WEBVTT

00:00:00.727 --> 00:00:02.803
I'm here today to talk to you

00:00:02.803 --> 00:00:05.620
about a very powerful little word,

00:00:05.620 --> 00:00:08.070
one that people will do almost anything

00:00:08.070 --> 00:00:10.125
to avoid becoming.

00:00:10.125 --> 00:00:12.634
Billion dollar industries thrive

00:00:12.634 --> 00:00:14.254
because of the fear of it,

00:00:14.254 --> 00:00:17.569
and those of us who undeniably are it

00:00:17.569 --> 00:00:21.013
are left to navigate a relentless storm

00:00:21.013 --> 00:00:22.338
surrounding it.

00:00:22.338 --> 00:00:25.380
I'm not sure if any of you have noticed,

00:00:25.380 --> 00:00:27.582
but I'm fat.

00:00:27.582 --> 00:00:31.036
Not the lower case, muttered
behind my back kind,

00:00:31.036 --> 00:00:34.587
or the seemingly harmless
chubby or cuddly.

00:00:34.587 --> 00:00:39.898
I'm not even the more sophisticated
voluptuous or curvaceous kind.

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:39.898 --> 00:00:41.886
Let's not sugar-coat it.

00:00:41.886 --> 00:00:45.752
I am the capital F-A-T kind of fat.

00:00:45.752 --> 00:00:50.240
I am the elephant in the room.

00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:52.854
When I walked out on stage,

00:00:52.854 --> 00:00:53.104
some of you may have been thinking,

00:00:55.978 --> 00:00:57.985
"Aww, this is going to be hilarious,

00:00:57.985 --> 00:00:59.383
because everybody knows
that fat people are funny."

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:59.383 --> 00:01:00.717
(Laughter)

NOTE Paragraph

00:01:00.717 --> 00:01:04.727
Or you may have been thinking,
"Where does she get her confidence from?"

00:01:04.727 --> 00:01:08.939
Because a confident fat woman
is almost unthinkable.

00:01:08.939 --> 00:01:11.302
The fashion-conscious
members of the audience

00:01:11.302 --> 00:01:14.065
may have been thinking how fabulous I look

00:01:14.065 --> 00:01:15.580
in this Beth Ditto dress --

00:01:15.580 --> 00:01:16.796
(Cheers)

00:01:16.796 --> 00:01:18.750
thank you very much --

00:01:18.750 --> 00:01:20.150
whereas some of you might have thought,

00:01:20.150 --> 00:01:24.524
"Hmm, black would have been
so much more slimming."

00:01:24.524 --> 00:01:27.137
You may have wondered, consciously or not,

00:01:27.137 --> 00:01:29.981
if I have diabetes, or a partner,

00:01:29.981 --> 00:01:33.370
or if I eat carbs after 7pm.

00:01:33.370 --> 00:01:37.680
You may have worried that you
ate carbs after 7pm last night,

00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:41.377
and that you really should renew
your gym membership.

NOTE Paragraph

00:01:41.377 --> 00:01:43.778
These judgments are insidious.

00:01:43.778 --> 00:01:46.244
They can be directed
at individuals and groups,

00:01:46.244 --> 00:01:49.188
and they can also be directed
at ourselves.

00:01:49.188 --> 00:01:50.849
And this way of thinking

00:01:50.849 --> 00:01:53.494
is known as fat phobia.

00:01:53.494 --> 00:01:56.455
Like any form of systematic oppression,

00:01:56.455 --> 00:01:59.481
fat phobia is deeply rooted
in complex structures

00:01:59.481 --> 00:02:03.822
like capitalism, patriarchy, and racism,

00:02:03.822 --> 00:02:07.026
and that can make it
really difficult to see,

00:02:07.026 --> 00:02:09.067
let alone challenge.

00:02:09.067 --> 00:02:10.480
We live in a culture

00:02:10.480 --> 00:02:15.364
where being fat is seen
as being a bad person,

00:02:15.364 --> 00:02:18.930
lazy, greedy, unhealthy, irresponsible,

00:02:18.930 --> 00:02:21.465
and morally suspect,

00:02:21.465 --> 00:02:23.322
and we tend to see thinness

00:02:23.322 --> 00:02:26.335
as being universally good,

00:02:26.335 --> 00:02:32.464
responsible, successful, and in control
of our appetites, bodies, and lives.

00:02:32.464 --> 00:02:34.864
We see these ideas again and again

00:02:34.864 --> 00:02:37.759
in the media, in public health policy,

00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:39.076
doctors offices,

00:02:39.076 --> 00:02:41.639
in everyday conversations,

00:02:41.639 --> 00:02:43.949
and in our own attitudes.

