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Body positivity activist Maya Songbird on fighting fatphobia

Oct. 16, 2017
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Body positivity activist Maya Songbird on fighting fatphobia

"My back fat is magical."
 -Maya Songbird

It takes courage to be who you are in this world, especially if "who you are" is even a little bit outside the norm. But for anti-fatphobia activist Maya Songbird, courage comes with the territory: as a fat person and champion of body positivity, Songbird is used to being denied body privacy, used to condescending expressions of "admiration" and "encouragement" from people who clearly think there is something intrinsically audacious about being fat and unashamed.

Maya Songbird's perspective on practicing body positivity and fighting fat phobia are important for all of us to reckon with, whether or not her experiences mirror our own. It's time we start thinking critically about how we engage with our and others' bodies. "I wanna be like the moon because the moon can do whatever it wants to do, but if you tell the sun it has to lose weight... that's what it feels like," says Songbird.

Check out the video to hear Songbird's story.

Check out Maya's work here: www.mayasongbird.com