Fat Activism: What Works

All it takes to change the world, according to anthropologist Margaret Mead, is a small group of dedicated individuals. Nevertheless, it can't hurt to add a few specific techniques to the formula so that we don't keep reinventing the wheel.

1. Define your goals, identify your audience, and recognize your own style.
How do you want to change the world? In depth, one person at a time, or more generally, to the masses? Through irrefutable logic, or by appealing to their deep feelings? Think about what made you an empowered fat person, and what made you an activist.

2. Identify your enemies, your allies, and the neutral/apathetic/ignorant/undecideds
Examples of enemies: the diet industry, fashion industry, TV, movies, advertising, drug companies, doctors, fat bigots, cruel parents, bullies, stand-up comedians etc., etc., etc.

Examples of allies: size acceptance organizations and their members; liberated fat people; enlightened thin people (thin allies); eating disorders organizations and recovering anorexics/ bulimic// disordered eaters; anti-dieting workshop leaders and their clients; the media that's looking for a good controversial story.

Examples of neutrals: those who never heard of fat liberation, fat people who have not yet overcome the effects of the propaganda, thin people who don't realize it's a problem, well-meaning family and friends of fat people who "only care about their health."

3. Tailor your literature/presentation/style to the individual or group.
What do people need, what do they fear, what are they asking for? Examples:

• Council's "Stop! Diets don't work" bookmark: a general introduction, for people who might pick up a diet book (i.e. readers interested in self-improvement), it responds to common fears of giving up dieting, and provides concise resources for further information.
• Top Ten Reasons To Give Up Dieting-written for Sassy magazine. Audience: teenage girls. Simpler language, addresses their needs (to be popular, loved, attractive) and fears (fear of being boring, of being obsessed, and only secondarily of being unhealthy).
• INDD packet: something for everyone. Resource list is important, but the most popular item this year was the poster "People Come in All Shapes and Sizes" (Words by Miriam, graphic concept and design by Summer).

4. Make the information accessible. Use basic principles of good graphic presentation:

• If you want it to be read, it must be readable, easy on the eyes, and not too wordy.
• If you want it to be widely disseminated, it must be copyable (i.e. on white, 8-1/2" X11" paper, one page only, with copying permission).
• Use lots of white space, large type, few words.
• Only dedicated activists will read pages of text with esoteric terminology printed in minuscule fonts with negligible margins and narrow leading. Don't expect that of the general public.
• Editing yourself down to the core meaning is an essential skill for activists.

5. Keep in touch with your audience.
Build a mailing list and collect names for it wherever you go. Send out something, even if just a bulk-rate post card, at least every 6 months, to keep up with changes of address. Always put "Return Service Requested" near the return address so that the Post Office will send you corrected addresses.

6. Be prepared to answer questions
When you put yourself out as a fat activist, people want to know more. Some will be curious, interested, and some critical. As with written materials, keep your words short and to the point. Listen to where the person is coming from. Sometimes it is a waste of time to try to change a bigot's mind. If the person is merely curious, give them an overview of the movement. If the person is truly interested, give them what they need: tell your story, ask for their story, and address their fears and needs.

7. Learn all techniques; concentrate on your strengths
An activist must be able to do interviews (radio, TV, and print media), write articles (of a specific length!), make presentations (to any number, on any related topic), remember and cite facts and statistics (and their sources), design and publish literature (of all kinds), use and maintain a mailing list, all while living a full life as an visible, empowered, fat role model. Do what you do best, and delegate the rest.

8. Be a resource
Information and referral is an essential job for an activist. Know what's available. Send people to the organizations or individuals who can help them. Publish everything. Don't hold back your best ideas for that book you hope to write. Fat liberation is still seen as a fringe movement. Our job is to get the word out wherever and whenever we can.

