Click! A Chubby Ballerina Gets Wise

I was maybe 8 or 9, my chubby self stuffed into a brand new pink leotard and tights. I was not happy in this outfit, largely because my little body did not “fit” the ballet-body type–a fact ...Read More

I Have Big Thighs

Surfing Flickr, I ran across a photo taken surreptitiously of a woman sitting in a subway. Her above-the-knee skirt is slightly parted to reveal her large thighs. It was posted with the following ...Read More

If You’re Facing an Eating Disorder, Don’t Face it Alone

This week is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Take the opportunity to learn the truth about eating disorders, or to play an important role in fighting them. Here is one major truth about ...Read More

The Weight of Words

Some years ago I nearly lost one of my writing students over the word “glutton.” Jay had submitted a short story with a female character described as large and middle aged, generally dressed ...Read More

Bunion Blues

An insistent whirring sound drew me out of anesthesia and into the barbaric light of the operating room. While I had been asleep for a “minute or two”–as is protocol for day surgery in ...Read More

Separate But Equal? The Politics of Plus Size

When I opened my Gmail and saw the subject line of the weekly newsletter Forever 21 sends to its customers, I bubbled up with hope. “New Name: Faith 21 Will Soon Be Forever 21+.” Forever ...Read More

Concluding Thoughts on Love Your Body Week

Today marks the last day of “Love Your Body Week,” and the blogosphere has been actively posting useful tips on how to love one’s own body even if it does not live up to the marketed ...Read More

(Self)Love is a Battlefield

My body is a battleground. I have spent most of my life waging a war on it. I have vivid girlhood memories of my worth being measured by my waist size and numbers on a scale. I was taught that ...Read More

Living Lopsided in a Symmetrical World

When I first saw the silicon breast shells that I had bought at My Secret mastectomy boutique on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for sale at Lord and Taylor, I was stunned. One of those shells—called ...Read More

Today’s the Day to Love Your Body

There are things we say to ourselves that we would never say to the people we love. Can you imagine telling your best friend her butt is too big or her breasts are too small? Or telling your daughter ...Read More

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