NAAFA Convention Day 3: Advocacy and Poetry

Thank you all for sticking with me through my journey to NAAFA and back!  Day three kicked off, for me, with a workshop about child advocacy.  NAAFA has created a Child Advocacy Toolkit (available here)  to help educators and other professionals shift from "fighting childhood obesity" to teaching HAES based principles including intuitive eating and joyful movement.  In the workshop, we heard from several presenters about how the so-called "war on childhood obesity" started and what is and isn't true about it.  The first part of the presentation was particularly well-executed in that it summarized the facts and fictions surrounding this war in a simple, non-threatening way that I think would be really useful for people who are new to fat acceptance and may have some reservations.  The panel also reviewed what the consequences are for a weight-based approach, both in terms of health and in terms of bullying.

Later in the day, I attended a poetry workshop called Fat Poets' Society.  I have to admit that I wrote a lot of poetry when I was in high school and as an undergraduate, but after I left Cornell, I pretty much stopped writing altogether.  There are a lot of reasons why (too busy trying to make ends meet, not angsty and love-lorn anymore, etc.) but I always wanted to keep writing, I just felt that blogging and creative non-fiction were more my strong suits.  But I decided to go anyway and I'm really glad that I did.  We talked about using poetry as a means of being an activist and how writing body-positive poetry can be a radical thing to do.  It is easy to forget that poetry isn't just about love and pretty-sounding words, but that it can also have political goals.  We read some poetry and then we had some time to sit down and write, and then share what we had written.  It was such a moving experience, getting to hear different women's experiences with their bodies and with each others' bodies.  And it made me realize that my relationship with poetry is not over yet, so somehow, I'm going to find the time to start writing again!*

That evening was the NAAFA Talent Show!  Before we could get up there and show off our various talents, we did some karaoke to get us all warmed up.  It was great seeing fat people up in the spotlight--willing to put themselves out there--because they felt so brave, confident and safe.  I don't think I've ever done karaoke before, but I couldn't resist with a crowd so accepting.  The talent show was just an extension of that safe feeling.  People sang, performed poetry and spoken word pieces, and of course, the classic fortuneteller act!  I was fortunate enough to be convinced by a friend to recite some of my own poetry, including a piece I had written that day at the workshop!  It was great seeing how talented all my new friends really are, and how comfortable they were sharing their work with us.

The talent show was followed by a film festival.  I only caught the first film, The Fat Body (In)Visible, but it was a great piece that followed two women who had met on the Livejournal Fatshionista community, so it was exciting to get to see the blogging community represented at the conference.  The movie also contained pictures from the Adipositivity Project, which was great to see put to music up on the big screen.

Monday morning, I had to head back to the real world (sadly) but several members of NAAFA stayed on to lobby on Capitol Hill for the inclusion of bullying based on weight to the current anti-bullying legislature going through Congress.  Members of the board gave a press conference that was covered by C-Span and the story was also picked up by CNN's website.  Please check out both links to see NAAFA in action trying to end weight-based bullying in our schools.

All in all, my first NAAFA conference was a huge success.  It was so empowering to be surrounded by smart, talented, dedicated fat people who want to make the same change in the world as I do.  I feel much stronger in my beliefs and much more confident as a blogger, activist and fat person than before I went.  Best of all, I made some great new friends to share the journey with me.  Thank you NAAFA, see you in San Francisco next year!

*You can purchase the first publication by the Fat Poets' Society at amazon.com. 

NAAFA Convention 2011: Day 1 Boundaries and Booties!

NAAFA's 2011 conference took place from August 4-8 at The Westin Hotel in Herndon, VA.  The 4th was just a day for registration and mingling, so I won't cover it in great detail here, but suffice it to say, by Thursday night, I could already tell that I was going to make lasting friendships and maybe even change my life.  

Friday morning started early with a session of Water Aerobics with Melissa.  I had never done Water Aerobics so I braved 8AM to give it a try.  It was wonderful to be surrounded by fat women of all ages, all active and enjoying the use of their bodies.  It was also very refreshing to be with an instructor who encouraged us to test our limits but also to know our limits and take it easy when we needed to.  There was none of that "no pain, no gain" mentality and it made the whole experience very positive.  Having a fat instructor was also helpful because she was sensitive to our concerns and had a lot of useful tips to adjust our workouts as necessary.  I just wish I could convince my apartment complex to do water aerobics classes so I can keep learning!

The next workshop I attended was called Tending Boundaries with the Fat Fitness guru, Kelly Bliss. Kelly taught us a basic three-step procedure for how to tend your boundaries with loved ones, doctors and other people who feel they need to make "suggestions" regarding your health.  The three steps are to say:

1.  I know you are concerned.

2.  I am already doing something to address your concern (HAES, self-esteem work, etc.)

3.  We can't talk about this or 

      you are not welcome to comment on ________.  

I found that it was a useful framework because it shows that you are listening to the person, it addresses their concerns (yes I am fat, thank you for noticing) and it stops the conversation from going any further, ie turning into a screaming match.  She also talked about how after an altercation you should speak out loud(even if it is only to yourself) all the things you wanted to say to the person.  Even if you only say it to yourself, it can be very helpful to get it out of your head and into your experiences.  We tried it with a few recent events in our lives and it really did make us feel better.  Kelly likened it to how when you watch a scary movie you still get scared even though you know it's not real.  You will still feel some closure by standing up for yourself even if the other person never hears it.  

The next workshop I attended was a social media workshop.  Mostly it was geared towards older people experimenting with social media for the first time so it wasn't especially useful to me but I am looking into Linkedin and Tweetdeck as a result so some good did come from it.  

Following the social media workshop was a quick meeting for the fashion show (more on that tomorrow) and then off to a lovely buffet dinner and dance party with all my new friends.  Friday night's dance was probably one of the most positive experiences of my life.  From small things, like getting back in the buffet line and not getting a glare from a single person at the table, to some bigger more life-changing events.  

When the dancing got underway, I was right there on the dance floor strutting my stuff.  I felt amazing, confident, happy and sexy.  As we were dancing, one of the women slipped on her shoe and fell.  We all stopped.  One of my good friends from the conference went over to make sure she was okay.  She said she was but that she couldn't get up without everyone seeing her underwear.  So B.  stood in front of her and spread her wide skirt out to block P. as she got back up.  

It may seem like a small thing, but I teared up on the dance floor.  In my mind, B. had committed a revolutionary act.  She used her size to protect someone else.  She didn't hide from it or try to minimize it or do it in a self-deprecating matter.  Her friend was in trouble and she used her size to help.  And no one judged either of them.  It was beautiful.  

After that I went to my first NAAFA pool party and then dragged my tired butt to bed, but there will be more to say about pool parties in the next installment!  Stay tuned for days 2 and 3! 

For more information about Melissa go to http://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/haes-expert.asp?id=97

For more information about Kelly Bliss go to http://www.kellybliss.com/main/index.php