(((nataluna)))

diet culture is so fucking sad.

i once played the asking game with my mom when she was talking to me about her diet plans.

why are you dieting? because i've gained loads of weight recently. who cares? everyone does. i don't care. but i do. why? because i don't want to be fat. why don't you want to be fat? because it's embarrassing and i don't want to be an ugly pig. is being fat hurting you? not especially, but it's not nice for other people to look at.

at this point i looked at her and said "don't you think it's sad that you're spending your whole life putting these rules upon yourself, rules that naturally skinny people aren't expected to abide by, all for the effort of trying not to be fat?" and she looked back at me with suddenly wet eyes and said, with an amount of difficulty, that yes, it is sort of sad when you think about it.

she's been fat ever since i, her eldest child, was born. she was always super skinny in her youth, but pregnancy changed her body shape and her metabolism, and i only ever knew her as a very fat woman growing up. chances are, she will never be thin again. her lifestyle is no different to how it was before my existence; her body just works differently now. she sees it as a personal failure. she doesn't eat her favorite foods anymore, doesn't go out dating, doesn't make friends, doesn't go to events, doesn't allow anyone to buy her clothes for her birthday because she can't bear anyone knowing her size. she lives a lonely life, unwilling to do her favorite things. she elected for a gastric bypass surgery which, over the last few years, has introduced multiple complications that came very close to killing her, and yet she doesn't regret the surgery because it helped her lose a few pounds. she basically does not have a stomach anymore and she still believes her fatness is because she's been doing something wrong for the last 20something years.

diet culture is deadly not only because of the self-starvation and malnutrition but because it rips away pieces of your life that you're supposed to enjoy. relationships and sex are only for thin people, a glass of wine and some chocolate at the end of a difficult day is an indulgence only allowed to thin people, cute clothes are only for thin people, family photographs are only for the thin relatives, riding a bike on vacation with your kids is only for families with thin parents.

doesn't your soul ache? doesn't it hurt you to see people doing this to themselves, to inflict this on YOURself? you can do all of these things. your life can be lived fully and joyously and with love, but you distance yourself from the things that make you happy because you feel like you aren't good enough for them. it breaks my heart.

fatphobia is something oft inflicted upon people by others, but it comes from inside too. kill the part of you that thinks you aren't good enough. your body is perfect already, my love.

When people get terrified or outraged at the idea of “glorifying obesity”, I always wonder what it is they’re afraid is going to happen. 

Do they think that all the sudden people who were thin are going rush out to pack on the pounds, or that across the country school kids will be fixated on fat and compete amongst each other to see who can become the fattest, that it’ll show up on the 6 o’ clock news as the latest alarming trend in our nation’s youth?

I mean, do they think that if people see pictures of fat folks looking nice and smiling and being happy and not hating their bodies that everyone who was about to eat a salad is gonna toss it out in favor a cheeseburger (even the vegans!) and cancel their gym memberships?

Are they scared that a $20 billion dollar weight gain industry is gonna crop up and magazines are going to talk about “packing on those last fifteen pounds before summer”. Do they think suddenly there’s gonna be a flood of ads saying, “Gain belly fat using this one weird old tip” on people’s computer screens?

Do these people think positively presented fat bodies are so powerful and persuasive that it will convince thin people to utterly abandon thinness and dedicate themselves to getting as big as they can?

Or are they upset that people who were already fat will go around continuing to be fat without being punished for existing. Perhaps what they fear is that if we “glorify” obesity, that fat hate will make less and less sense to the world in general and that eventually, weight will become a neutral property. Thinness won’t be so valued that it can sustain industries, nor held as the perfect way to have a body but be seen as one among many valid body types. 

Maybe, even worse, all this glorification will lead to the idea that all bodies are valid and that bodies are never anything to be ashamed of or shame someone for.  

I wish this had been in comments and not tags:

#girl help i wish there was a $20b weight gain industry. maybe a doctor would take me being under weight seriously#← fucking sick of doctors thinking i’m healthy because i’m thin#pro tip: it’s the undiagnosed illness and gastroparesis

This matters. This here. Even if you’re not fat.

It’s important for us to realize that systemic oppression is not just about one group saying “help! help! we’re being oppressed”, it’s about some fundamental part of our society being thrown off by greed/power/hate that it warps logic.

We literally have a society where the paradigm that fat = sick = bad and thin = healthy = good that doctors, as these tags show, will let that guide their professional actions above what actual science and medicine would dictate they should do.

