I Stand

No doubt, by now, many, if not all, of you have heard about Marilyn Wann's I Stand project. If you'll remember, the Georgia anti-fat group, strong4life, posted ads around the state shaming fat kids. Well, Marilyn and a small team of photoshoppers have joined forces and created dozens of protesting posters with people of all shapes and sizes stating what they stand for or against. The amazing Pattie Thomas has made a great slide show of many of them and there's also a tumblr!

For me, strong4life's campaign as well as Marilyn's I stand campaign are personal. I was that fat child and the bullying from peers, family, the media, and even strangers contributed to a decade long struggle with an eating disorder, self destructive behaviors, and severe depression. So for my poster I wanted to specifically address the increased risk of eating disorders and suicide associated with weight stigma and weight bullying. You'll notice the word 'love' written on my arm as well. The TWLOHA organization (to write love on her arms) is dedicated to awareness of depression and self injury. The majority of people know someone who self harms or has, whether they know it or not.  These are two very important issues and I'm happy to be part of this project.

If you want to participate email a photo of yourself and what you stand for or against to Marilyn Wann at Marilyna@fatso.com. make sure the photo is a reasonable size!