Fierce Fatty Podcast with Vinny Welsby

Thanks to the work of Black scholars, including Dr. Sabrina Strings, we know that anti-fatness comes from anti-Blackness as well as other oppressive forces. But WHY were certain beliefs about Black bodies created? Who started the myths, and what were they saying? How do those stereotypes about fat Black bodies manifest today? We are going back thousands of years to see where all this nonsense star...

We're constantly told that being fat is bad for us, that fat people are ticking time bombs and are pathetic, sad sacks. Is it true? Are fat people giant losers who are doomed to an "unhealthy," miserable existence? In this episode, we flip the script and explore the surprising advantages of fatness. From better disease outcomes to unique social benefits, mental health perks, and even survival adva...

Are you thriving in your fat identity, or still getting lured with the promises of diet culture (ahem, GLP-1s)? In this episode, I share the details on the stages of fat identity, from "ugh, why am I fat?" to "heck yes, I'm fabulous, unapologetically me!" Learn the signs that show you're rocking self-acceptance alongside the traps that might still be holding you back. If you've lived your whole li...

In part 2 of this analysis of the NYT opinion video "Confessions of a Former Body Positivity Influencer," we look at the tension between individual weight loss choices and the political goals of fat liberation. We talk about how formerly fat influencers sometimes become the loudest critics of fatness, and why it feels so painful for fans and followers of so-called "body positive" influencers who s...

A recent opinion video from The New York Times titled "Confessions of a Former Body Positivity Influencer" claims to expose the dangers of the body positivity movement. But does it actually represent what body positivity (and fat liberation) have historically stood for? Short answer: nope. In this episode, we watch the video in real time and break down the misinformation and subtle (and not-so-sub...

Join us for part 2 of this deep dive into weight loss surgery! We talk about how much weight people lose, the mental health outcomes of people (big trigger warning there), surgery in kids, and informed consent. TW: Mention of su!c|de, depression, children, and surgery as well as general awful stuff fat people endure. Episode show notes: http://www.fiercefatty.com/202 Support me on Ko-Fi and get th...

Does weight loss surgery make you thin and healthy? What percentage of people is it successful for? Are the side effects worth it, and what are they exactly? This episode is a deep dive into "bariatric" surgery AKA "weight loss" surgery AKA stomach amputation. TW: There are mentions of the types of surgeries, outcomes, and side effects as well as general awful stuff fat people endure. Episode show...

It's part 2 of the GLP 1 deep dive! In this episode, we are covering "food noise," the weird things that people are reporting happening to their bodies on GLP-1s, horrid stuff that's happening in the UK, lawsuits, safety planning for those taking the drugs, and whether taking GLPs goes against fat liberation. TW: for British anti-fatness, side effects, and mental health. Episode show notes: http:/...

Wegovy, (often referred to as Ozempic) was approved by the FDA in June 2021. Now that we have lived 4 years of a GLP frenzied hellscape, there must be new data on how well GLP1's work and how many lives they have saved. The numbers must be pretty impressive right? Hint: It's not impressive…not at all. Join me for part one of this deep dive into these (not so) new weight loss drugs where I share ex...

Some people think that anti-fat bias is just about flippant comments, hurt feelings and harmless jokes. What many don't realize is that anti-fat bias can be deadly. Today, we are joined by Sarah and Tam, who are sharing their stories. Sarah talks about her terminal cancer diagnosis and the symptoms which were ignored by doctors for 2 years. Tam shares the story of her husband, James, father of 2 c...

Have you seen the JD Vance memes that have been circulating the internet? In them, the meme creators have increased his body size to make him look fat and then laugh at the idea of him being fat. That's the joke. So hilarious (/s). JD Vance who is a horrible human, is being critiqued because of his appearance. This is a common theme in left-leaning circles - if someone is awful, then a great way t...

What have we learned about who fat people are from the media we consume? What are the common stereotypes we see again and again? In this episode, I answer those questions and analyse different examples of fat media including the dreaded Fat Monica from Friends. If you can, watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience! But I do also audio describe what we are watching :) TW: anti-fat...

How can we convince healthcare providers to examine the harm they cause when they tell fat people to lose weight and deny us care? It can be pretty hard to realize that you haven't been providing evidence-based care so it's a challenge! That's where the work of the disability community comes in with their medical and social models of disability. This lets us communicate how medicalizing fatness is...

