Weight and Wisdom

Over the last 50 years in the United States, the medical establishment, the beauty industry, and the mainstream media have relentlessly forwarded the belief that fat is unattractive and unhealthy. While many believe that anti-fat ideas went unchallenged until the rise of body positivity, there have always been resistors. In the worlds of eating disorders treatment, Health at Every Size(R) advocacy, and fat activism, challengers to our cultural narratives have championed another way for decades.

In this collection, 34 of those trailblazing rebels against body oppression voice the history of challenging the status quo and working to create a world where all bodies are valued. The result is a multifaceted compilation of stories from researchers, legal experts, clinicians, scholars, and activists who pushed back against weight bias and all its various harmful practices and outcomes. Through interviews and personal essays, Weight and Wisdom documents untold stories, reflects on shortcomings and successes, and invites readers to continue cross-generational dialogues to ensure body liberation.

Contributors: Francie Berg, MS; Gayle Brooks, PhD; Harriet Brown, MFA; Barbara Altman Bruno, PhD, DCSW; Deb/Debby Burgard, PhD, FAED; Ragen Chastain, MEd, BCPA; Carmen Cool, MA, LPC; Carolyn Costin, MA, MEd, MFT, FAED, CEDS; Rev. E-K Daufin, PhD; Amy Baker Dennis, PhD, FAED, FACT; Peggy Elam, PhD; Bill Fabrey BSEE; Peggy A. Howell, RMT, CMT; Dalia Kinsey, RD, LD; Michael P. Levine, PhD; Caleb Luna, PhD; Pat Lyons, RN, MA; Margo Maine, PhD; FAED, CEDS; Judith Matz, LCSW, ACSW; Allegra O'Hara, BA; Lily O'Hara, PhD, MPH; Tigress Osborn, MFA; Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDS-S, FIAEDP, FADA, FAND; Jon Robison, PhD, MS, MA, Certified Intrinsic Coach(R); Esther Rothblum, Ph.D.; Dana Schuster, MS; Brandie Solovay, BA, JD; Sondra Solovay, JD; Carol Squires, BS; Lisa Tealer, BS; Pattie Thomas, PhD; Marilyn Wann, MA; Rosie Young, MSW.

"Weight and Wisdom is an invaluable fat liberation history created by many of the very people who shaped the movement over the years. This is a must read for activists, advocates, and anyone who believes in creating a world where fat people can thrive."

"This book is an essential read for those looking to understand the origins, present day, and future of fat liberation. Stories are masterfully crafted to draw readers in even if you are someone who has never experiences the harsh realities of weight stigma. Weight and Wisdom: Reflections on Decades of Working for Body Liberation provides a necessary foundation to have non nonsense conversations about the ways that modern society is complicit and more so, emboldened to declare that fat bodies do not deserve the same liberties, resources, and joy that smaller bodies readily partake of. It also (also rightfully so) reifies those with ample flesh to take up space unapologetically, offering a big middle finger to a world that is hell bent on seeing us suffer."

"If you're already familiar with the body liberation movement, Weight and Wisdom will bring you so much joy -- many of the people you've heard of and learned from are speaking to you directly in this book about their work and lives....If you're new to body liberation, Weight and Wisdom will draw you in, inspire you, and place you in a lineage you may have never known existed. The truth is, you are firmly held; your body loved and valued by those you've never met.

"Weight and Wisdom is expertly woven from insightful essays, eyewitness accounts, discussions, and oral histories about body liberation. The editors present an emotional tapestry that shows how local community efforts and social change efforts merge with personal need, political rage and creativity. Weight and Wisdom explores the history of various groups that have resisted fat people's erasure. And, be clear, the vibrancy of our lives continues to be erased by the white supremacist, colonial, capitalist diet industries. Showing up and living well and bodily is one step that each person can take when possible, and then, collective action and deeper analysis contribute to the education and agitation to make a safe world for all bodies. Weight and Wisdom blesses us by teaching which people and what work has come before us. Weight and Wisdom will make you feel less lonely and more powerful in your own body liberation efforts."

Nancy Ellis-Ordway, PhD, LCSW (she/her) is a psychotherapist with more than 35 years' experience, specializing in treating eating disorders, body image issues, stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. She has a private practice in Jefferson City, MO.In addition to a master of social work degree from Washington University and a PhD in health education and promotion from the University of Missouri, she completed the Advanced Psychodynamic Psychotherapy training program at the St. Louise Psychoanalytic Institute.She has written chapters for five books and authored Thrive At Any Weight: Eating to Nourish Body, Soul, and Self-Esteem (2019). She is the coeditor of Weight Bias in Health Education: Critical Perspectives for Pedagogy and Practice (2021) and the coauthor of "Weight Stigma as a Violation of the NASW Code of Ethics: A Call to Action" in The Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics (2022). Tigress Osborn, MFA (she/her) is the executive director of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA). Founded in 1969 in the United States, NAAFA is the world's oldest documented fat rights advocacy organization. As leader of the most diverse board in NAAFA's 54-year history, Tigress has championed an intersectional approach to fighting anti-fatness through education, advocacy, and support. Her work with NAAFA has been featured in USA Today, Huffington Post, and Newsweek, and heard on BBC AntiSocial and ABC News. She also hosts and produces the NAAFA Webinar series, which features a wide variety of activists, scholars, and artists from fat community. She founded Full Figure Entertainment in 2008 in Oakland, CA, and co-founded PHS Fat Force in Arizona in 2019. Tigress is a justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) consultant and educator whose clients have ranged from major tech companies to small nonprofits. She is a two-time-women's college graduate with a BA in Black Studies from Smith College and an MFA in creative writing from Mills College. Follow Tigress @iofthetigress on social media.

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