Thin People Are...

The counterpart to yesterday's post. Because sometimes it's easy to forget that we're fighting for ALL bodies to be considered acceptable. We're fighting for all bodies to be a person's private property, and beyond uninvited public commentary. We're fighting for EVERYONE to have the body autonomy the rightful deserve.

I could keep doing these until I run out of body type. Substitute any words you like in here, we ALL deserve to be treated like people.

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Thin People are…

Thin people are blonde. Thin people are brunettes. Thin people are redheads. Thin people have hair 

colours that are bright and come out of bottles.

Thin people have blue eyes. Thin people have brown eyes. Thin people have green eyes. Thin people have eyes of different colours.

Thin people are tall. Thin people are short. Thin people come in heights somewhere and everywhere in between.

Thin people are doctors. Thin people are nurses. Thin people are teachers. Thin people are builders. 

Thin people are factory workers. Thin people are binmen and women. Thin people are police officers. 

Thin people are sex workers.

Thin people are academic. Thin people are practical. Thin people get good grades at school. Thin people get bad grades at school.

Thin people are healthy. Thin people are unhealthy. Thin people are anywhere in between, because health is a spectrum not a black and white issue.

Thin people get married. Thin people have kids. Thin people are in relationships, with men and women and people somewhere in between. Thin people are single and unhappy. Thin people are single and quite happy. Thin people are in relationships and don’t want marriage or kids. Thin people are in relationships and struggle to have children.

Thin people are in relationships and are happy. Thin people are in relationships and are unhappy. Thin people are in relationships with other thin people. Thin people are in relationships with people who are not thin people. Thin people are in relationships of all kinds, both romantic and non-romantic.

Thin people are heterosexual. Thin people are homosexual. Thin people are attracted to both men and women. Thin people are attracted to more than one person at a time. Thin people aren’t attracted to people sexually at all.

Thin people read books. Thin people write stories. Thin people paint and draw pictures. Thin people dance. Thin people play football. Thin people dance. Thin people play video games. Thin people play D&D. Thin people play sports. Thin people swim. Thin people go skydiving.

Thin people are scared of heights. Thin people are afraid of spiders. Thin people are afraid of clowns. 

Thin people are fearless.

Thin people eat chocolate. Thin people eat lasagne. Thin people eat salad. Thin people eat what they 

damned well please.

Thin people are vegetarians. Thin people are vegan. Thin people are committed carnivores. Thin people eat both vegetables and animal products.

Thin people are Christian. Thin people are Muslim. Thin people are Jewish. Thin people are pagan. Thin people are agnostic. Fatties are atheist. Fatties fall under any number of spiritual and religious umbrellas.

Thin people drive cars. Thin people take the bus. Thin people cycle. Thin people use segways. Thin people ride motorcycles.

Thin people go out on the town. Thin people go to bed early.

Thin people dress in wild and outrageous outfits. Thin people dress for comfort. Thin people dress modestly. Thin people wear dresses. Thin people wear trousers. Thin people wear t shirts with band logos on. Thin people wear jeans, including skinny jeans.

Thin people are a whole load of other things too.

Thin people can be whatever they want to be.

Thin people can do whatever they want to do.

Thin people come in all shapes and sizes.

Thin people are people too, and I think it’s time everybody started treating us that way.

Fatties Are...

I apologise for neglecting this blog slightly. In the last few weeks I've discovered tumblr, which is fun, fast and addictive. It's kind of like blogging had a secret love child with twitter. Also I was hovering at 42 posts on this blog, which everyone even slightly geeky knows is the best number ever.

Anyway, here is a post I wrote a few weeks ago.

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Fatties are…

Fatties are blonde. Ftties are brunettes. Fatties are redheads. Fatties have hair colours that are bright and come out of bottles.

Fatties have blue eyes. Fatties have brown eyes. Fatties have green eyes. Fatties have eyes of different colours.

Fatties are tall. Fatties are short. Fatties come in heights somewhere and everywhere in between.

Fatties are doctors. Fatties are nurses. Fatties are teachers. Fatties are builders. Fatties are factory workers. 

Fatties are binmen and women. Fatties are police officers. Fatties are sex workers.

Fatties are academic. Fatties are practical. Fatties get good grades at school. Fatties get bad grades at school.

Fatties are healthy. Fatties are unhealthy. Fatties are anywhere in between, because health is a spectrum not 

a black and white issue.

Fatties get married. Fatties have kids. Fatties are in relationships, with men and women and people somewhere in between. Fatties are single and unhappy. Fatties are single and quite happy. Fatties are in relationships and don’t want marriage or kids. Fatties are in relationships and struggle to have children.

Fatties are in relationships and are happy. Fatties are in relationships and are unhappy. Fatties are in relationships with other fatties. Fatties are in relationships with people who are not fatties. Fatties are in relationships of all kinds, both romantic and non-romantic.

Fatties are heterosexual. Fatties are homosexual. Fatties are attracted to both men and women. Fatties are attracted to more than one person at a time. Fatties aren’t attracted to people sexually at all.

Fatties read books. Fatties write stories. Fatties paint and draw pictures. Fatties dance. Fatties play football. Fatties dance. Fatties play video games. Fatties play D&D. Fatties play sports. Fatties swim. Fatties go skydiving.

