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

The question I was being asked most in the e-mails flooding my inbox was, “Why in the world would a fast metabolism have anything to do with an editing gig?”

Slate’s Hiring Policy: No Fat Chicks?

Slate's new job posting for Political Editor requires candidates with a fast metabolism. This is why that phrasing is fat-shaming and discriminatory.

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Kids fitness — by any definition — isn’t an obligation or barometer of worthiness.

Fitspo Is Not For Ten-Year-Olds​

While it's fine for child athletes to be on social media, it should be clear that what they are doing certainly isn’t necessary, or even appropriate.

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Aidy Bryant  by Behind The Velvet Rope TV

Aidy Bryant Puts Fat Shaming In Its Place 

Aidy Bryant’s recent interview with The Cut is so refreshing! Aidy is crystal clear that the problem isn’t fat bodies, but rather fatphobia.

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"I’ve heard too many of my fat friends talk about being kept out of the club by “policies” that didn’t seem to apply to thin people."

The Thin Velvet Rope

"My beautiful, kind, big-hearted daughter was denied entry to a popular club in NYC called One Oak last night because, as they put it ,'they don't like girls with love handles.' They only allow a particular type of girl into this place."

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Keep working, keep pushing, live so that these people call you attention seeking activists every day.

A Love Letter To "Attention Seeking" Activists

Keep working, keep pushing, live so that these people call you attention seeking activists every day. You are making the world better.

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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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This is the textbook definition of discrimination and fat shaming. It’s awful for the teachers involved.

Mom Refuses Fat Teacher – Then It Gets Worse

This is the textbook definition of discrimination and fat shaming. It’s awful for the teachers involved (apparently there was *gasp* more than one fat teacher at the nursery), though they also probably dodged a bullet avoiding having to deal with this woman.

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Policing young women for men's behavior is flat-out wrong.

What Does Mike Pence Have To Do With Prom Shaming?

The internet has been ablaze recently with pieces explaining why

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Hey There Fatty Game via Kickstarter

Hey There Fatty: The Game None Of Us Need 

There is a new game on Kickstarter called Hey There Fatty! It comes packaged in a stereotypical Chinese food delivery container.

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Image via Flickr (Inhabitat).

The Tiny House Movement: Who Really Fits? 

A revolution in affordable housing! A revolution in fighting homelessness!

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