 

© 1997 Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, Inc., P.O. Box 305, Mt. Marion, NY 12456, (845) 679-1209, email <info@cswd.org>. The Council is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization working to end fat oppression. Projects are financed completely by private donations. All contributions are fully tax-deductible, and gratefully accepted.

For permission to reproduce, contact the Council, or email Miriam Berg at <Miriam@cswd.org>.

Dealing With the Media

Reporters will sometimes ask difficult, leading, even insulting questions. Here are some basic principles for dealing with reporters and interviewers (TV, radio, print media).

1. Memorize a few sound bytes and say them with feeling.

2. Stick to arguments most people will agree with.

3. Tell stories about yourself or people you know (make them up if necessary).

4. Talk about your agenda, not necessarily that of the interviewer.

Examples of how to answer difficult questions (sound bytes in italics):

On discrimination:

Reporter: The captain of the firefighters said he didn't want a fat slob huffing and puffing up a ladder when lives are at stake. How do you respond?
Activist: "A person should be judged by their job performance, not by their weight. If the firefighter flunked the physical test and couldn't climb the ladder, he should be fired, whether he was fat or thin. But if he could climb the ladder as well as others, then he was fired unjustly. That is prejudice, and prejudice is wrong."

On giving up dieting:

Reporter: "So what are you saying, we should sit on our duffs and eat Twinkles all day?"
Activist: "The TV ads are trying to convince us that you have to be thin to be happy. We say live for today! Don't put off your life until you lose a few pounds! We need to take care of our bodies, but it can't be healthy to be obsessed with thinness."

On fat and health:

Reporter: "Yeah, but what about your health? Isn't it unhealthy to be fat?"
Activist: "We advise people to stop dieting (because you always gain the weight back), and instead to do whatever it takes to make yourself healthy: get good health advice; eat nutritious food; get plenty of rest; reduce your stress level; exercise your body and your mind; in other words, take good care of yourself! Healthy bodies come in all sizes."

 

© 1997 Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, Inc., P.O. Box 305, Mt. Marion, NY 12456, (845) 679-1209, email <info@cswd.org>. The Council is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization working to end fat oppression. Projects are financed completely by private donations. All contributions are fully tax-deductible, and gratefully accepted.

For permission to reproduce, contact the Council, or email Miriam Berg at <Miriam@cswd.org>.

K Through Adult:
How To Make Presentations To All Age Groups

I always start my presentations by telling my story, so that's how I'll start this one as well. When I was four, the doctor yelled at my mother because I was fat. She kept me on a diet until I was a teenager, when I took over the job myself. I lived on diet pills as a teen and all through college and graduate school. I got a job as a middle school counselor for at-risk kids, and girls would come into my office saying "I hate my body! I'm so ugly!" How could I help them when I felt the same way? I knew I was sending them the wrong message. So I called someone I knew who was involved in fat liberation, and said let's start a fat support group.

We used a CR (consciousness raising) format: each one talks on the topic, with no crosstalk, no interruptions, and no judgment. I found out I was not alone-that others used to sneak food, that others struggled with diets and pills and hating their bodies. I stopped all pills, gave up dieting, gained some weight, and then leveled off to the weight I have been for four years.

My relationship with the girls changed. I became a role model for them. I was fat, professional, and doing something important. They could look up to me and see I was happy without me having to say anything. I started groups with my girls to talk about whatever problems they came up with. I had learned that hearing someone else's story can heal you, and I used that to work with the girls. I helped Nancy Summer design and run groups to teach about body image, self-esteem, and size discrimination, and then took over from her the Kids Come in All Sizes Curriculum and Outreach Project for the Council on Size & Weight Discrimination.

When I moved to Seattle, I didn't get a school job right away, so I started doing groups for women, mostly for little or no pay. I put together a packet with a letter offering my services, my bio, and some articles on size acceptance. I did a mailing offering free workshops to introduce my services to the Seattle area. I went to an International Women's Day event and introduced myself to every woman in the room. The head of the Women's Center at a local community college asked me to do a workshop for the Center. I have since done workshops for women's groups, parents' groups, lesbian support groups, youth centers, health clinic staff members, and even the staff of a bank that wanted their employees to learn the value of cultural diversity.

