Dossier

City and country of residence

Brisbane, Australia

Alias

definatalie

Height

174cm

Weight

130kg

Role models

Barbara Cartland, Stephanie Zwicky, Cyndi Lauper, Oprah's hair

Distinguishing characteristics

I am fat and I have a big laugh, but that doesn't mean I'm necessarily jolly.

I am an artist who has always struggled against the norm, coming from a conservative sort of family. Even though I was never a fat child or teenager, I did feel pressures via my school mates, parents and the media to just get skinny and pretty. I was a size 14 by the time I left school and within a year I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Apparently one of the side effects of taking insulin to, you know, save your life is weight gain - and I just kept on gaining until I found myself with an AU 20-24 body. I've been at this weight for about 8 years now, and feel that it might actually be the weight my body wants to stay at. I'm ok with that. It's funny, the people who aren't okay with it are typically... not me. People who really should be minding their own business!

I am an advocate of Health at Every Size and I have a personal trainer who is also an advocate, and is currently studying HAES principles in order to base her own training business around it. I practice intuitive eating, and move in ways that I enjoy. I'm currently in training to learn how to run properly, something I've always longed to do but have been turned away because it's supposedly a thing fat people can't do. I believe that weight has no bearing on health - I believe we should honour our bodies and take joy in moving and eating for our mental and physical well being.

I'm an incredibly passionate person. While I don't like arguments, I find myself in them all the time. My politics are centre-left and I can't help but be compassionate.

Fashion style

I find myself wearing darker and muted colours these days, whereas in my youth I tended to wear vibrant and visible clothing. I like big prints, simple shapes, texture and natural fibres but I find joy in putting a little twist on my outfits such as a scarf, a brooch, or a pair of tights. I also love big hair. At the moment I have very blonde hair that I like to curl and tease - I've never really shied away from being bold with my styling choices because I like to reflect my personality and identity upfront.

I never usually have much to spend on fashion, being one of those humble artist types. Many of my clothes come from the US and UK, I buy a lot of items from members of the Fatshionista Livejournal Community on sales post Fridays.

One of my motivations for creating this blog is to create a supportive community for the Australian fat people. We've been ignored by fashion for years, but that doesn't mean we ignore fashion. We source it from other places, we build identity into our styling and we have a right to look fabulous.

More information

Twitter

Twitter

Website

Website

History

Member for

36 weeks 6 days

Blog

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