Kelli Jean Drinkwater / The Fear of Fat: The Real elephant in the Room

Welcome back, incredible BookDuck fans. Are you ready to take part in challenging societal stereotypes about different body types? If yes, then let’s discuss the TED talk by Kelli Jean Drinkwater, which is all about embracing diversity and self-acceptance.

The Elephant in the Room

She first speaks about the "elephant in the room." This is what the speaker likes to call herself. As a person who often faces body shaming, she has learned to embrace herself. After having constant stigmas following her around because of her body type, she opens up about challenging the idea that a fat woman cannot be confident. She also learned to ignore the looks that wonder if she has diabetes or eats carbs after 7 PM. Let's not be like those people, guys. These judgments are insidious and can be directed at people of all age groups and even ourselves.

This way of thinking is known as fatphobia.

Fatphobia is a form of oppression and can be difficult to see and, therefore, difficult to challenge. There is "Anti Fat Bias" going around where fat people are seen as bad people, lazy, greedy, unhealthy, and many more negative adjectives. Thinness is considered the universal good. Unfortunately, social media is also a big part of these harmful ideas spreading. Public health policies and doctor's offices are no exception as well. There is hatred and a feeling of unworthiness toward people of size. Now what should we do in this case? Well, why don't we start questioning where these feelings come from? We must start doing this because there is an enormous value placed on how we look, which affects all of us. I am sure none of us want to live in a society where people are denied basic humanity because others created their version of what is acceptable.

However, some people choose to love themselves no matter what. And that's what our speaker did. She remembers when she was six years old and how she was the tallest and widest in her ballet group. It was time for her first performance, and the tutu that fit the other girls perfectly was small on her. She was determined to perform, so she loudly and proudly said she needed a four-four. Now that's what we call self-love and determination. Little did she know those were her first steps at becoming a radical fat activist. The journey was not an easy one though. Along the way, she was laughed at, abused by passing cars and called delusional. And throughout it all, the fierce six-year-old is now giving a TED talk as an unapologetic fat person in front of hundreds of people. She simply refuses to feel the way society wants her to feel about her body. And guess what? She is not alone in all of this. She is part of a big international community of people who choose to flourish in the big bodies they have and consider health as more than the numbers on the BMI chart. Instead, they choose to value mental health and self-worth as important aspects of their well-being.

There may be doctors, and bloggers, writing countlessly about this subject and fashionistas talking about which body defines beauty. But, guess what? That doesn't stop fat athletes from running marathons and being successful at their craft. Now, that's a way to go against the status quo. Such people teach us that radical body politics is the poison for the body shaming culture. Let's be clear. It's not about not changing your body. You can always reclaim yourself. It's a beautiful act of self-love and can be done in many ways, whether it's a change in hairstyle, tattoo, or even weight loss. It's your body, and you have the full right to decide what you want to do with it. Now, as a person bigger in size, the best way to engage in activism is by doing things that you aren't supposed to do.

The most common step has become reclaiming spaces that may have often been prohibited to bigger bodies. Whether it's the runway or the prominent dance stages, reclaiming these spaces is considered a powerful artistic statement but also a radical community-building approach. Why not use Aquaporko as an example of this? They were a fat femme synchronized swim team that Kelly Jean started with a group of friends. The way they threw their legs in the air without caring about their flowery swimming bathers, they were not to be underestimated!

But this was not her only success.

When an acclaimed dance theater director asked Kelly Jean to be an artistic associate on a work that featured all fat dancers, she jumped at the opportunity. “Nothing to Lose” is the project's name in collaboration with people of size to show their experiences. It was varied and authentic. Even the idea of such a dance featuring fat dancers was controversial because a prestigious company was doing it. People were skeptical because they hadn't seen such a thing anywhere in the world. Of course, there was the skeptical group with their negative questions like "Are they going to have the stamina for a full-length production?". But no answer was needed to that question, as "Nothing to Lose" became a sold-out hit in Sydney. The cast traveled and won awards for the amazing project they created. Kelly Jean was successful yet again because she put passion into her work. She is proud of who she is and the community she represents. She is often told that she glorifies obesity, but in reality, she wants people to make peace with their bodies because the real elephant in the room is fatphobia.

To sum up, Kelly Jean teaches us to advocate for self-determination and respect for everyone. She believes societies should start embracing diversity and recognizing the countless ways to have bodies. Remember, don’t let your body define you. Nothing is impossible, if it begins with self-love.