Title (as given to the record by the creator): Fat Stuff
Date(s) of creation: 2006
Creator / author / publisher: Charlotte Cooper, students of the University of East London
Location: London, UK
Physical description: A one-sheet zine printed on both sides and folded in half twice, to make 4 pages that can then open out to show the large 5th page.
Reference #: CharlotteCooper-FatStuff
Source: Charlotte Cooper
Links: [ PDF for Printing ] [ PDF for screen viewing ]
Fat Stuff
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Start here.
We are students at the University of East London who think that being fat is about more than what you eat or don’t eat, what you do or don’t do. We believe:
- It’s okay to be fat
- Fat people are as valuable and as beautiful as anybody
- Fat is not necessarily unhealthy – and even if it is, it doesn’t really matter
- Trying to lose weight can really screw you up, dieting is a waste of time, and the health benefits of being thin are over-played
- Fat people are part of the fabric of humanity and found in every culture and every country, and not everybody feels the same way about fat either
- Fat people have been around forever, or at least 25,000 years, which is the age Austrian archeologists have attributed Venus of Willendorf, an icon shaped like a fat woman that they discovered in 1908
We want to challenge the current mythology that surrounds fat people, which is generally very negative. We’re angry about the pervasive cultural messages we come across every day about bodies, health and beauty, instead of swallowing this stuff we want to create a space where we can discuss the truth about what it is to be fat. Moreover, we acknowledge that there are connections between body image, sexuality, class, race and ability – all kinds of issues really. We think that fat is political as well as personal.
But mostly we are excited to see a fat and body-positive culture developing. We encourage everyone to get involved, to develop self-esteem, and to know our bodies as strong, powerful and resilient as we move through life.
Why we made this zine
We think that Student Wellbeing Services’ Obesity Awareness Week in March 2007 is kind of rubbish and that everyone deserves better than a patronising healthy eating event, or finger-wagging, shame, pity and guilt about getting or being fat.
We thought maybe people didn’t know that weight loss isn’t necessarily the healthiest option if you are fat and that there are many better alternatives to it – alternatives that Obesity Awareness Week are unlikely to present – so we decided to make a zine about that, which is what you are reading now.
You don’t have to be fat to read Fat Stuff, fear and anxiety about body weight affects just about everyone, whatever their size. We hope this zine will help you feel a bit better about yourself and get you thinking about different, maybe better, ways of being.
Just open up the page and enjoy!
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Instead of worrying about being or getting fat, why don’t you…
- Tell your friends that you love them whatever size they are
- Read a novel that features a fat protagonist and discuss it with someone you like
- Organise a demonstration against body size obsession
- Go play on the gymsforall equipment at Docklands
- Go dancing at Unskinny Bop with your mates
- Treat yourself with compassion
- Visit Greene Street and eat a delicious dosa
- Tell someone that you’re thinking about becoming a fat activist
- Stop waiting to live your life until you’re a size ___
- Learn to meditate
- Find out about the history of the fat liberation movement and tell someone about it
- Wear your favourite item of clothing
- Have a picnic in Epping Forest
- Have counselling if you think you might need it
- Organise a fat-friendly swim, a fat trampolining group, a fat rounders team or a fat burlesque troupe – or think about how you could make activities fun and accessible for all
- Borrow or hire a bike and go for a ride around the docks
- Snuggle under a duvet and watch a really stupid film
- Take an assertiveness class and learn how to challenge negative comments
- Have a stroll around Thames Barrier Park and a cup of tea in the pavilion – or play in the fountains on a hot day
- Take a moment to define what healthy means to you
- Tell us what you think of this zine: puppigrrl@hotmail.com
- Share a joke
- Or ________________ (fill in your own)
Resources
There are loads of great resources out there – if you know where to look. Useful search terms include “fat rights,” “size acceptance,” and “fat liberation.” But here are a bunch of links, books, and films and things to get you started.
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Online stuff for reading, doing, Ideas and fun
Big Fat Blog
News and comments in the world of the rotund
https://bigfatblog.com
The Chubsters
They’re mean, tough, aggressive and angry
www.chubstergang.com
Unskinny Bop
Fat-friendly nightclub with the best DJs in town
www.unskinnybop.co.uk
Charlotte Cooper’s Fat Pages
She’s fat and she’s proud
www.charlottecooper.net/docs/fat.htm
Fat Studies
Forum for this new academic discipline
https://groups.yahoo.com/groups/fatstudies
Fatshionista
Socially conscious fat fashion discussion list
https://community.livejournal.com/fatshionista
NOLOSE
US event for queer fat women and their allies
www.nolose.org
Size Queen and Fat Girl
Radical pro-chub zines from San Francisco
www.sizequeenzine.org
Susan Stinson
Awesome writer of great fat characters
www.susanstinson.net
The Fat Liberation Archives
Exactly what it says it is
https://largesse.net/Archives/index.html
The Gossip
Fat superstar Beth Ditto rules the school
www.gossipyouth.com
Naima Lowe
Film maker, activist, and all-around great gal
www.naimalowe.com
Council on Size and Weight Discrimination
Working for institutional change in the States
www.cswd.org
Fat is Contagious
Fun/inspiring essay about fat activism
https://tinyurl.com/35ag33
Junkfood Science
The truth about food, fat and health
https://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com
NAAFA
The biggest fat rights organisation in the world
www.naafa.org
Fat!So?
Legendary activist Marilynn Wann’s online home
www.fatso.com
Nomy Lamm
Artist, writer, zinester, musician and more
www.nommylamm.com
Body Image Bibliography
A good place to do some research
https://www.offourbacks.com/bodimbib.htm
Films featuring amazing fat characters who won’t insult your intelligence
Bagdad Café (1987) by Percy Adlon
Hairspray (1988) by John Waters
Heavy (1995) by James Mangold
Palindromes (2004) by Todd Solondz
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) by Lasse Hallström (there’s a copy of this in the library)
Dates for your diary
International No-Diet Day – 6 May
Love Your Body Day – 18 October
UEL Library
Although the uni library hosts the usual kind of stuff you’d expect on obesity, there’s not much from an alternative perspective, though you might like to check out:
Cooper, C. (1998) Fat & Proud: The Politics of Size London: The Women’s Press
Cooper sets out debates regarding fat lib based on research undertaken at this very university!
Schoenfielder, L. and Wieser, B. (1983) Shadow on a Tightrope: Writings by Women on Fat Oppression USA: Rotunda Press
Hugely influential anthology, slightly dated now, but still well worth a read
Health at Every Size
HAES hosts multi-perspective discussions about fat and health. An electronic version of this journal, 2004-present, is available in Academic Search Elite though the EBSCO database – ask a librarian for help if you’re not sure how to access it.
Don’t forget that you can always ask for inter-library loans of books, videos/DVDs and other resources that you come across.
