Irony. (Thanks Dale!)

Stripped #36

Stripped #35

Demystifying "Fat"

I use the word "fat." I use that word because that's what people are: they're fat. They're not bulky; they're not large, chunky, hefty or plump. And they're not big-boned. Dinosaurs were big-boned. These people are not overweight: this term somehow implies there is some correct weight. There is no correct weight. Heavy is also a misleading term. An aircraft carrier is heavy; it's not fat. Only people are fat, and that's what fat people are! They're fat!
--George Carlin

Stripped #34 : (I like that the cat turned around too)

Stripped #33

Stripped #32

Stripped #31

"Stripping is kind of fun and seems more fun when it's with others that aren't naked, so I don't mind doing it. Lots of people make the mistake that it's all about sex and that's not true at all. Gone to nude beach many times and that's very relaxing, so guess this was as close as we could get here...even though was just a few seconds.

I guess part of the reason I did this was to see others' reactions, if any. Since this was an art project, people often comment on "the art" so I was curious to see any comments on my "art". Of course I'm always ready to do it again!"

Fatshion For Everybody!

For my lovely fat lady readers, here's some links to some fab plus-sized fashion sites*:

• Fatshionable
• Young, Fat, and Fabulous
• Saks in the City
• Big Girl in a Skinny World
  
• Madison Plus

*(I'll add more to the list as I come across them. Links originally from Refinery29.)

And here's a really awesome inspiring quote from Marilyn Wann of Fat!So? Zine:

















"FAT!SO? invites YOU to be a fabulous fatso! Everybody: Size 6 to 16. Size 26 to 56. Because fat or thin, straight or gay, male or female, we have all at some point wasted our precious moments on the planet worrying about how we look. Fuck that! Just say the magic words: "Yes, I am a fatso!" With these words, you create revolution. You turn fat hatred back on itself. As a fatso, you possess the ultimate weapon against fatphobia, body prejudice, and size oppression: fat pride!"

What a Doll

via.

Check it Out: Girldrive

Oh boy! You can see my post here.

The Body Is the Place Where Society Writes Its Messages

"At a time when increasing numbers of women were demanding the right to take up more space in the world, it is no surprise that they'd be hit with the opposite message from a culture that was (and still is) deeply committed to its traditional power structures. Women get psychically larger, and they're told to grow physically smaller. Women begin to play active roles in realms once dominated by men (schools, universities, athletic fields, the workplace, the bedroom), and they're countered with images of femininity that infantilize them, render them passive and frail and non-threatening.


'The female body is the place where this society writes its messages,' writes Rosalind Coward in Female Desires, and its response to feminism was etched with increasing clarity on the whittled-down silhouette of the average American model : Don't get too hungry, don't overstep your bounds."

- Appetites by the late Caroline Knapp, pg 31

Image via.

Stripped #29

Flyer #2

Stripped #28

Stripped #27

Stripped #26

Stripped #25

"I guess saying I stripped for personal reasons would be the most accurate answer. I've never been satisfied with the narrow definition of beauty in our culture. I see so many beautiful people every day and I hate to think that other people don't find them beautiful as well. I used to have major self-esteem issues, but at some point in high school, I just started to realize that I was beautiful. I felt it, I felt it in a way that I knew had to be true, no matter what other people seemed to think. I am comfortable naked. When I'm alone, or at home with my family, or when I was with my lovers, I was always more comfortable being naked. I feel more like me when I don't have to think about what I'm wearing, and I wanted a picture taken of the 'me' I feel most like."

Twiggy Wanted to Be Curvy

“Whether you’re thin, fat, small, dark, blond, redhead, you wanna be something else. I wanted a fairy godmother to make me look like Marilyn Monroe. I had no boobs, no hips, and I wanted it desperately.”


via The Frisky.

Stripped #24

"Why I Strippped" #18

"I stripped because I'm tired of naked bodies being viewed solely in sexual terms. Once we start seeing nudity in contexts besides the bedroom more often, maybe we'll begin to appreciate people's entire bodies for what they are- beautifully designed machines made of trillions and trillions of molecules that make up cells that work together so efficiently in mind-blowingly spontaneously functional, interlocking systems. It's so fucked up that people get hung up on whether a few extra pounds diminishes their attractiveness, when the fact that their bodies are a miracle evolutionarily and anatomically speaking.

Get naked people! All the damn time! Go outside naked as much as you can (except for running shoes, very legally beneficial as far as evading security guards goes!) Let your lady-bits and man-meat get as much breathing space as possible! Feel the wind in your pubes!"

Stripped #23

Stripped #22

Making a Difference.

This is an email I received a few days ago. It really thrilled me to hear that this project is changing minds.

You know my brother. I don't know how, but you do. I guess he does have a social life.

I'm a camera whore and want to model for Stripped. Maybe model isn't the right word, but you know what I mean. Should I just take my own pictures? I can, they will just be shitty. I see you live in Atlanta, that's where my entire family is from and we go down there for vacations. If I happened to be down there at any point, could you take them? I don't really know anyone up here who I could just say "Hey! Wanna take a picture of me naked?"

Anyways, the project actually has helped me out. I'm a very vain person, and I really think that vanity has affected me. I date very "beautiful" girls, but will always find something about them to pick apart. My last girlfriend was not commonly beautiful but still gorgeous, and I really had some mental roadblocks to get over with some of her physicalities which weren't even that bad! I mean, I'm no Adonis by any means, and I don't know why I expect my women to be flawless when I am far from it.

Anyways, if you don't think I'm psycho after this letter THAT'S amazing. Get at me if you have the time, and we'll see what's good with this strippedness.

Also, National Eating Disorder Awareness Week begins today. For more info, head over to the Association's site.

Stripped # 21

"I've always been self conscious about my body. I've always had a hard time accepting my large chest and thighs. My goal for myself was to take care of my body but also accept it for the way it was. I wanted to strip because I wanted to show myself that I could be proud of my body and not be ashamed. Once I saw the pictures.....man I look good. What the hell was I worrying about??"