With a decade as a body liberation facilitator and a lifetime of lived experience as a fat, biracial, queer, neurodivergent person, Tiana Dodson is well-versed in what it is to exist in a multiply-marginalized body. As an active co-creator of the Syllabus for Liberation, her work addresses how personal, community, and global liberation depend upon each other. Through her consulting services, group offerings, and public speaking, Tiana highlights the ways these systems of oppression are bound together and how we can push back against them.
They say there is no such thing as bad weather...
Hey Reader!
Did you know that there's a saying in German that translates into "there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing"?
It's bandied about most often when folks (like me) complain about the weather to remind us that if you're unhappy with how things are, you need to be better prepared.
And I think about that at this time of the year because every January you are bombarded with messages reminding you how much you differ from what is ideal and how important it is for you to correct that difference.
They toss complaints that you may have about yourself back at you so that you are reminded that you aren't meeting the standards they've set for you.
But...
What if none of that is real?
What if none of that is important?
What if you’re perfectly fine, just the way you are?
No matter how many times you may start thinking these things, those harmful reminders rain down and drown out your own inner voice (because they've got BILLIONS of dollars to spend on messaging).
How do you make the space to hear yourself in the midst of a diet culture downpour?
You do as the Germans say!
You get an umbrella of support.
You put on a warm, nonsense-proof jacket.
And you wear a set of protective galoshes that keep your feet dry and grounded in your sense of self.
You can‘t totally avoid the rain of oppressive messages and you can‘t cocoon yourself away from the world that benefits from your pain.
But you can be better prepared for, develop and deepen the skills to deal with, and even learn to fight back against the diet culture storm coming your way.
In love, liberation, and solidarity,
Sent with big fat love from a messy desk and a neurodivergent mind.
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Tiana Dodson
With a decade as a body liberation facilitator and a lifetime of lived experience as a fat, biracial, queer, neurodivergent person, Tiana Dodson is well-versed in what it is to exist in a multiply-marginalized body. As an active co-creator of the Syllabus for Liberation, her work addresses how personal, community, and global liberation depend upon each other. Through her consulting services, group offerings, and public speaking, Tiana highlights the ways these systems of oppression are bound together and how we can push back against them.
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