Ragen Chastain

Ragen Chastain

Bio

Ragen Chastain is a professional speaker, writer, and real live fat person.  She has spoken everywhere from friend's living rooms to Google Headquarters to Cal Tech and Dartmouth.  She will not stop until we live in a world where the full diversity of body sizes is respected, and fat people are able to live in fat bodies without shame, stigma, bullying, and harrasment, regardless of why they are fat, what being fat means, and if they could (or even want to) become thin. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner Julianne and their adorable rescue dogs, and is training for her first (and hopefully only!) IRONMAN triathlon. If you can't get enough of her on Ravishly, you can check out her blog www.danceswithfat.org

Ragen Chastain Articles

Google! A walk is not a cupcake!

A Walk Is Not A Cupcake: Google's Worst Idea Yet

Hey Google - encouraging people to walk, while ignoring there are plenty of people with disabilities, is engaging in ableism. Cupcakes only make it worse!

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This is about way more than the freedom to dress in comfortable clothing while at school. Let’s talk about some stats that this principal should know if she’s going to talk to adolescent girls about body size. (Image Credit: YouTube/SanVic)

When A Principal Publicly Fat Shames Female Students

We could risk the mental and physical health of all the girls in the school by using fat shaming to try to control the way that they dress, or we could just let them wear some damn leggings. Seriously, how is this not a no brainer?

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Weight Watchers Black

Weight Watchers Is Back With New Nonsense

Let’s be honest for a minute, sex is pretty damn fantastic. But if you’ve ever felt self-conscious in the sack you’re not alone – we’ve heard that more than half of women have avoided sex because they were worried about how they look.

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"A thin-obsessed world perpetuates eating disorders and fat phobia."

The Eating Disorder Community Has A Fat Phobia Problem

Suggesting that we should figure out how to apply a deadly illness to fat people is ludicrous on its face for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that THERE ARE FAT PEOPLE WITH ANOREXIA.

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Let’s stop all this one-size-fits-all, unrealistic expectations approach to pregnancy, and let’s put our energy into making sure that pregnant people have the support and resources they need for themselves, their fetuses, and their kids. (Image Credit: Instagram/stylish_bump)

Please Don't Expect All Pregnant People To Be Serena Williams

The last thing pregnant folks need is the message that they can (and should) be able to work at the level of professional athletes and actors while they are dealing with the life-altering symptoms that happen when you are growing a fetus.

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What The Bu actually appears to support and donate to are organizations that engage in size-based oppression to the detriment of fat people.

Kombucha With A Side Of Fat Shaming 

Bu Kombucha's message on their bottle, “Health is our priority. The Bu supports and donates to organizations that fight obesity.”

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Facebook needs to change its policy on banning users because of cyberbullies. Now.

Julia Busato & Facebook's Fat-Shaming Problem

The herd of misogynist, sizeist cyberbullies who have a lot of issues and seemingly endless free time abused the tool that Facebook has for users to report images that violate their community standards. Facebook rewarded them by banning Julia for 30 days with no explanation — she can log in and see what’s written, but she can’t post or reply to anything there.

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Sean Spicer. Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr.

Steve Bannon's Fat Shaming Comment On Sean Spicer Is More Than "A Joke"

Fat shaming is wrong in any guise, and people who are trying to be funny (and/or trying to cover for a woefully incompetent press secretary) will just have to do better than relying on cheap stereotypes, shaming, and bigotry.

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"While there are tons of fathletes, fat people are often excluded from the fitness world — especially when it comes to working in the fitness industry." Image: flickr.com

Gold's Gym Posts Stunningly Misogynistic Ad; Activists Shut It Down

Using the corporate logo, a Gold's Gym franchise in Egypt posted a picture of a pear with the caption "This is no shape for a girl" to their Facebook page. There was an immediate backlash, which led to a bizarre non-apology apology that looks like it was written by Donald Trump's full time "Apologizing for Stunningly Offensive Stuff" Team.

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Why are people so scared and angry about Nike offering plus-size fitness wear? (Image Credit: Instagram/trendera)

Nike Backlash Proves It's Not About Fat People's Health

Nobody, of any size, is obligated to participate in sports/exercise/movement.

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