Frances Lockie, published writer

Check me out!

An exciting thing happened this week: Girlfriend, an Australian monthly magazine for teen girls aged 14 to 17 years of age, published a story on fat stigma. Even more exciting: I’m the one who wrote it!

Girlfriend has really cool, feminist editors; some of the stories they’ve featured in recent months include street harassment, transgenderism, and a critique of the idea of ‘real women’ (interspersed with posters of One Direction, naturally. SO GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT OF MY HEEEAAAAD AND FALL INTO MY ARMS INSTEEEAAAD…) They hold the young women of Australia in such high regard and I’m stoked to be published in their pages.

Click here to read the story.

Half-naked and overdressed all at once

You may recall that in my last post I was slightly shitting myself as I was about to perform samba in my passista costume for the very first time. Well, I did it and here are the photos to prove it.

Gratuitous butt shot

I was very nervous when I stepped out of the change room for the first time but, like with all things that push me out of my comfort zone, I took a deep breath and faked it. I strutted about like I was meant to be wearing that outfit (because I was) and like I deserved to be on that stage (because I did). Then the wind nearly blew off my headdress so I was far too preoccupied with keeping it on my head while doing all the steps that I didn’t have time to be self-conscious.

Achievement unlocked: Appearing half-naked on stage in front of a crowd of people. What else ya got?

On Stocky Bodies, and on being a fat dancer

Almost a year ago, a handful of Aussie fat bloggers and I agreed to be part of a fat embodiment research project led by Dr Lauren Gurrieri of the Griffith Business School. The purpose was to document the everyday lived experience of fat people, and the end result of our discussions was Stocky Bodies.

Stocky Bodies is a stock image library that aims to provide positive and diverse representations of life as a fat person. It stands in opposition and as an alternative to the typical ‘headless fatty‘ photo that accompanies most stories on fatness and obesity. Photos were taken by Lauren and by Isaac Brown of the Queensland College of Art.

When organising the photo shoot, Lauren and Isaac explained that the images should show my life and what I do with this fat body of mine. For me, that meant eating out…

going to the beach…

and dancing.

Let me tell you, rocking up to dance class with a couple of photographers in tow was by far the most confronting part of this whole process.

Fat is pretty taboo in the dance world. The ideal dancer is seen to be long, lean, and muscular. In the dance community, there’s a lot of discussion of weight loss, the relative goodness and badness of different foods, and negative self-talk about certain body parts. The negativity surrounding fat in dance is so well-known that I think a lot of fat people are discouraged; even though I’m only a size 16, I am frequently the fattest person in my classes.

This feeling of exclusion is not helped by the fact that dance attire is not made for fat bodies. Workout gear is notoriously hard to find in plus sizes (though Cult of California is doing their best to change that). Costumes for performances are another obstacle. I am a samba and Afro-Brazilian dancer; when we perform samba no pé, we wear tiny bikinis and feather headdresses like this:

(John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, these bikinis are very hard to find in plus sizes. I have had to pull out of a performance because I couldn’t find a bikini in time that fit. There are also very few fat samba no pé dancers, which makes the idea of jiggling (and, lord, do I jiggle) in a g-string bikini all the more intimidating.

So, with all this knowledge and baggage, I was pretty uneasy about bringing Lauren and Isaac to class. Not because I’d find them intrusive, or that they’d see me at my most red-faced and sweaty, but because I’d have to explain why they were there. I knew that I had to come out to my fellow students as fat. As proudly fat.

Being a fat dancer is challenging and definitely tests my comfort zones, though I am finding my way. I’m lucky enough to have found a dance group that is reasonably body positive. I found a company in the UK that makes samba bikinis for any size (though plus size bikinis have a 25% surcharge); I finally have one to call my own and it is a beauty. I will be wearing it onstage for the first time in a week and a half, and to be honest, I’m a bit nervous about it. But that apprehension is why I feel almost obligated to go through with it. If I want to see a diverse range of bodies in dance, I should be up there showing some diversity. I should, and will, be showing people what this fat body can do.

Fat stigma is so passé

I’m pretty aware that there’s been a lack of Serious Content on this blog for a while. The month long (or more) hiatuses punctuated by the odd outfit post have not been intentional. I haven’t run out of opinions and the world certainly hasn’t run out of fat stigma. I just get so bored of it, you know?

Today I read an opinion piece by satirist/writer/radio host Dominic Knight talking about fatness and happiness and how it doesn’t matter how happy we are because we’re too fat… or something. I started picking it apart and refuting his arguments before thinking to myself, “HOLY CRAP, THIS IS SO BORING.”