I design each workshop according to the size and makeup of the audience. A lecture format is better for a large, diverse group (although I always leave time for questions and answers), and the workshops are more interactive with smaller numbers.

When I talked to the bank staff, I went through my notes and made sure to use the material that was suited to both men and women. I taught the clinic staff how to treat fat people with respect. I asked parent's groups what messages they send their kids by their own attitudes towards their bodies, and talked about how to help kids have a positive body image, In small, intimate groups, we spend more time telling our own personal stories.

I use various techniques:

• I always ask the audience to come up with their own answers. How many of you have ever felt bad about your bodies? What are some of the words we hear used to describe fat people? Thin people? What messages are we getting from this?
• I use transparencies to reinforce the conclusions we reach together.
• I show them visuals of plus-size models and thin models and we talk about the differences.
• We do role playing about how we treat fat people.
• I ask them what does dieting do to your body, and then show them the statistics on eating disorders.
• I tell them stories illustrating how different it is for kids whose parents withhold food and those who let the kids learn about their own appetites.
• We talk about health, and how good health is a personal quest with different answers for each of us. We need to learn what our bodies need.
• We talk about the effect of stress and social oppression on our health.
• I lead them in a guided visualization where we talk to different body parts and learn what our bodies are trying to tell us.
• If I had had one supportive, positive fat role model when I was growing up, I might not have had to suffer through the 20 years of torment and self-torment I experienced. Being in a fat support group and hearing the stories of other fat women truly changed my life. It changed my own self-talk, so that I don't internalize the oppression anymore. Fat activism is healing.
• I started out by wanting to help the kids I counseled. It led me on a path through support groups to self acceptance, and then back to the kids to teach them what I had learned. It's very important to be a fat activist. Size discrimination and fat oppression are real, and it is important for each of us to do what we can to change it.
• Talk to friends, put up signs or positive fat images around your desk at work, or take the plunge and make a presentation to a group. It will empower you and effect the world around you in a positive way. All it takes is for each one of us to help one other woman feel better about her body.

 

© 1997 Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, Inc., P.O. Box 305, Mt. Marion, NY 12456, (845) 679-1209, email <info@cswd.org>. The Council is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization working to end fat oppression. Projects are financed completely by private donations. All contributions are fully tax-deductible, and gratefully accepted.

For permission to reproduce, contact the Council, or email Cathi Rodgveller at <tie1dyecat@aol.com>.

Medical Activism

What is medical activism?
Medical activism is taking our case to the medical community and insisting that they hear us and respect our position. It does not necessarily mean that we make big changes in how medical professionals act, it means that we are speaking out. We know when enough of us speak out often enough, change will happen.

Lots of activities are medical activism, including confronting your caregiver, acting as an advocate/ buddy to a friend, letter writing, lectures, articles, in person advocacy, picketing, negotiating accommodations, working with state medical boards, etc.

What is the value of medical activism?

• We take control of fat people's health care, which will directly save lives.
• We become empowered to improve our own health care
• We influence the direction of research and care

Who is in the medical community?

• Clinicians
• Researchers
• Nurses and Technicians
• Administrators, Insurance Companies, Regulators

Where is the medical community?

• Individual practitioners
• Institutions they practice in
• Their professional groups
• Professional meetings (county or state medical societies etc.)
• Their journals
• Government institutions
• Schools (medical, radiology, nursing, etc.)

How do we begin this work?
Select an area of interest, preferably one which directly involves you (e.g. if you are diabetic, get involved in diabetic health care). We are much more powerful and persuasive when we speak from our own experience.

Select a starting point: an individual doctor, doctor's staff, etc. I always suggest you do some work with individuals before you begin to work with an institution or journal, if only because sometimes individuals bring up concerns that should be addressed by you proactively when you work in a larger venue.

