Hi friend, I've been running a long-term series over on Instagram about thin privilege, the unearned benefits society awards people with "acceptable" (or relatively acceptable) bodies. (Here's more on what thin privilege is.) 

 

It's been a fascinating journey. I get a lot of trolls and folks who are more interested in denying that privilege exists than in learning, but the series has also made a huge difference in both helping fat folks feel like they're not alone in their experiences and in educating interested thin folks on what life is like for those of us in fat bodies. 

 

I want to share with you the latest post in this series because it ties in so closely with how fat folks are seen as business owners, as public figures and as private citizens. And in this time of scarcity, being aware of how we view small business owners especially can affect where we shop and how we treat them. So consider:

 

Thin privilege is posing in photos with food without automatically being fetishized. 

 

How many thin body-positive influencers can you think of whose profile images feature them holding donuts, or bagels, or cake? How many fat ones? 

 

How many thin health at every size (HAES) nutritionists, therapists, dietitians and coaches can you think of whose profile images feature them holding donuts, or bagels, or cake? How many fat ones? 

 

There are a dozen interpretations open to images of people in small(er) bodies holding food, ranging from sweetly virtuous to delightfully rebellious. For fat folks, images of us holding or interacting with food get read as confirmation of gluttony and greed, and/or as fetish fodder. 

 

Think about how fat people being pictured with food makes you feel. How does your reaction serve to reinforce your existing opinions about fat people? How might you react to a fat business owner being pictured cheerfully holding a stack of donuts, versus how you might feel about the same photo with a thin body swapped in? 

 

How does that affect your treatment of fat people in real life?


Warmly,
Lindley

 

(Want to share this week's thought? It exists in public post form here.)

My favorite photo this week:

Did you grow up believing you needed to wear a t-shirt over your bathing suit to cover it up? Do you still believe it? 

 

In the time and place where I grew up, I quickly picked up on that unspoken rule. Thin, bronzed (white) women wore bathing suits in public. Every other woman covered her body with a baggy t-shirt. My developing body was pale and chubby, so I did too when I picked up on the rule at puberty. 

 

But the cover-ups were cumbersome and clumsy. They prevented me from moving freely through the water when I tried to swim, and clumped and clung coldly to my skin when I got out. They were a visible mark of unworthiness, to be worn even in just the company of family or close friends, until we someday proved ourselves worthy of a visible bathing suit. I'm declaring that day to be today. 

 

We are ALL worthy of moving our limbs as freely as our particular bodies allow, and of wearing clothing that's both comfortable and useful. In celebration, I'm releasing this new fine art print of a fat woman discarding her t-shirt cover-up and baring her beautiful, swimsuit-clad body. Be free, friends.

The Conversation

Here's what's being discussed this week in the world of body acceptance, HAES, body positivity and fat acceptance:

Need a good 101 or refresher on bodies, fatness and science? I always recommend Body Respect by Linda Bacon and Lucy Aphramor.

 

March Free Stock Photos

Click the link below to claim your free stock images for this month. The link will expire in two weeks, so be sure to grab them soon.

If you enjoy the free photos I provide each month, please help support Body Liberation Photos by purchasing stock images or becoming a supporter. Low on budget? Consider linking and/or giving photo credit to bodyliberationphotos.com when you use these free photos. Your support makes it possible to continue creating and offering these images. 

 

 

 
 

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New & Interesting Finds

Coming Up

This section is on hold until we return to some semblance of normalcy and events can be held again.

 

See more upcoming events on the calendar

 

Hi! I'm Lindley.

- she/her

- photographer

- author

 

Hi! I'm Lindley.

 

I'm a professional photographer (she/her, pronounced LIN-lee) who celebrates the unique beauty of bodies that fall outside conventional "beauty" standards. I live outside Seattle, WA. 

 

I talk about and photograph fat folks because representation of large bodies in the world is vital to our body liberation.

 

 

People come to me for:

  • Body-safe portrait, boudoir and small business photography sessions
  • Diverse, body-positive stock photos
  • Fat fine art photographic prints
  • Health at Every Size (HAES)-aligned consulting, writing and editing
  • The Body Love Shop, a central resource for body-positive and fat-positive art and products

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