Hi friend, Is it okay if I ask you for a holiday present? Here's my dearest wish: That you mention my work to someone this month. That might look like: - Telling your company's marketing department about the inclusive stock images at Body Liberation Stock
- Sending your friend who's considering a boudoir session to Body Liberation Photos
- Sharing the Body Love Shop on your Facebook wall
- Forwarding a Body Liberation Guide email to someone who could use a body image boost
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This week's letter: I went hiking in Mount Baker National Forest just before the roads closed for the winter. |
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I wasnāt consciously thinking about Ragen Chastain and her approach to running (slow and steady) when I climbed part of this trail in Mt. Baker National Forest, but I was thinking that I was tired. |
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Iām so very tired of holding my breath when Iām exercising around other people, for fear of being the out-of-breath fat woman. Iām tired of the stares and the glances. Iām tired of the condescending āencouragementā from strangers that really just reinforces that bodies like mine donāt belong on trails. |
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And itās true, in that Iām not an athlete. Iām more of the housecat type: Iād far rather be warm and comfy than not. But I was in one of the countryās most beautiful places, and I wanted to see it from higher up and photograph it, so up I went. Slowly. Very, very slowly. |
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For the first time, I breathed as hard and stopped as often as I needed. I found that I could go much farther overall if I treated my body like the partner it is, rather than a shameful thing to drag along on the trail with me. And I pre-empted all those sweetly smug āgood for you!ā comments by greeting people first and giving them encouragement as I stepped out of the path to let them pass in either direction. I belong here, too. My body is good at any speed. |
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Warmly,
Lindley P.S. You can share this week's letter here. It's only possible to offer the Body Liberation Guide and all its labor for free because people like you support it. If you find value here, please contribute for as little as $1 per month. Every dollar helps. |
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Thank you to recent Patreon supporters Sam May, Sanchi Oberoi, Jo Andreacchio, Heidi Duke, Lena Jackson, Molly Parkhurst, Dana Notte, Nancy Guerrera, Saskia, Diana Lee, Joelle Hagen, Julie, Juliana Kilmurray, Kathryn Downie, Christine Story, Megan Bowman, Brittany Johnson, Jessica Lupp, Lisa Rabey, Pernille Vagtholm, Sarah Bowie, Jevon Doolin, Hayley and Maggi. |
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Here's what's being discussed this week in the world of body acceptance, Health at Every SizeĀ® (HAES), body positivity and fat liberation: |
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"So, what do you do when you're too big, in a world where bigness is cast not only as aesthetically objectionable, but also as a moral failing? You fold yourself up like origami, you make yourself smaller in other ways, you take up less space with your personality, since you can't with your body. You diet. You starve, you run till you taste blood in your throat, you count out your almonds, you try to buy back your humanity with pounds of flesh." Ā» Shrill, Lindy West |
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Quick Resources: Plus-Size Workout Clothing |
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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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Pssst! Did a friend forward you this email? If you'd like to get your own body liberation guide every week, just drop your email address here. You're on this list because you're a current or past client or customer, or you signed up on my website. *These links are provided as a community service and I'm not compensated for any of them unless noted by an asterisk. Feel free to email me your fatphobia-free events for inclusion (must include a hyperlink to a post or page about the event). |
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