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Pam Poovey's Stunt Double
Saying goodbye to fat as an embarrassing f-word is the thrust of a new body love project spearheaded by local fat activists and researchers from Queensland's Griffith University.
In a bid to change the way obese people are popularly portrayed, Lauren Gurrieri and Queensland College of Art photography lecturer Isaac Brown have collaborated with Brisbane's fat acceptance community on a media image library.
The photo subjects are depicted participating in a range of everyday activities, but their large size marks the difference between the images conventionally favoured by newspapers and magazines.
Dr Gurrieri hopes images will be used by the media in a positive light, so challenging associations of obesity with slovenly, lazy or unclean behaviours.
The so-called headless fatties phenomenon, whereby obese people were pictured without heads in relation to negative stories, was a particular focus, Dr Gurrieri said.
We need imagery that negates the trauma obese people especially obese women face when confronted with media depictions of fat, she said.
Weight-based stigma common to stories about beauty and fashion, but health is another area of concern.
There's research that shows using shaming photographs of obese people with messages about leading healthy lives is counter-productive; we want to see a change in direction.
Zoe Holmes, who participated in the Griffith project and has been involved with fat activism for the last two years, agreed it was time for change.
Ms Holmes said before she discovered online fat acceptance communities, she felt stigmatised for her weight.
But since learning to accept her size, Ms Holmes felt more able to enjoy activities she had otherwise felt were off-limits.
You look at the imagery surrounding stories on diet, health and exercise, and obese and it's difficult not to feel hopeless, which makes you less confident about participating in those activities, she said.
Yet as I grew my confidence and learnt to accept what I look like, I realise it didn't matter; I live an active, healthy lifestyle, I'm mentally healthier now thanks to fat acceptance, and I'm proud of my body and who I am.
Yet despite her inner peace, Ms Holmes said she was still subjected to abuse when exercising; she prefers swimming at her local pool to jogging because people have less breath to criticise you.
Dr Gurrieri said the image library, the result of a 12-month documentary-style study of the lived experience of fat, was set for release in June.
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lif...nce-project-20120213-1t154.html#ixzz1mKsEtM5O
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