Episode 2.18 Landwhales and Fat Liberation with Jes Baker

Content warning for discussions of diet culture, mental health, and suicide.

This episode is a real Momentous Occassion for me because I have been a fan of Jes Baker‘s work for YEARS. She was probably the first body positive activist who crossed my radar, and her “Attractive & Fat” campaign felt revolutionary to me. So it was a goddamn joy to talk to her about the release of her new book, Landwhale, the ongoing journey of activism, what it means to be an ally, and more. ALSO FEATURED is an invitation to the first ever #SecretFeministAgenda meet-up, in Regina on May 27. Be there!

• In addition to Jes’s new book Landwhale and old book Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls, we also talk about Lindy West’s Shrill and Roxane Gay’s Hunger. These are all good books and you should read all of them!
• Jes shouts out the influence of Rachele Cateyes aka @radfatvegan who I also love!
• For those of you interested in diversifying your Instagram feeds, here are 135 accounts Jes recommends.
• I talk about threshold concepts with a middling degree of accuracy but you can get a solid definition of the term here and read more about them here.
• You should also read more about SURJ aka Showing Up for Racial Justice and maybe find your local chapter!
• If, like me, you are fascinated by the phrase “infinifats” and want to hear more, here’s an episode of The Fat Lip podcast where you can start learning.
• Looking for a more scholarly take on fatness and disability and how they intersect, in terms of both medicalization and embodiment? Here is a thing to read! (Paywalled, but hmu if you wanna read it.)
• Jes and I talk briefly about the violence of discourses of health, and I want to link this incredible piece, “The Unproven Body” by Katie Lew, which tackles just this topic in stunning fashion.
• As per Jes’s instructions I googled “how to be a fat ally” and one of the first results was this Instagram post from Jes herself! You should also read this Twitter thread about what it looks like when a thin ally uses their privilege to advocate for a fat person’s comfort (and go ahead and read the responses if you want a reminder of what it is like being a fat person).

https://secretfeministagenda.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/sfa-2-18.mp3

Download Episode / Read Transcription

The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Jes’s theme song is “Secrets” by Mary Lambert which honestly should probably be the whole podcast’s theme song.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.