Fat Bitch Assignments #3 & #4

I have been really negligent of the fat bitch assignments in the past few weeks - maybe because I tried to finish/start so many crafting projects! I have had a few ideas for the assignments but didn't really find the energy to create something blog-worthy - nevertheless I want to at least share some thoughts about the Ecourse challenges.

Assignment #3: Challenge yourself to wear something that you might have felt weary about in the past. Break up your routine with something different and you might open yourself up to some radical new styles!

Over the last two years I have tried to challenge myself a lot. In the past I would never have worn short(ish) dresses, bare the wobbly part of my arms or anything that would have shown the outline of my big big belly. A lot of the clothes I have worn in my recent outfit posts have put me out of my comfort zone but it has been a very worthwhile experience. With every new style I feel like becoming a bit freer, less inhibited in my choice of clothes.

double chin,  big belly: yeah!

Discussion #3: Do you have some fatshion tips to share? Please do!

Go to thrift stores, start making your own clothes (even if it is just a knitted hat or scarf or a brooch you made yourself), don't just focus on clothes in your "actual" size,  interfere with the clothes you buy to fit your body (taking them in, letting them out, add applications etc.), be bold and unapologetic.

Assignment #4: Create a tribute to a fat body. Your fat body or somebody else's. Make a papier mache figure, draw a silhouette photograph your rolls, curate a collection of images of bodies similar to yours, etc. 

This is just an idea: I would love to collect historic pictures of fat women wearing historical fashions, especially fabulous Edwardian and 1920s flapper styles.

Discussion #4: How has seeing fat bodies in the media affected you? Like Adele, Gabourey Sidibe, Aidy Bryant from SNL, Beth Ditto, Melissa McCarthy, etc. Do you gravitate towards fat positive music, TV and movies?

I have certainly noticed that fat bodies have become more visible during the last years. German popular culture is immensely fat-phobic and almost all fat-positive things like movies or music tend to originate in the USA or Great Britain. Some music and some movies I love are definitely fat positive but I can't say that I go out of my way to find them - and I would really like to read more fat positive novels or children's books! Still, looking at the growing number of fat positive German blogs and link ups like the Fatty Fashion Fun Challenge the fat acceptance movement has definitely arrived here even though most newspapers, (online) magazines and TV programmes still don't have a clue.

Fat Bitch Assignment #2

This is the second assigment for Rachele's ECourse: 


Reclaim the word fat and do something amazing with it. Make art, take photos of yourself with fat written on you, bake a cake with fat written in frosting, etc. 

As I love, love, love statement buttons and am a passionate cross stitcher, I have made myself a new one:

Here are some DIY-style pictures of the process: 

 

The button is made from three individual buttons; I used Danish flower thread which is my absolute favourite for cross stitching. Here is an old FAT button I made earlier:

The discussion part of the ECourse assigment reads:

What do you love most about the word fat? How has the word fat evolved for you?

As I thought back upon this I was surprised that the word "fat" has been a positive word for me for quite some time - (the German word for "fat" is "dick"). I haven't been bothered by this word for a while now - but I really don't like it if it is treated as a "bad" word to use.

This happened to me a few weeks ago:
I was sitting in a café when a boy of about 4 or 5 years who sat with his parents at a neighboring table turned to me and said: "She's quite fat, isn't she?" - His parents didn't hear him at first and I said to him: "You are right, I am fat." When his parents noticed what he had said to me they were absolutely horrified, even when I said that it was fine, they told their son it was bad manners to tell someone who is obviously fat that he/she is fat. 

I have thought back to this incidence a lot and I was sorry for the boy who obviously didn't mean to say 'Euurgch, she's fat", he simply stated a fact. This experience is the perfect example for me why we need to think about re-branding "fat".

Regarding my list from last week: my stripey dress is almost finished, I have written a few pages of the fat-teenage-girl story, I have adopted an English muffin recipe to make it vegan and the muffins tasted really great, I have made plans to plant lots of leafy salads in an old dog basket which I found by the road and I bought some gorgeous tulips for my room, a pink double flowered variety:

Have a fabulous week!

Love, Qaroline

Fat Bitch Assignment #1

I have just now enrolled in Rachele's "How to be a fat bitch" ECourse on www.nearsightedowl.com ["A fat bitch is confident, out-spoken and proud of who she is. The word bitch has been used by feminists as a way to reclaim an insult used to demean our cause"] - and this is the first assignment: 

"Write down 5 things that you are going to do that make you happy. Not "even though you are fat" but because you are fat and awesome. 5 things that have nothing to do with trying for the sake of others."

This is my list of 5:

#1: Finish sowing my short stripey dress to wear on Valentine's Day.
#2: Learn how to bake vegan cakes that don't taste like cardboard.
#3: Read more about self and fat acceptance.
#4: Finish writing my story about a fat teenage girl who does not hate herself for being fat.
#5: Planting herbs and vegetables in the garden and buying shedloads of tulips for my room.

If you would like to enlist in Rachele's "How to be a fat bitch"-ECourse, you can do it here: http://www.nearsightedowl.com/2013/02/how-to-be-fat-bitch-ecourse-1.html

I will keep you updated about the actual "doing part" of this list!

The discussion part of this assignment reads: 

"How do you deal with people that make assumptions about you based on being fat? Is the best revenge to live well and be happy? How do you feel about the concept of there being a "good fatty" and a "bad fatty" perceived in society?"


I am not great with confrontation but in the last months I have found the courage to speak up more. It is true - most people automatically assume that I am unhappy with my body and most of them are shocked if I state that I don't want to lose weight. Some people cannot handle this very well and try to discuss this topic at length. Usually I try to explain that I feel much healthier and much more self-confident since I have quit obsessing about my weight and if that doesn't serve to shut them up I know that they are not the sort of people I want to be my friend. Regarding the "good fatty" and "bad fatty" issue: size-wise and weight-wise I am definitely in the "bad fatty" category. To say that some people are allowed to love themselves and others are not is principally not acceptable to me. I know that I have been conditioned to judge people and myself just because of their bodies and my body all my life and I am still battling this seemingly automatic process from time to time. 

Love, Qaroline