Advanced Placement —

What a week!

This was our first attempt at diving in depth on a single issue. How’d we do? Did you enjoy the analysis or were we beating a dead horse? Would you like to see more of these weeks in the future?

I think what I’ve taken away from this week is that Skorch is not a Fat Acceptance fashion magazine, but that doesn’t mean we cannot create a mutually beneficial relationship with them. Publisher Jessica Kane did not see the issues the same way we did, but now that she is aware of our concerns we have reason to hope that the same mistakes can be avoided in the future.

xoxoSkorch will be taking the summer off and when they return in the Fall, we’ll be watching to see what kinds of changes have been made to make their magazine more supportive and encouraging for its readers, regardless of whether they are interested in dieting or not, whether they are interested in improving their health or not, whether they are Fat Acceptance activists or not.

They may not do exactly what we would want them to do, but we should support their right to form xoxoSkorch into the publication that they believe is most beneficial to themselves and their readers.

Why? Why support a publication that may, at times, be at odds with our own philosophy?

Because our philosophy starts with respecting both body autonomy and mental autonomy.

Fierce, freethinking fatties would not be here today if we did what the rest of the Fatosphere wanted us to do. We would not be challenging the existing Fat Acceptance paradigms if we didn’t have the courage to follow through on our convictions. You’ll notice that today we got some link love from Natatree at XL as Life.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but apart from Big Fat Deal and an initial shoutout from the gracious Bri at Fat Lot of Good, I can’t think of another Fatosphere blog (that doesn’t belong to one of our wonderful contributors) that has given us any love. Is it because out of our 131 posts thus far, we don’t have anything of value to add to the Fat Acceptance dialogue?

I doubt it.

But we rejected the Fatosphere model and are not seen as a legitimate Fat Acceptance blog by many because of our open environment and our acceptance of diet talk from individuals who are still coping with insecurities and uncertainties about their weight.

The difference between us and xoxoSkorch, though, is that we are a non-profit endeavor, while they are trying to turn a profit with their work (eventually).And in order to turn a profit, you have to balance your needs with the needs of your readers.

It’s a tall order, to try and appease so many different groups, and I don’t envy Jessica’s position. I honestly believe that xoxoSkorch is trying its best to give voice to fat women and to help strengthen the self-esteems of their readers.

Just because we don’t agree with their methods doesn’t mean they are the enemy or that they are working to undermine Fat Acceptance. It means that they have not read what we have read or heard what we have heard or learned what we have learned.

In time, maybe they will, but at this moment they are unaware of how much evidence there is in support of our beliefs. In that way, xoxoSkorch is in many ways like the general population of fatties that has internalized the messages of self-loathing and stereotypes that we are trying to combat with our efforts.

Just as we must persuade, but not badger, those fatties that there is a better way, we must persuade, but not badger, xoxoSkorch into seeing that there is a better way to promote physical, mental and emotional health for their readers.

This week has been about calling attention to that better way and showing xoxoSkorch where they have sent mixed messages to their readers. Now that we have done that, we must wait and see how they choose to address it.

That being said, I’m a big believer that it is fundamentally unethical to complain about a problem if you don’t plan to offer a better solution yourself. We’ve spent the week verbally assaulting xoxoSkorch for their mistakes in the past. Today, I would like for us to offer a hand to them by suggesting ways in which xoxoSkorch can make positive changes toward improving their approach to issues near and dear to our hearts.

I’m going to propose a few myself and I encourage all of you to do some thinking and contribute at some point in the future. We know Jessica Kane (and others) are reading. We know that they are listening to what we have to say, so now is our chance to propose ways they can serve their readers best.

Here are a few of my ideas:

• Hire (or get someone to volunteer as) a Fat Acceptance ombudsman. This person wouldn’t have any real power, per se, but they would act as intermediary between concerned readers and xoxoSkorch. Most of the time, I find that these kinds of misunderstandings occur due to a lack of adequate communication. People get pissed long before they speak calmly and rationally on the matter. An FA ombudsman would point out times when the magazine seems to be taking a step in the wrong direction. This person would also act to assure concerned readers that xoxoSkorch understands their concerns and that they are working to address the problems raised.
• I cannot stress this enough: read “Health at Every Size.” If you don’t know the full story of HAES and the exhaustive research to back it up, then you can’t fully embrace the following suggestion.
• Focus on health and NOT weight. Want to encourage your readers to be healthy? Fine. But don’t tie the end goal of improved health to the fleeting pursuit of beauty. In other words, make health about health, make beauty about beauty, and ne’er the twain shall meet.
• Subscribe to the Fatshion FFFFeed and take note of their reasons for promoting certain looks. Is it to hide or camouflage “trouble” areas? Or is it to enhance and accentuate your natural curves? You’ve got all summer, so study from the Fatshionistas who have cut their own form of fashion from whole cloth. I’m not at all interested in fashion, but I am impressed by what the Fatshion community has done for itself in spite of a lack of mainstream options.

What about you all? Do you have any ideas for Jessica Kane and xoxoSkorch? How can they ensure that in the Fall, the fat fashion E-zine of the Year is the kind of publication you want to read.

Come on people, be a part of the solution.