Fat! Fit? Fabulous!

Fat! Fit? Fabulous!

Meet the East Bay activists and researchers at the center of the new civil-rights movement known as Health at Every Size.
By Lauren Gard

The last thing Lake Merritt pedestrians expected to see on a recent Thursday afternoon was a fat, vibrant woman inviting them to step onto a scale. "Would you like a free compliment?" Marilyn Wann called out to a group of teenage girls on the concrete path. She motioned to the scale, which she'd covered with pink paint and sparkly silver paper. Silver pipe cleaners across the bottom spelled "YAY!"

A lanky girl with long braids pulled into a ponytail eyed the glittery object with suspicion. "I do not need to know my weight," she said defiantly.

"Oh, this won't give you a number, only a compliment," Wann said, her vintage aluminum-framed glasses glinting in the sunlight.

"What is it?" the girl asked.

"It's a Yay Scale."

The girl squinted at it for a moment, still clearly confused, then shrugged and stepped on. The dial spun and came to rest.

"You're gorgeous," Wann announced.

"Ooh, that's nice," the girl replied with a grin. Soon her friends had all clambered on to take their own Yay readings.

"What are you doing this for?" asked one who'd just been declared "fine!"

"I'm part of a group of people who try to encourage good nutrition and fitness, whatever your size," Wann said, handing each teen a slip of pink paper listing five body-positive Web sites.

Within an hour, several dozen people had collected such spontaneous flattery. A father and his teenage son riding their bikes: "What a way to make a guy's day," the father said after being deemed sexy. "And look at that — my son is fine!" A toned jogger in her twenties whose face initially fell when she realized the scale wouldn't divulge her weight: "Yummy," she read with a smile, after stepping on anyway. "That's better than 140, right?"

A few people recognized Wann, who proselytized body acceptance in a black T-shirt and her signature hot-pink attire of pedalpusher jeans, suede loafers, and a purse: "Are you Marilyn?" a young woman asked. "The one who wrote Fat!So?"

"Yes, that's me," Wann admitted, blushing so her cheeks matched her bubblegum-hued MAC lipstick.

"I love that book," the girl gushed before asking Wann to autograph the handout. "It really helped me!"

At 39, Wann is the uncontested queen of the modern American fat-pride movement. The San Francisco resident carries around a hundred or so pounds more than the US government thinks she should. When she was denied health insurance in 1993 based solely on that fact, she launched a protest zine called Fat!So?, which evolved into a book that has sold fifteen thousand copies, which in turn inspired a popular Web site, all of which have given way to a thriving speaking career. Wann began making Yay Scales five years ago, and now offers them up via word of mouth and, soon, through VoluptuArt.com, an online shop stocked solely with body-positive art that will be run by Richmond therapist Nomi Dekel.

-snip-

Size Matters Book Club Debuts November 8, 2005

Size Matters Book Club Debuts November 8, 2005

Size Matters, Too Radio Talk Show Host, Veronica Euell, is on a mission. Her mission is to take a look at issues regarding body size and weight through the lens of authors who have written about the same.

(PRWEB) November 3, 2005 -- Size Matters, Too Radio Talk Show Host, Veronica Euell, is on a mission. Her mission is to take a look at issues regarding body size and weight through the lens of authors who have written about the same.

The very first Book Club of its kind, Size Matters will debut November 8, 2005 at the Goodyear Branch Library 60 Goodyear Blvd. Akron, Ohio 44305 at 7:00 p.m. Bonus!! Dr. Pattie Thomas, Author of "Taking Up Space" will be on site for a book signing at 6:30 p.m. followed by a presentation during the inagural debut of the Size Matters Book Club at 7:00 p.m.

The purpose of the Size Matters Book Club is to give participants an opportunity, in a safe environment, to take a deeper look at size and body image, the politics surrounding those issues within society, and how they affect us. Members are encouraged to reflect upon their personal experiences and values around body image and size. This is not a weight loss group or diet club, rather, the Size Matters Book Club is dedicated to examining society's pathology and obesession with weight. We especially emphasize ways to remove the negative stigma placed upon persons of size within the workplace and within society in general.

A particular emphasis will be placed upon the philosophy of the Health at Every Size model of wellness--an approach to health and well being that focuses on healthy behaviors and natural diversity in body size rather than weight gain or weight loss issues.

The first book chosen for the Size Matters Book Club is "Taking Up Space" by Dr. Pattie Thomas (Pearlsong Press.) Dr. Thomas will be in town to kick off the first session with a book signing at 6:30 p.m. (a limited number of books will be available on site on a first come first serve basis) followed by a presentation at 7:00 p.m. at the Goodyear Branch Library 60 Goodyear Blvd Akron Ohio.

This initiative would be beneficial to those in the Health Care, Human Resources, Education, and Social Work fields as well as those with personal experiences within the area of size. For more information, please call The Euell Consulting Group LLC at (330) 668-9778. To listen to our free weekly On-Line Radio Show, please visit us at www.sizematterstoo.com. Size Matters, Too is recorded and produced weekly at WCRS Radio Akron, Ohio. ###