Fatties are scared of heights. Fatties are afraid of spiders. Fatties are afraid of clowns. Fatties are fearless.

Fatties eat chocolate. Fatties eat lasagne. Fatties eat salad. Fatties eat what they damned well please.

Fatties are vegetarians. Fatties are vegan. Fatties are committed carnivores. Fatties eat both vegetables and animal products.

Fatties are Christian. Fatties are Muslim. Fatties are Jewish. Fatties are pagan. Fatties are agnostic. Fatties are atheist. Fatties fall under any number of spiritual and religious umbrellas.

Fatties drive cars. Fatties take the bus. Fatties cycle. Fatties use segways. Fatties ride motorcycles.

Fatties go out on the town. Fatties go to bed early.

Fatties dress in wild and outrageous outfits. Fatties dress for comfort. Fatties dress modestly. Fatties wear dresses. Fatties wear trousers. Fatties wear t shirts with band logos on. Fatties wear jeans, including skinny jeans.

Fatties are a whole load of other things too.

Fatties can be whatever they want to be.

Fatties can do whatever they want to do.

Fatties come in all shapes and sizes.

Fatties are people too, and I think it’s time everybody started treating us that way.

(Sorry for the focus on relationships in the early section. In my experience, trying to get into a relationship is one of the more common reasons for losing weight, and a major cause of families trying to get fate people to lose weight. It's not necessarily that I believe romantic relationships are more important than the other things mentioned.)

Poi: My New Obsession

Today I’d like to talk to you for a while about my newest hobby obsession. Those of you who follow me on twitter will be more than aware that I’ve been talking about poi quite a lot recently. Not the food, but something quite different.

Poi, according to the resources I’ve been using, is the Maori word for ball. The art certainly comes to use from the Maori tradition, where poi is the object itself, the accompanying dance or the music. Modern poi often involves swinging about fire or glowsticks rather than the traditional Maori style fluffy poi.

I got into poi in a rather roundabout manner. A friend of a friend put some pictures on Facebook of him doing poi, and my brain sort of went “I must know how to do that”. After watching a large number of youtube videos, and reading lots and lots of articles on how to make and practice poi, I made my own pair of sock poi. I’ve been through several designs and am finally happy with my homemade ones. Though I have purchased myself a set of these, and am eagerly awaiting delivery.

Poi is a performance art, a flow art, a skill toy and a dance. It has been combined with various martial arts and other performance arts to create a number of different styles. Poi can help improve co-ordination, balance and overall physical ability. For me, it is primarily a pleasurable way to move my body.

I know that not everyone in the fatosphere subscribes to the Health at Every Size principals (and there’s no reason why they should). But for me, the most important part of HAES is the idea that we should be moving out bodies in pleasurable ways. Not exercising in ways that we find pleasurable, just moving our bodies in pleasurable ways.

Now, I like this for a number of reasons. One, it helps dispel the myth that calorie burning exercise (i.e. good exercise) is only done during dedicated sessions using specialised equipment or doing a recognised sport. Vacuuming the house is exercise. Walking to work is exercise. Cooking dinner is exercise. Lugging heavy things around because you’re moving house (or helping move house) is exercise. Sex is exercise. Any number of things are exercise but are often seen to not count under conventional ideas of exercise. It also helps people move away from measuring the value of exercise by number of calories burnt. Had fun doing that thing you do to move about? Job done!

Another reason I like the idea of pleasurable movement of body is because it is the least ableist model of exercise I have come across. Exercise will always have ableism running through it, because there will always be people who aren’t able to exercise. And isn’t it funny that my word processor doesn’t recognise the words ableist and ableism? But the HAES model of exercise encourages people to work within their limits instead of challenging them.

For me poi is the perfect pleasurable way to move my body. It allows me to explore the way my body can move, and has already surprised me. I can move my body in ways I never would have thought possible. It is allowing me to use muscles and tendons that are under- or un-used in the rest of my life. It is a beautiful art and a way for me to express myself physically. It is a challenge, but I have found that I can progress quickly enough that it never becomes a chore. I am always striving for the next move, the next challenge. I am looking far ahead and thinking “I wish I could do that”.

Because of poi I am going to bed at night and I am tired, and as a result I am sleeping much better. Because of poi I am filled with a passion and commitment for something physical for the first time in nearly four years. Because of poi I am finding joy in movement again, and that has resulted in my finding joy in other things as well.

Last night I took my poi with me to St John, and spent the evening teaching some simple moves to my badgers. At the beginning of the evening they asked me what the point of poi was. I told them of the history, of the physical benefits and that most importantly of all it was fun. They didn’t believe me that it was exercise. We spent two hours playing with poi; two hours in which some of the Badgers showed a greater ability than I did. And I know that at least two of them will be taking it up at home. At the end of the night, when we were all tired out, I asked them if they believed me now if it was good exercise. They said yes.

Poi is not for everyone. I know that. But if you are reading this and you are a highly creative, expressive person who is looking for a new skill, a new way of moving or a new exercise, I urge you to give poi a try. Check out playpoi.com and see if you can find the magic; see if you can catch the bug like I did. Because if poi is for you, then it might just change your life.