The same dull statements about how fat Australia is. The same tired old fat jokes (sumo wrestlers! LOL!). The same predictable conclusions about eating well and exercising more.

I’m at the point now where I don’t really get angry when I see yet another anti-fat article. I’ve been in fat activism for so long, and have so many friends with rad body positive attitudes, that the only reaction I’m capable of is “Really…? Are we still talking about calories in/calories out like no one’s ever thought of it before?! REALLY?!”

It bores me. But since the same arguments keep coming up, I guess the same rebuttals need to be made. Second verse same as the first…

BUSTED: SUPER ULTRA MEGA BORING OBESITY CLICHES

I’m positive that this list is not exhaustive. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

Australia/New Zealand/America/UK/[insert developed, English-speaking nation here] is the fattest nation in the world.
Nope. When a country is breathlessly declared by journalists as being THE FATTEST NATION IN THE WORLDDDDDD, what they actually mean is “The fattest nation out of a list of approximately 30 nations that make up the wealthiest countries in the world”.

According to this 2010 list (with data sourced from the International Obesity Taskforce), USA is 18th, Scotland is 32nd, New Zealand is 35th, England is 38th and Australia is 47th. So there.

But HEALTH!!!!!!!!!
1) Health is determined by a set of behaviours, not a set of body shapes. Moving regularly, eating well, getting enough sleep, not smoking, drinking in moderation, maintaining a work/life balance… they improve health outcomes for people of all sizes. And here’s the rub: You don’t know a person’s healthy, or unhealthy, behaviours just by looking at them.

2) Health is a privilege. People who treat eating well and exercising regularly as things that are easily achieved are putting their ableism on blast. Those behaviours aren’t possible, or are only possible to a certain extent, for some people with physical, mental and/or psychological disabilities.

3) Fat stigma is more pervasive than you think. It’s pretty challenging for a fat person to go to a gym when they know that judgemental eyes will be watching their every move. It’s intimidating for a fat person to go for a run when they’ve had insults, or even rubbish, thrown at them from passing cars. (If you can’t imagine such things ever happening to anyone, that’s your thin privilege in action.)

4) Diets don’t work long term and may cause more harm than good.

5) People are able to prioritise health for themselves. That means they can choose to not prioritise it. That means they can be the Bad Kind of Fatty. And if someone chooses that lifestyle for themselves, they still deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

There’s overweight, and then there’s obese
OR I’m talking about people who are fat because of their lifestyle
No, you don’t get to be a jerk to anyone. There is no level of fatness, or pathway to fatness, that justifies arseholish behaviour.

No one enjoys being fat
First of all, if people don’t enjoy being fat, I’d wager that a good deal of that is due to the stigma they experience and the stigma they have internalised. For most people, having a fat body is not a barrier to anything.

Second of all, there is a great number of us who are happy with our bodies, thank you very much, and do not take kindly to people making gross assumptions about our happiness.

There were no fat people in concentration camps.
This argument is beyond vulgar and yet it is trotted out all the time.

People in concentration camps were starved and tortured. Their suffering is not a motivational “See? You can do it too!”-style example of thinness.

“There were no fat people in concentration camps” is a longer way of announcing “I am a massive tool”.

Fat people are ugly.
No one’s forcing you to enter a marriage with a fat person; your long years of passionless misery broken only by gin-fuelled screaming matches, torrid affairs in dingy motel rooms, and enduring the spiteful tongues of your resentful children over the dinner table at their annual Christmas visit. We don’t want that life either.

Find someone you do find attractive and try to have sex with them. Fatties will do the same. Everyone wins.

[Insert fat joke here]
Making a joke at the expense of any socially and culturally stigmatised group of people is lazy comedy. Do better.

OoTD No. 28 – Winter dressing, summer style

Though I love summer in Sydney, I am growing more appreciative of the cooler months. The air is fresh, my kitchen smells of roasts and stews and apple crumble, and I can wear something more substantial than thin cotton tops and double pluggers.

And it is starting to get quite wintery in Sydney, but that’s no reason to stop blinding people with summer-style colour.

My dear apple bag has been quite neglected of late, but after seeing Jackie’s amazing collection of bags that look like other things on Show Tell Share, I was inspired to dust it off.