It's NOT the most wonderful time of the year for a lot of fat folks because many will be spending time with anti-fat family and then once you survive that it's into the "New Year New You" diet culture dog shit. Ugh. Want some tactics to overcome this stressful time? Tune into this episode for the salve to all this nonsense. Don't forget: you're worthy, you always were you always will be. Episode s...

Having a bigger body and trying to access healthcare can be a struggle at best and lead to mistreatment, misdaignosis and death at worse. I go over the 5 stages of subpar healthcare in this episode, talk about the root of the issue and share some stories. TW: mentions of death from anti-fat bias and other general anti-fat tomfuckery. Episode show notes: http://www.fiercefatty.com/193 Support me on...

Almost 2 years ago I released a 2 part podcast on Wegovy and so I think it's time for an update! Is it true that semaglutide shows reduced cardiac event risk? What have been people's experiences? Is everyone on it now and have we "cured" fatness?? Let dive in! Episode show notes: http://www.fiercefatty.com/192 Support me on Ko-Fi and get the Size Diversity Resource Guide: https://kofi.com/fiercefa...

Should we be listening to the seemingly reasonable advice from food journalist Michael Pollan who says "Eat food, but not too much." How much power does what we eat and how we move our bodies have on our health? What about organic food?? Today I answer a juicy listener question, some join me! Episode show notes: http://www.fiercefatty.com/191 Support me on Ko-Fi and get the Size Diversity Resource...

  I'm on my holidays and so we have a replay for this episode from 2021 which is still super relevant. Let's listen! P.S. This is when I went by Victoria and she/her pronouns. "Self love means caring for your body which means losing weight!" Seems logical, but is it actually? Does being fat mean you've given up and don't give a sh*t about your body, your health and hate yourself? Let's put this st...

What would my life be like today if I had never worked to unlearn anti-fat bias? I was so fortunate to stumble upon the message "It's ok to be fat" over a decade ago and it absolutely revolutionized my life. My life was being ruined by my worship of thinness and obsession with food restriction and body criticism. I'm sharing the 6 main ways my anti-fatness was really messing with me and what it's...

327 people have completed my workplace anti-fatness survey and shared their stories. In today's episode, I am revealing the stats on what percentage of fat folks have experienced anti-fatness at work, which marginalized group is affected the most and what types of anti-fatness are commonest. Plus we have a ton of powerful and painful stories - therefore there is a massive TW on this episode as som...

Let me ask you a question: have you ever had diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training that was focused on size inclusion or anti-fat bias? Has anti-fat bias even been a footnote in any DEI training that you've had or seen? I asked these questions to company leaders, DEI professionals and my audience on Instagram and the answer was a resounding big fat 'no'. This is a problem, a big one. Toda...

We allllll know that fatness is spreading like wildfire and is contagious and who is going to think of the CHILDREN?!!? ERMGHED!" Is it true that we are in an epidemic and everyone is getting fatter? Do fat people need to hurry up and lose weight in order to save the economy and the lives of children and baskets of kittens from burning flames? Let's talk about it in today's episode! Episode show n...

Seemingly there are non-stop stories and notifications of celebrities and influencers being on a new "weight loss journey" after starting on weight loss drugs. Now, Oprah is among that cohort and it has had an impact on her relationship with WeightWatchers. But hang on a minute, doesn't WW sell weight loss drugs? Let's dig into it! Bonus: I also share my favourite purchases under $100 that have po...

The villainous tricksters behind the veiled push to "advance fat rights" (when in reality they just want to sell weight loss drugs) are at it again. Tigress Osborn from NAAFA is here to stop them though! She joins me on the show to talk about what new games anti-fat organizations are getting up to and why it's a load of BS. Plus we discuss the fat community, fat joy, and fat history. TW: lots of u...

Have you ever read the "Am I The Asshole" questions on Reddit? If you don't know what AITA is: People ask the internet if they were in the right or wrong about a situation that happened in their life. Well, these questions are a source of endless entertainment for me! I brought my friend Summer Innanen from Eat The Rules podcast to get her verdict on four AITA posts that I picked out around weight...