Bernie Salazar, former NBC Biggest Loser “winner” and frequent guest for my series Learn and Grow, joins me to rant on the Nike Fat Mannequin debacle. We love the mannequin and want to see more size diversity in fitness culture. We strongly reject the fat phobia expressed by some people with large platforms, especially the harmful article in the Telegraph.
Plus, we revisit my interview with “fan favorite” Ragen Chastain. The Guinness World Record holder for heaviest female marathoner joins me in a conversation in supporting more athletes at every size and creating clothes and equipment that work with their bodies. Ragen will help inspire you to reframe exercise in your life away from body shame and weight loss goals – at any size! Tune in to learn some of the unspoken ways we are excluding higher weight people from movement as a society and how we can change.
Listen here to Episode 121 here:
Links mentioned in this episode
Sophia Tassew in The Independent: Nike’s plus-sized mannequins don’t ‘promote’ obesity – they reflect reality. Why on earth is that an issue?
Ragen Chastain on her Dances With Fat blog: Nike’s Plus Size Mannequins Uncover the Truth About Weight Stigma
A great post from The Road Om: Hey #TanyaGold
Glamour’s coverage of the backlash: A Telegraph Article Called Nike’s Plus-Size Mannequins ‘a Lie’—Women Are Calling B.S.
More articles about the Nike mannequin:
Jenny Bruso: The Real Problems With Tanya Gold’s Fatphonic Article
Jessamyn Stanley on Instagram: “In other news, the new @nike mannequins are fresh to death and fatphobia is basic as f*ck.”
Jameela Jamil on Instagram: “The @telegraph are supporting bullying and hatred. If we just sit back and do nothing, then WE are supporting bullying and hatred.”
Sarah Berry in The Sydney Morning Herald: The Nike ‘obese’ mannequin outrage reveals hatred, not health concern
Rebecca Reid in The Telegraph: Exercise isn’t just for thin people – Nike’s ‘obese’ mannequins are inspirational
Nikki Stamp in The Guardian: Berating Nike for plus-size mannequins is no war on obesity – it’s just war on bigger bodies
About Ragen
Ragen Chastain is a thought leader in the fields of Body Image, Health at Every Size, Athletes at Every Size, and Corporate Wellness. Ragen is a sought-after speaker on the corporate, conference, and college circuits where she has brought her captivating and motivating mix of humor and hard facts to stages including Google, CalTech, and IvyQ.
Author of the popular blog danceswithfat, the book Fat: The Owner’s Manual, and editor of the anthology The Politics of Size, Ragen is frequently featured as an expert in print, radio, television, and documentary film. Ragen is a three-time National dance champion, and two-time marathoner who holds the Guinness World Record for Heaviest Female to Complete a Marathon (Female,) and co-founded the Fit Fatties Forum and Fat Activism Conference. Ragen lives in LA with her partner and their adorable dogs, and is currently training for an IRONMAN Triathlon.
Kathy says
July 5, 2019 at 9:48 pmI am just starting my HAES / Intuitive Eating / Body Kindness journey and having the same mental struggles I expect most people on this journey have – particularly with the idea that fat people are (or at least can be) healthy people. I had a small a-ha moment the other day when relaxing with my cats. One is skinny, one is fat and the third is fluffy and at a “normal” adult cat weight. I have no trouble accepting that they are all healthy and that cats come in all shapes and sizes. They all have free choice of food but are all so different. It doesn’t seem like a stretch to apply this same acceptance to people. So when that inner critic starts judging myself or other people, i try to think of my furry friends and try to look at us two legged mammals with the same level of acceptance.
Yet another reason to love cats!