I’m lightly obsessed with these ridiculous shirts. They were made by Mambo in the ’90s (before they decided to reinvent themselves as just another beige surf brand) in a bunch of iconic designs. The ones by Reg Mombassa – like this one – are just so wonderfully Australian. I’ve tracked down quite a few on ebay, and despite the shirts being something a middle aged man would wear to a barbecue, I love them dearly. They’re a summer staple, but when my wardrobe was particularly empty and my laundry pile was particularly big, I decided to winterise them with a natty bow tie and v-neck jumper.

Jumper: Second hand from Twirl Vintage Co – size M
Shirt: Mambo Loud Shirt via ebay – size M.
Jeans: Jay Jays – size 16. Old collection.
Shoes: Asos Marky Traditional Brogues – UK size 8. Similar styles available.
Bow tie: Asos. Old collection.
Bag: Mink Schmink. Old collection.

I am 1.72m/5’8″, 95kg/209lbs and I normally wear an Australian size 16/UK size 18/US size 14-16. My measurements are 107-99-120cm/42-39-47 inches.

OoTD No. 27 – Pretend I’ve been here this whole time

I KNOW, SLOTH. I’M SORRY.

(In the age since I last blogged, WordPress has changed the ‘New Post’ page and it will be a miracle if I manage to post this successfully. We fear change.)

The weather is slowly starting to turn autumnal in Sydney which means I’m finally able to start wearing the A/W gear I bought on sale months ago. Like this fabbo Anna Scholz dress:

Like my Anna Scholz leggings, I’d had my eye on this wrap dress for some time but had hesitated on account of the price and the shipping costs. Luckily for me, Anna Scholz has some AMAZING sales and I managed to pick this beauty up for a steal back in December. I predict I’ll be wearing the hell out of it over the next few months.

Dress: Anna Scholz – size UK16. Old collection.
Leggings: Gisela Ramirez – size S. Currently available.
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell Uniform Glitter from Solestruck. Old collection.
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs from David Jones. Old collection.
Watch: TW Steel. Similar styles available.

I am 1.72m/5’8″, 95kg/209lbs and I normally wear an Australian size 16/UK size 18/US size 14-16. My measurements are 107-99-120cm/42-39-47 inches.

OoTD No. 26 – Happy New Year!

Another year, eh? That means I’m (over)due for the inevitable 2011 recap! Last year I:

• appeared on Triple J;
• set up the All Bodies Directory;
• brought fat acceptance to Cosmopolitan Australia;
• shaved my head;
• MCed for Gisela Ramirez’s launch and Sydney Creative Movement‘s end-of-year concert;
• crossed two new countries off my list; and
• after seven years, FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY moved in with the Boyfriend.

Bring on 2012. Onwards and upwards, I say.

On New Year’s Eve, the Boyfriend and I went out to dinner to Ms G’s. (Lightning quick review: Good, but several dishes are similar, and inferior, to dishes at other inner Sydney restaurants. Their mini bánh mì isn’t as good as Gardel’s pulled pork sliders. Their xo noodles aren’t a patch on Duke Bistro‘s.) After returning home to grab supplies, we went to nearby Sydney Park to get a panoramic view of the fireworks with a packet of glow-in-the-dark jewellery, a box of sparklers, and a bottle of fancy French perry (which I much prefer to champagne). Lovely.

This necklace is the best purchase I’ve ever made. It’s a wee bit exxy (£123; those colourful gems are Swarovski crystals) but – no exaggeration – it/I receive compliments every single time I wear it. It is absolutely spectacular.

Dress: Jibri – custom made (I’m between size 1 and 2). Old collection.
Necklace: Tatty Devine. Currently available.
Bag: Broadway Betty. Vintage.
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell Uniform Glitter from Solestruck – size 10. Old collection.

On New Years Day, we invited a few mates over for a barbecue lunch at ours (BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR OWN FLAT!) before heading to a nearby warehouse party. This is my perfect dancing outfit: baggy top, stretchy leggings, lightweight accessories and high top sneakers.

I’ve loved this Anna Scholz print for months. Seeing these amazing leggings on sale was the kick in the arse I needed. TIGHTS AS PANTS FOR LIFE.

Tshirt: Sportsgirl – size large. Old collection.
Leggings: Anna Scholz – size UK18. Old collection.
Sneakers: Converse Lady Weapon from Asos – size 8. Old collection.
Fat necklace: Fancy Lady Industries. Old collection (though Natalie restocks them periodically).
Watch: TW Steel. Similar styles available.

How did you ring in the new year?

I am 1.72m/5’8″, 95kg/209lbs and I normally wear an Australian size 16/UK size 18/US size 14-16. My measurements are 107-99-120cm/42-39-47 inches.