If you pick something other than an individual, research the way things work in the government agency, radiology department, professional journal, etc. Know the people you're going to encounter. Get their names and see if they've published anything you could read. Talk to their secretary and ask about an armless chair for your conference.

Often the hardest part of a project is finding out who to talk to. You may not want to go right "to the top". It may be more effective to have someone at a lower level fighting for you, either by presenting your ideas or pushing to get a meeting for you with the brass.

Write up a plan
What will you say? Write the points you want to make in an outline form. I like to go into a lot of detail on my copy in case I get nervous and forget something. Their copy should be fairly detailed on the main points so they can refer to it after you've gone and remember what you said.

Include documentation where appropriate. This can be citations if you like, although I can pretty much guarantee whoever you're talking to won't look them up. If it's really important, Xerox it and give it to them. If it's a medical journal, giving them an abstract is better than giving them the whole article unless you have reason to believe that they would actually read the whole article. Remember, no matter how they respond they're not nearly as interested in this subject as you are.

Most medical issues can be documented through Medline, available free at medical libraries and somewhat available on the web. Secondary sources: books like Big Fat Lies by Glenn Gaesser will give you the info in a readable form and also includes references in a section in the back. If you copy any part of a book, always copy the references/citations.

Personalize this as much as possible. Talk about your experiences with medical care or with this person. I suggest doing this late in the presentation after everyone is feeling more comfortable. It's important to do this in a nonjudgmental manner, although you certainly are making judgments about the care you received. Say "When you did I felt ". If they hurt you, let them see that from a place of being vulnerable but strong. If you're talking to a group, use anecdotes liberally to bolster your points. They must see the human side of the issue.

Capitalize on the conflicting scientific information about obesity. Make sure they know that the paradigm is changing. I don't take the position that being fat is healthy, I take the position that we don't know whether it is unhealthy for everyone. I respond to every argument they put to me with: "But we don't know how to make people thin, so it's a moot point whether or not it's healthy to be fat." But that is what I believe; you have to be sure you know what you believe and present that position.

Try to get the subject to disclose "hidden objections" that keep you from "closing the sale". You are selling your position, your information, and asking them to make changes. People frequently will think that it is not polite to tell you their objections. They also may want to get rid of you and just say "OK" a lot. It may be up to you to think of objections and put them on the table. For example: "Do you have any concerns about how much money this will cost?" and then explain again why it is cost effective.

Schedule a time to make a presentation
Even if it's only to your personal doctor, set up a time when you are not being examined to talk to her. If you're insured, this is free. If you have to pay to see your doctor, try calling her and asking if you can wait until she has a few minutes (like drug reps do) so you can make a presentation to her of important information. Perhaps you can even fax things ahead of time, although I've never had a doctor who actually read the material ahead when I did this.

Use your contacts! Do you know anybody who can help you get the time you need or can advise you about the personalities involved? Ask the people who work there for advice on what to do.

Dress for success. Be as professional in your appearance and demeanor as you can be. Always assume your audience is your equal. Remember that you have expertise in being fat, something they rarely have (considering the prejudice against fat people that medical school admissions show!).

Followup: This is the most important part!!
Take notes on any questions the subject has that you can't answer. Get the answers and let her know what they are, both verbally and in writing.

If you are negotiating for something (blood pressure cuff, chairs, article in a journal) figure out a reasonable time frame for response and check back on the project. The doctor may seem enthusiastic, but when you follow up nothing has been done. Remember, this is not as important to her as it is to you.

If you are working with an institution, realize that you may have to speak to several people and spend the majority of the project time on follow-up.

Move on when it's time
If you don't get what you want, step back and think of another way to get it. Ask a lot of people for critical feedback and ideas.

