t even realize anything unusual was happening – a sweet story, and the wedding video is beautiful. What an adorable couple! I’m so glad that many kids today are being raised with gay marriage as a completely normal thing.

This is an old pic, but fun–from a food festival in Union Square a few years ago