00:02:43.949 --> 00:02:46.736
We may even blame fat people themselves

00:02:46.736 --> 00:02:48.529
for the discrimination they face

00:02:48.529 --> 00:02:53.478
because, after all, if we don't like it,
we should just lose weight.

00:02:53.478 --> 00:02:55.385
Easy.

00:02:55.385 --> 00:02:57.920
This anti-fat bias has become

00:02:57.920 --> 00:03:02.341
so integral, so ingrained
to how we value ourselves and each other

00:03:02.341 --> 00:03:04.873
that we rarely question why

00:03:04.873 --> 00:03:08.444
we have such contempt for people of size,

00:03:08.444 --> 00:03:11.087
and where that disdain comes from.

NOTE Paragraph

00:03:11.087 --> 00:03:13.119
But we must question it,

00:03:13.119 --> 00:03:16.256
because the enormous value
we place on how we look

00:03:16.256 --> 00:03:19.014
affects every one of us.

00:03:19.014 --> 00:03:21.678
And do we really want to live in a society

00:03:21.678 --> 00:03:24.555
where people are denied
their basic humanity

00:03:24.555 --> 00:03:29.724
if they don't subscribe to some
arbitrary form of acceptable?

NOTE Paragraph

00:03:29.724 --> 00:03:34.094
So when I was six years old,
my sister used to teach ballet

00:03:34.094 --> 00:03:36.877
to a bunch of little girls in our garage.

00:03:36.877 --> 00:03:40.323
I was about a foot taller and a foot wider
than most of the group.

00:03:40.323 --> 00:03:43.384
When it came to doing
our first performance,

00:03:43.384 --> 00:03:47.313
I was so excited about wearing
a pretty pink tutu.

00:03:47.313 --> 00:03:50.847
I was going to sparkle.

00:03:50.847 --> 00:03:55.057
As the other girls slipped easily
into their lycra and ?? creations,

00:03:55.057 --> 00:03:59.042
not one of the tutus
was big enough to fit me.

00:03:59.042 --> 00:04:02.785
I was determined not to be
excluded from the performance,

00:04:02.785 --> 00:04:06.087
so I turned to my mother

00:04:06.087 --> 00:04:08.704
and loud enough for everyone to hear

00:04:08.704 --> 00:04:12.107
said, "Mum, I don't need a tutu.

00:04:12.107 --> 00:04:15.560
I need a fourfour."

NOTE Paragraph

00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:18.437
Thanks mum.

NOTE Paragraph

00:04:18.437 --> 00:04:22.565
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:04:22.565 --> 00:04:25.360
And although I didn't
recognize it at the time,

00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:28.336
claiming space for myself
in that glorious fourfour

00:04:28.336 --> 00:04:30.523
was the first step towards becoming
a radical fat activist.

NOTE Paragraph

00:04:30.523 --> 00:04:37.356
Now, I'm not saying that this
whole body love thing

00:04:37.356 --> 00:04:41.242
has been an easy skip along
a glittering path of self-acceptance

00:04:41.242 --> 00:04:43.057
since that day in class.

00:04:43.057 --> 00:04:44.894
Far from it.

00:04:44.894 --> 00:04:49.120
I soon learned that living outside
what the mainstream considers normal

00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:52.886
can be a frustrating and isolating place.

00:04:52.886 --> 00:04:57.276
I've spent the last 20 years unpacking
and deprogramming these messages,

00:04:57.276 --> 00:05:00.910
and it's been quite the rollercoaster.

00:05:00.910 --> 00:05:05.085
I've been openly laughed at,
abused from passing cars,

00:05:05.085 --> 00:05:07.634
and been told that I'm delusional.

00:05:07.634 --> 00:05:10.018
I also receive smiles from strangers

00:05:10.018 --> 00:05:11.942
who recognize what it takes

00:05:11.942 --> 00:05:13.356
to walk down the street

00:05:13.356 --> 00:05:16.992
with a spring in your step
and your head held high.

00:05:16.992 --> 00:05:18.322
Thanks.

00:05:18.322 --> 00:05:22.597
And through it all, that fierce little
six-year old has stayed with me,

00:05:22.597 --> 00:05:25.195
and she has helped me
stand before you today

00:05:25.195 --> 00:05:28.302
as an unapologetic fat person,

00:05:28.302 --> 00:05:31.381
a person that simply refuses to subscribe

00:05:31.381 --> 00:05:32.909
to the dominant narrative

00:05:32.909 --> 00:05:37.411
about how I should move through the world
in this body of mine.

NOTE Paragraph

00:05:37.411 --> 00:05:40.933
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:05:40.933 --> 00:05:41.183
And I'm not alone.