If it's still not working, drop it and move on to another project. You can always share the information you've gotten with someone else who's working on a similar project. Drop the ego; if it didn't happen for you, help someone else make it happen. Even if you haven't gotten exactly what you wanted, you've gotten our ideas out and ultimately that's the most important goal. Don't take these things as personal failures, they're not.

Pick something else that interests you. Start a new project. The work you did on the last project won't go to waste; you've learned a lot. Use it! Remember, activists are in it for the long haul. It's the work that's important, and there's always plenty to do.

GO FOR IT!! Feel free to use me as a resource.

 

© 1997 Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, Inc., P.O. Box 305, Mt. Marion, NY 12456, (845) 679-1209 email <info@cswd.org>. The Council is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization working to end fat oppression. Projects are financed completely by private donations. All contributions are fully tax-deductible, and gratefully accepted.

For permission to reproduce, contact the Council, or email Lynn McAfee at <lynn@sprynet.com>.

 

Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 21:57:54 -0800
To: fat-acceptance@world.std.com
From: marilyn@fatso.com (Marilyn Wann)
Subject: Re: The tragedy of Christina Corrigan and others...(kinda LONG)

I am equally disturbed at the tragedy of young fat people dying. When Brian Head died, I decided to start giving talks in schools. I've done it twelve or fifteen times now, and I always walk away from the experience excited by the reactions and understanding I've seen in students. At first, I just went to classrooms where my friends were teachers. Now, because of FAT!SO?, I occasionally get calls from teachers who happen to have heard of me. I've spoken in high school and college classes. I do it for lots of reasons, mostly because I know how it would have rocked my world if anyone, at any point during my 12 years of public education, had spent even 5 minutes talking about fat in a positive manner.

I understand that NAAFA is starting to do incredibly important outreach to teachers on a nationwide basis. I am so very excited about this new project, I can't even tell you.

The thing is, when these teachers start asking for people to come speak to their classes, we'll need volunteers to show up. I'm hoping that folks will be eager to spend an hour in a classroom, since that small investment of time can change at least 30 lives. If you're planning to attend the national NAAFA convention this summer in LA, there will be a really fun workshop to prepare people to give this kind of talk. But if you can't come to LA, you can still give talks. Everyone has their own story to tell. That's what I do. Here's the outline of my typical talk:

• I introduce myself and FAT!SO?
• I talk about why I use the F-word.
• I talk about why I started FAT!SO? (being denied health insurance)
• That leads into a very brief description of fat discrimination.
• I ask students what assumptions they usually make when they see a fat person. They usually talk about health, and I provide some basic info.

I ask if they know anyone who's fat, and how they think that person feels. I ask if they've ever felt bad about their bodies, say, when trying on clothes, or compared to friends. By this point, there's usually a general discussion that lasts the rest of the hour. At the end, I thank them very much for listening to stuff that I know not very many people talk about. I ask them to help me make the world a better place for everyone, by not being mean to fat people. I tell them they really can make a difference.

Admittedly, the first few times I gave talks, I was very nervous. It took a couple times before I figured out what to say and how to say it. But as long as a fat person stands up and talks about the subject without shame, I think it has to make an impression, no matter what specifics you talk about.

Plus, I think I get more out of these talks than the students do. They allow me to go back into schools, the place where I was teased and learned to feel bad about being fat, and reclaim that environment. Oddly enough, as an adult and a speaker, you are simply not open to the same abuse that you were as a kid. Secondly, by stating my position in front of these kids, I cement my beliefs more firmly, I feel them more deeply because I am not just thinking them to myself, but speaking them openly to other people. Finally, I get the thrill of knowing that I've addressed an issue that is incredibly painful for lots of kids, and that they don't get to talk about very often in a neutral, supportive way.

I'm sorry for the long post! I hope I've enticed some of you all to think about giving talks about fat in schools. It's a really direct and fun way to help the Brians and Samuels and Christinas of the world!

Cheers! - Marilyn

 

Return to MaryMc's Fat Acceptance Stuff