Well, we had an eventful week (sorta). With planes flying 3 miles (!) from the white house and people running for their lives, breaking a sweat and pumps, I was glad that our fearless leader was working out.

"Nothing says performance artist like a naked fat dyke in a Spandex^tm sack."

I went to Baltimore with some friends this Saturday to see the Charm City Kitty Club Collective perform in a night of art, music and dance. I was impressed with Baltimore's girls. The crowd was diverse and energetic. What a difference 40 miles makes! I really miss the grassroots arts scene. DC may have a great music scene but it lacks organizations like this. I was very struck by the performance of Beth Smulyan, a fat activist/performance artist. In her performance, she stripped herself naked and asked members of the audience to paint her.

The performance was different in that she was at least 400 lbs. The audience had to face their prejudices almost immediately. Her point of the performance was that as women, especially fat women, don't own our bodies. Our bodies are subject to the evaluation of others. The diets, the vertical stripes, the stomach stapling are all about who has control of our bodies.
She made the connection that no matter what the size, women will never be he owner of her own body if we buy (literally) into the the beauty myth.
I have always struggled with the way I look. Who doesn't? I think it is easier to come out as a lesbian, a Latina, a child of immigrants, working class, even a harness wearer than coming out as a fat girl. Fat is the smoking of the 21st century. Fat is dangerous, fat is evil, fat will kill you and the people you love. We are so fatphobic that children as young as 9 are having stomach stapling.
In a nation that celebrates excess and greed, the super size and the hummer, we despise the very culture that we have created.