00:05:46.192 --> 00:05:49.743
I am part of an international
community of people

00:05:49.743 --> 00:05:53.870
who choose to rather than passively
accepting that our bodies are

00:05:53.870 --> 00:05:56.380
and probably always will be big,

00:05:56.380 --> 00:05:58.899
we actively choose to flourish

00:05:58.899 --> 00:06:01.303
in these bodies as they are today,

00:06:01.303 --> 00:06:04.707
people who honor our strength
and work with, not against,

00:06:04.707 --> 00:06:07.470
our perceived limitations,

00:06:07.470 --> 00:06:09.539
people who value health

00:06:09.539 --> 00:06:11.950
as something much more holistic

00:06:11.950 --> 00:06:15.279
than a number on an outdated BMI chart.

00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:21.266
Instead, we value mental health,
self-worth, and how we feel in our bodies

00:06:21.266 --> 00:06:25.868
as vital aspects to our overall wellbeing,

00:06:25.868 --> 00:06:29.239
people who refuse to believe that living
in these fat bodies is a barrier

00:06:29.239 --> 00:06:33.749
to anything, really.

00:06:33.749 --> 00:06:36.753
There are doctors, academics, and bloggers

00:06:36.753 --> 00:06:39.154
who have written countless volumes

00:06:39.154 --> 00:06:43.018
on the many facets
of this complex subject.

00:06:43.018 --> 00:06:46.569
There are fatchinistas
who reclaim their bodies

00:06:46.569 --> 00:06:48.163
and their beauty

00:06:48.163 --> 00:06:51.213
by wearing fatkinis and crop tops,

00:06:51.213 --> 00:06:54.256
exposing the flesh that
we're all taught to hide.

00:06:54.256 --> 00:06:55.964
There are fat athletes

00:06:55.964 --> 00:06:59.745
who run marathons, teach yoga,
or do kickboxing,

00:06:59.745 --> 00:07:05.649
all done with a middle finger
firmly held up to the status quo.

00:07:05.649 --> 00:07:08.972
And these people have taught me
that radical body politics

00:07:08.972 --> 00:07:13.738
is the antidote to our
body-shaming culture.

00:07:13.738 --> 00:07:17.586
But to be clear, I'm not saying
that people shouldn't

00:07:17.586 --> 00:07:20.906
change their bodies if that's
what they want to do.

00:07:20.906 --> 00:07:24.837
Reclaiming yourself can be one of
the most gorgeous acts of self-love

00:07:24.837 --> 00:07:28.192
and can look like
a million different things,

00:07:28.192 --> 00:07:31.940
from hairstyles to tattoos
to body contouring

00:07:31.940 --> 00:07:35.596
to hormones to surgery
and yes, even weight loss.

00:07:35.596 --> 00:07:37.843
It's simple: it's your body,

00:07:37.843 --> 00:07:41.215
and you decide what's best to do with it.

NOTE Paragraph

00:07:41.215 --> 00:07:44.338
My way of engaging in activism

00:07:44.338 --> 00:07:47.233
is by doing all the things
that we fatties aren't supposed to do,

00:07:47.233 --> 00:07:49.600
and there's a lot of them,

00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:53.941
inviting other people to join me
and then making art about it.

00:07:53.941 --> 00:07:56.440
The common thread through
most of this work

00:07:56.440 --> 00:08:00.386
has been reclaiming spaces that are
often prohibitive to bigger bodies,

00:08:00.386 --> 00:08:03.674
from the catwalk to club shows,

00:08:03.674 --> 00:08:07.754
from public swimming pools
to prominent dance stages.

00:08:07.754 --> 00:08:13.688
And reclaiming spaces en masse
is not only a powerful artistic statement

00:08:13.688 --> 00:08:17.058
but a radical community-building approach.

00:08:17.058 --> 00:08:21.089
This was so true of Aquaporko,

00:08:21.089 --> 00:08:27.912
the fat fem synchronized swim team I
started with a group of friends in Sydney.

00:08:27.912 --> 00:08:32.055
The impact of seeing a bunch
of defiant fat women

00:08:32.055 --> 00:08:34.274
in flowery swimming caps and bathers

00:08:34.274 --> 00:08:37.072
throwing their legs in the air
without a care

00:08:37.072 --> 00:08:40.605
should not be underestimated.

NOTE Paragraph

00:08:40.605 --> 00:08:43.039
(Laughter)

NOTE Paragraph

00:08:44.834 --> 00:08:50.306
Throughout my career, I have learned
that fat bodies are inherently political,

00:08:50.306 --> 00:08:52.197
and unapologetic fat bodies

00:08:52.197 --> 00:08:55.828
can blow people's minds.

