Do you remember the days before The Net and the computers? Do you remember how difficult it was to get in touch with the FAs/BBWs subculture? I think my case is paradigmatic, even if it had the added difficulty that I live in Italy, definitely not a FA paradise.
Everything began with a photo magazine I bought in 1979 because it had a series of pictures of BBWs -I did not know the term in these days- taken by Bob Adelman. I read the text accompanying the pictures, and in this way I knew of the existence of NAAFA and of small fat-centered subculture. I would have kicked myself because I just came back from the States the week before. Every time I came back to the States I tried to get in touch with NAAFA, but I never succeeded, so I began to think it disappeared or that it was an underground association that didn't want publicity.
In the following years through articles in Italian and American newspapers and word of mouth I knew about isolated books and persons, like Susie Orbach and Fat is a feminist issue, or Nancy Roberts and Breaking all the Rules, looking good and feeling great no matter what your size. This confirmed my idea that there were groups of a limited but active subculture, I tried to getting in touch with it, but again to no avail. In all the trips I made to the States the only thing I could do was to buy books.
Finally in 1988 I contacted SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) and got friend with a BBW of the local chapter who made me acquainted with BBW Magazine -paper magazine, of course. I succeeded, I was in touch with the BBWs/FAs subculture!
Luckily my search did not end with this. I came back to Italy after a few months and the following year a fellow FA revealed me the existence of BUF (do you remember it?), that could be found also in Europe, and of Dimensions, that could not be found in Europe. In the meantime through BBW Magazine I got in touch with NAAFA and with another BBW, who finally in 1991 gave me an issue of Dimensions I still have.
As you see getting in touch with many of the aspects of our subculture was a process that lasted more than a decade.
I would like to know the experiences of other old-timers. How did you know of the existence of our subculture and how did you get in touch with it?
Everything began with a photo magazine I bought in 1979 because it had a series of pictures of BBWs -I did not know the term in these days- taken by Bob Adelman. I read the text accompanying the pictures, and in this way I knew of the existence of NAAFA and of small fat-centered subculture. I would have kicked myself because I just came back from the States the week before. Every time I came back to the States I tried to get in touch with NAAFA, but I never succeeded, so I began to think it disappeared or that it was an underground association that didn't want publicity.
In the following years through articles in Italian and American newspapers and word of mouth I knew about isolated books and persons, like Susie Orbach and Fat is a feminist issue, or Nancy Roberts and Breaking all the Rules, looking good and feeling great no matter what your size. This confirmed my idea that there were groups of a limited but active subculture, I tried to getting in touch with it, but again to no avail. In all the trips I made to the States the only thing I could do was to buy books.
Finally in 1988 I contacted SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) and got friend with a BBW of the local chapter who made me acquainted with BBW Magazine -paper magazine, of course. I succeeded, I was in touch with the BBWs/FAs subculture!
Luckily my search did not end with this. I came back to Italy after a few months and the following year a fellow FA revealed me the existence of BUF (do you remember it?), that could be found also in Europe, and of Dimensions, that could not be found in Europe. In the meantime through BBW Magazine I got in touch with NAAFA and with another BBW, who finally in 1991 gave me an issue of Dimensions I still have.
As you see getting in touch with many of the aspects of our subculture was a process that lasted more than a decade.
I would like to know the experiences of other old-timers. How did you know of the existence of our subculture and how did you get in touch with it?