The same thing has been increasingly happening with diabetes type II. It’s known as a “fat” disease, so thin people who are displaying all kinds of symptoms don’t immediately get tested and fat people who are displaying no symptoms get tested even if there’s no reason.

We deserve care from doctors and professionals who listen to us and apply evidence based medicine. If you keep getting ones who don’t, try pushing back against fat hate. Even if you’re not fat.

Fighting fat hate is fighting the notion that people can be reduced down to one or two characteristics (size, race, gender, class, etc) and their care completely dictated by those characteristics rather than medical evidence and inherent respect. The more we do that, the better things get.

Yep! And there have been plenty of fat people who’ve died from cancer because they started losing weight quickly, and their doctor was like “Oh, keep up the good work! :)” and didn’t diagnose them until it was too late. So they died. Rapid weight loss is a sign of a lot of problems.

This is, I think, a thing people have trouble with. They think fatphobia is just “calling fat people mean names” or something.

And, like, you should also not do that, because it’s shitty and being cruel to people about their bodies is BAD, but it’s also frequently not what we’re talking about.

I care if my doctor can deny me medical treatment - or provide substandard medical treatment. I care if a fat person is paid less than a thin person doing the same job. I care if I, as a disabled person, can be denied paratransit services. (Actually a thing in my state! If your disability is “due to alcoholism, drug addiction, or obesity” they can refuse to provide paratransit services.  Which - in practice - just means if you’re disabled AND fat, they can decide it’s “due to obesity” regardless of what your disability actually is.)

I care about those godawful “Workplace Wellness” programs, where fat people end up paying more for their health insurance than someone with a “normal” BMI.*

*You’d think if you were actually concerned about “wellness”, and “We’re just worried about your health!”, they’d want to make sure that the people they view as “unhealthy” have access to medical care.  Of course, you’d also think that if they were, exercise equipment for heavier people would exist, or not be ridiculously expensive.  That’s because it’s not really about “health”, and never was.

It’s the difference between being denied housing or a job because you’re a member of [minority group], and some rando on the street calling you a slur.  They shouldn’t do that! They’re assholes! It’s shitty and upsetting! But it’s not the kind of structural oppression we’re talking about.

There are various chronic health problems that cause weight gain. There are also various TREATMENTS for chronic health problems that cause weight gain.  If your psych meds make you gain weight, but they keep you from killing yourself? The KEEPING YOU ALIVE is the important part.

Preview of my Disabled Cuties Series which will soon be available as both digital downloads and printed coloring book pages in my shop once I make it public so be on the lookout!! https://ogrefairy.com

[ID: a series of 10 images featuring linearts of disabled people with diverse bodies and disabilities, mostly in lingerie with their assisting devices looking confident and hot as themselves]

Body positivity and mental health for men, by Lena Dirscherl (BoPoLena on IG). More under the cut!

Keep reading

attempted Image Description: the images consist of various guys' bodies in a representative variety of masc/fem presentations, ethnic appearances, facial hair or not, body shapes, ages, skin-tones, top surgery scars or not, hairstyles, etc. the art style is friendly and pleasant to look at even when the characters are sad. the color schemes and backgrounds are a variety of natural and fantasy colors. the following texts are in the images, in large, friendly, varied hand lettering.

the body positivity movement needs to start moving hard into including disabled bodies and this is what I mean by that. yes, it was a good step forward to change the rhetoric from “your body is a good body if it meets these arbitrary aesthetic standards” to “your body is a good body because it completes these tasks for you” (ie: walking, eating, laughing, hugging, etc.) but that rhetoric is still not fully body positive, because it excludes bodies that do not do these things. the same as saying how we need to “focus on healthy bodies not skinny bodies” sounds good at first, but it completely misses the point that unhealthy bodies deserve to be appreciated too. disabled bodies are still beautiful and still fundamentally good, not because “your body is kind to you so you should be kind to your body”- because not everyone’s body is kind to them. but all bodies are still good bodies because they are what houses your soul. your body is what allows you to exist and live your life in whatever way you live it, and for that reason, it is a good and beautiful body. your body is what your loved ones see when they look at you and the love they feel for it as an extension of you makes it a good and beautiful body. your body doesn’t have to look a certain way or behave a certain way to be good. it is good just for being here.

You know what this isn’t exactly linked to Good Omens but I just had a conversation about skinny chara design and fatshaming with some others GO fans and I’ve decided I’m sharing here a few artists I follow who are about fat people and body diversity. Marie Boiseau - Illustration Laeti Marcelino - Illustration Flavie Eidel - Photographs And if you’re an artist and want to learn how to draw fat bodies, I’m recommending investing ten bucks in Fats & Skinfolds by Michel Lauricella. If you speak french, I also advise this little quick masterclass by Charlie Genmor (aka Annal Kiss) about how to make diverse character design. Don’t hesitate to add in your own recs of artists and ressources in response to this post!