00:08:55.828 --> 00:08:58.938
When director Kate Champion,

00:08:58.938 --> 00:09:01.800
of acclaimed dance company Force Majeure,

00:09:01.800 --> 00:09:04.398
asked me to be the artistic associate

00:09:04.398 --> 00:09:07.654
on a work featuring all fat dancers,

00:09:07.654 --> 00:09:11.937
I literally jumped at the opportunity.

00:09:11.937 --> 00:09:14.806
And I mean literally.

00:09:14.806 --> 00:09:18.669
"Nothing to Lose" is a work made
in collaboration with performers of size

00:09:18.669 --> 00:09:21.728
who drew from their lived experiences

00:09:21.728 --> 00:09:26.365
to create a work as varied
and authentic as we all are,

00:09:26.365 --> 00:09:30.443
and it was as far from ballet
as you could imagine.

NOTE Paragraph

00:09:30.443 --> 00:09:35.211
The very idea of a fat dance work
by such a prestigious company

00:09:35.211 --> 00:09:37.480
was, to put it mildly, controversial,

00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:46.935
because nothing like it had ever been done
on mainstream dance stages before

00:09:46.935 --> 00:09:48.086
anywhere in the world.

00:09:48.086 --> 00:09:50.043
People were skeptical.

00:09:50.043 --> 00:09:53.709
"What do you mean, fat dancers?

00:09:53.709 --> 00:09:56.012
Like, size 10, size 12 kind of fat?

00:09:56.012 --> 00:10:02.160
Where did they do their dance training?

00:10:02.160 --> 00:10:07.275
Are they going to have the stamina
for a full-length production?"

00:10:07.275 --> 00:10:09.247
But despite the skepticism,

00:10:09.247 --> 00:10:13.243
"Nothing to Lose" became
a sellout hit of Sydney Festival.

00:10:13.243 --> 00:10:15.644
We received rave reviews, toured,

00:10:15.644 --> 00:10:20.087
won awards, and were written about
in over 27 languages.

00:10:20.087 --> 00:10:25.690
These incredible images of our cast
were seen worldwide.

00:10:25.690 --> 00:10:30.130
I've lost count of how many times
people of all sizes

00:10:30.130 --> 00:10:33.379
have told me that the show
has changed their lives,

00:10:33.379 --> 00:10:35.945
how it helped them shift
their relationship

00:10:35.945 --> 00:10:37.754
to their own and other people's bodies,

00:10:37.754 --> 00:10:41.716
and how it made them confront
their own bias.

NOTE Paragraph

00:10:41.716 --> 00:10:44.742
But of course, work
that pushes people's buttons

00:10:44.742 --> 00:10:48.129
is not without its detractors.

00:10:48.129 --> 00:10:51.617
I have been told
that I'm glorifying obesity.

00:10:51.617 --> 00:10:54.098
I have received violent death threats

00:10:54.098 --> 00:10:59.607
and abuse for daring to make work
that centers fat people's bodies and lives

00:10:59.607 --> 00:11:06.314
and treats us as worthwhile human beings
with valuable stories to tell.

00:11:06.314 --> 00:11:08.384
I've even been called

00:11:08.384 --> 00:11:12.312
"the ISIS of the obesity epidemic,"

00:11:12.312 --> 00:11:15.714
a comment so absurd that it is funny

00:11:15.714 --> 00:11:18.959
but it also speaks to the panic,

00:11:18.959 --> 00:11:20.836
the literal terror,

00:11:20.836 --> 00:11:23.878
that the fear of fat can evoke.

00:11:23.878 --> 00:11:27.263
It is this fear that's feeding
the diet industry,

00:11:27.263 --> 00:11:31.982
which is keeping so many of us
from making peace with our own bodies,

00:11:31.982 --> 00:11:34.415
for waiting to be the after-photo

00:11:34.415 --> 00:11:37.738
before we truly start to live our lives,

00:11:37.738 --> 00:11:42.176
because the real elephant
in the room her is fat phobia.

00:11:42.176 --> 00:11:46.849
Fat activism refuses to indulge this fear.

00:11:46.849 --> 00:11:51.088
By advocating for self-determination
and respect for all of us,

00:11:51.088 --> 00:11:54.644
we can shift society's reluctance
to embrace diversity

00:11:54.644 --> 00:12:00.755
and start to celebrate the myriad ways
there are to have a body.

NOTE Paragraph

00:12:00.755 --> 00:12:02.576
Thank you.

NOTE Paragraph

00:12:02.576 --> 00:12:07.163
(Applause)