Hippie Days

Hope Springs Eternal

A great shoot with Paul Cory at Hope Creek. The water was just perfect although the rocks were a little slippery, but Paul helped me out. The shoot was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed myself. The hike was about 15-20 minutes. We got out after sundown and I forgot my towel so I was hiking back to the car dripping wet! So enjoy!

 

Dear I'm-too-skinny friends,

You're not. You're perfect just the way you are. With or without curves. With or without muscles. Body acceptance isn't limited to fat acceptance and the trouble with weight goes both ways. Some of us can't take it off and some can't put it on. Just because you can't put it on doesn't make you inadequate or less than anyone else.

Okay, yes, you have this whole thin privilege thing, and I'm not saying you shouldn't recognize this and recognize that being fat makes us fatties part of an oppressed group- an oppression that you, as a person with thin privilege, have an impact on. 

What I'm saying is that I recognize the pain that comes with body dissatisfaction no matter what size you are and how harmful calls of "eat a [insert food of choice- cheeseburger, cookie, whatever]" are to your self esteem. I've known people who were ashamed of their thinness because people assumed they had eating disorders (but since when do people with eating disorders deserve to be mocked either, by the way?). Men ashamed of not being "manly" enough because they were very thin. 

But here's the thing- it's just your body. Just the body that you were born with, that takes you through the day. Some of your bodies are healthy strong bodies and some aren't and that's okay too. At the end of the day it's a body that's completely and uniquely yours. You're the person who has to live with that body, so why not love it unconditionally and wholly? Whether thin or fat or anything in between your body is beautiful. 

It's not courage if you're not afraid

Courage, according to wikipedia, is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Since I started my blog I've gotten a lot of attention both good and bad, especially for my nude posts which have helped people and also incited hatred. I've been cyber stalked as has my family including my young child, I've had photos stolen and posted for the purpose of mockery, I've had images photoshopped to show me how I'd look thinner, I've received threats, hate mail, and been made to feel unsafe to say the least. 


When I posted my sets of nude photos I was terrified. I sat there for several minutes with my mouse over the submit button before closing my eyes and hitting it. Even worse was taking that post and sharing it with people I knew as well as strangers. Still, the events that have transpired since then have made me more fearful and more hesitant to post, but that won't stop it. Hence my title- it's not courage if you're not afraid. There has to be a danger, a fear, people to intimidate and threaten, that you're able to stand up to for it to be courageous. It's tempting to let it all get the better of me, but I won't. 


And no, I'm not just talking for nothing, there are indeed photos. By who else but Dan Smith who did my last set of nudes. These were taken in the abandoned building that we visited which was, unfortunately, too exposed to do more. But here's a few and I hope you enjoy. 

Let's play what if

So, I've explained over and over that 95% of diets fail (yes, even lifestyle changes and even if you keep up with it), that fat is mostly genetic, that fat does not equal unhealthy, and that the diet industry is a 60 billion dollar a year industry that wants to trick you into thinking that you can lose weight when you'll likely end up heavier than when you started. But let's pretend for a moment that all the fatphobes are right- that you can be thin if you just try hard enough, that fat is unhealthy, and that fat people really are just lazy.

I have to ask... so what? Since when did being lazy mean that you were worthy of being abused? Since when did loving to eat and hating exercise mean that you shouldn't be allowed basic respect or dignity? You can't pretend that there aren't lazy thin people so why aren't you throwing things at them or getting in their faces to tell them they deserve to be raped, killed, or should commit suicide? And since when does anything a person do, regardless of whether it's your cup of tea or not, make them deserve something like that anyway?

People make stupid choices all the time. People drink, they do extreme skate boarding, they speed on the interstate. Hell, one guy just walked across Niagara Falls on a cable and was cheered for it, not abused because he was doing something dangerous. We don't deny athletes health insurance even with the dangers that are associated with many sports such as repeated concussions and brain damage. Even smokers aren't met with the same kind of hate that fat people face and their smoke is not only bad for them, but bad for those around them too. If fat is caused by lifestyle, then why is it the one lifestyle that's seen as unacceptable? 

Regardless of whether being fat is a choice or not, we all deserve basic respect and a life free to make our own choices not one filled with constant abuse, stigma, and discrimination. It is not anyone else's place to effect the quality of our lives even if they believe those lives will be shortened by a few years. What kind of person takes it upon themselves to make someone else miserable for the rest of their life just because they disagree with how they live? Even if fat was our own fault, these people are still violating our human rights and we'd still need to stand up against them. So if being fat is a choice, I ask again, so what?

A few more photos..

From Krista Smith and the Walk in Greensboro

Decay and Peace

One last shoot with the bubblegum pink hair with Dan Smith at this amazing abandoned building in the process of being demolished. Unfortunately it was more demolished than we wanted and couldn't get all the shots we wanted to. But, as always, Dan is a pleasure to work with so enjoy.