Second part of Charlie’s masterclass (in case you can’t find it).

Just remembered today that I also follow the illustrator Loukoumh on IG. She doesn’t just draw fat bodies, but it’s one of her focus. Her style is very colorful ! I haven’t received any rec for new artist, illustrator, photographer or body positivity / fat positivity ressources to follow, but I’m always looking for more, so don’t hesitate to share !

Whaaat? Curvygirlsdolls.com is up! We got leggings, stickers, phone cases, prints and more! ❤ We also have a blog that we will be using to talk about body positivity, updates on our dolls and also guest writing and stories from you! (If interested in guest blogging check the website!) All funds from the merch shop to getting the dolls made!And patrons get 5% & 10% off coupon codes every month!

NON-BINARY MASTER POST (part 1)

This is a collection of all my body positive illustrations for non-binary folks I did in 2017. I hope, they help you! <3

You can find part 2 here: [LINK]

For more body positive artwork, please check out my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bopolena/

how to dress for your shape: are you human-shaped? play up your natural sex appeal by wearing whatever the fuck you want

Life Tip: As the weather gets warmer, continue to wear whatever the fuck you want. Flaunt everything or keep it cool under cover. Dress to make yourself feel rad.

how to get a bikini body: put a bikini on your body

Want to look great naked? Take all your clothes off.

I love how this post is both body positive and gender neutral.

You don’t have to love your body

I really needed to read this today. Thank you.

Potato girl has her life goals in order.

The real question is can snakes eat potatoes

I made a comic about every comment thread under any content involving a fat person existing. Ever. This counts as my inktober #1 because I spent way more time on it than I should have.

Never not reblog

I really love this.

Last night my girl took me to a store to get some new shirts because I have an interview on Tuesday for a management position. I usually hate clothes shopping. I am usually pretty confident in myself, but clothes shopping makes me feel like dog turds. But my girl found some really cute stuff, and even though about half of what we picked didn’t fit, the stuff that did was super adorable. And even the fitting room clerk was gushing with her about one of the shirts we picked. And it was the first time I felt good about clothes shopping in a long time. And the more I learn about the fundamentals of body/fat shaming and fatphobia, the more I am able to shake off those negative feelings about myself.

And that is why it is important to keep building each other up, instead of tearing each other down. My girl has done wonders for my self-confidence. Seeing body positivity is amazing. Love your bodies, darlings. Love them in all their imperfect perfection. You are beautiful.

When I say I want more fat acceptance I don’t mean I want to see more hourglass shaped, cellulite free white girls rocking 50s pinup style.

Give me fat people with different fat distribution. Give me fat people in bathing suits. Give me fat people with no sense of style. Give me fat people of color. Give me fat trans people and fat gender non-conforming people. Stop making one narrow body type of fat people the only ‘acceptable’ fat body. You’re all body acceptance or you’re not really body acceptance.

Huge thanks to @thenib for having me make this comic! If Tumblr’s resizing makes parts illegible, you can also read the nicer original version over on The Nib’s website: “Fatness, Femininity, and the Media We Deserve”

I love this comic SO MUCH. This person is my friend irl and she’s every bit as wonderful as she seems like she would be from this comic :D

fitspiration-messages vs actually-loving-messages by ronnie ritchie

THIS THIS THIS

11 Fearless Images That Push Us To Rethink What ‘Beautiful’ Means

“It is a campaign whose only selling point is self-love.”

Thank you @justinhubbell for this awesome summer body comic!!!!  What a great reminder.  <3 <3 <3

[source]

Challenge to writers: describe your characters (esp female ones) without ever describing their general attractiveness…none of: cute, sexy, beautiful/gorgeous/ugly, appealing, etc. Instead, describe their features, and let the audience/other characters (through their interactions) make their own judgments about those features. Aside from being meatier (show, don’t tell), this may help you avoid stereotyping features as “pretty/ugly”–different people are attracted to different things, so why should your characters be different, right? Explore attractiveness of a wide variety of features, explore attractiveness as an opinion that some characters have and some don’t, explore attractiveness as something that isn’t just a convention everyone agrees on 

Note: this is not a show-don’t-tell exercise. If you are still emphasizing their curves, long legs, or anything else that’s a traditionally sexualized descriptor/attractiveness meter, ur doin’ it wrong,