I'm at the Nebula Awards conference today+am about to jump into a panel on DEPROGRAMMING FAT HATE IN THE WRITER’S BRAIN w/ the lovely+fabulous @MegElison+others. Strategies for incorporating body diversity to improve your writing+world building will also be discussed.
#cantwait!
. @megelison is DROPPING SCIENCE on this panel, tho.
"I am...an author of science fiction, fantasy, horror. My work is deeply concerned with the body, clearness+identity. I am particularly interested in the fat body as a dimension of horror, but not the way you usually see it."
When I look at language choices that are used to describe a fat body, I often notice things are unnecessarily value-laden or judgmental in a way that would -- that we would be neutral to say this is what they look like, the color of their hair, their style. >
There is almost always an aura of disgust...often used as a shorthand for laziness, gluttony, selfishness+stupidity. [I] see it over and over, especially as a fat person. As a writer, I...am examining my own internalized bias b/c I want to know how much of that I have absorbed. >
Some of my favorite writers write like that and it can be hard to uncouple those choices from the good work that they do.

All of the above quotes are from @megelison on a great panel about "Deprogramming Fat Hate in the Writer’s Brain" at the Nebulas.

& there's more!
. @megelison: A lot of people use the term obese or morbidly obese b/c they want to sound medically correct. Those terms are almost always used to marginalize or pathology eyes those bodies. It always makes me cringe a little. I would be happy never to see either of those again.
I have a mixed reaction to some outdated terms for fat people, the ones trying to sound luxurious or cute, like corpulent or pleasingly plump. In that case I feel like you pulled out some vintage weirdness and are not here to be serious. Don't medicalize and don't be cute.
I love seeing a fat main character that's written correctly+still has a rich inner life+romantic existence+does not exist in antagonism to their own body. I am thinking of the Charlotte homes series where Sherlock Holmes is rewritten as kind of a fat, slut genius...more of that.
My thread got de-threaded. But in addition to @megelison, @ChesyaBurkePhD was amazing. Her closer was 😍

I like seeing fat black women that both love themselves but live in a complicated world where they have to constantly work for that love and admiration for themselves. >
Understanding that that's the way people exist in society and understanding sometimes you have to create spaces outside of the way people see you. I love to see characters that way.

There you have it. Panelists on "DEPROGRAMMING FAT HATE IN THE WRITER’S BRAIN" at the Nebulas.
You can follow @AyadeLeon.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:
Those who think consciousness raising & movement building are disconnected, or even a distraction from electoral politics have not paid attention to the history of social change.In this thread, we
Read more
The 2020s will be known as the Remote Work decadeA few predictions of what is likely to emerge[ a thread ] Third Space: Office and Working from Home will
Read more
1/29: Have you ever had a concept explained to you that helps frame complex issues you’ve been wrestling with and opens your eyes to new possibilities? A concept that I
Read more
By continuing to use the site, you are consenting to the use of cookies as explained in our Cookie Policy to improve your experience.