Tag Archives: Kaitlyn Collins

Young Guns in Self Acceptance

I was excited to see this video on YouTube this week.  It’s so exciting to see fresh, young faces who are embracing elements of the size acceptance, size diversity and self acceptance movement.  Laci Green has a lot of wonderful things to say in this video about the end of diets.  (Although some of the things she defines as a lifestyle change still sound a little bit like a diet to me.) She covers a lot of ground in this short time in a charming and fun way.  And she ends up eating pizza in a bikini!  How awesome is that?!

I am so inspired by the courage demonstrated by these young guns in the social media space–not only Laci Green, but also Stella Boonshoft with her brave photo, former Green Bay Packers cheerleader Kaitlyn Collins and so many others.  A big part of why I became the Fat Chick and started blogging and writing and teaching in the first place is the deep hope that I can, at least in a small way, help young people discover body acceptance a little bit earlier in life.  I hope to help them avoid putting decades of their lives on hold waiting to be thin, to help them reclaim a year, a month, a week or even a day that they might have spent obsessing about diets or their weight.  I hope to add my one small voice to the chorus of voices that are singing of loving and living life out loud–full tilt boogie in the body you have right now.

The voices are all different.  It takes different sounds to make a beautiful ensemble.  The music is so much more subtle and nuanced when it is sung by high and ethereal soprano voices, and deep chocolatey contralto voices and brightly shining tenor voices and deeply booming baritone/bass voices.  It takes all of these voices to make a choir.  I am thrilled and deeply honored to be singing the same tune as these amazing new talents in our community.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Why You Just Shouldn’t Mess with Wisconsin Women

Kaitlyn-Collins-Green-Bay-Packers-Cheerleader-e1360300302565Once again, a woman from Wisconsin is at the center of a controversy over body snarking, and once again, a woman from Wisconsin has totally schooled the world on why this isn’t okay.

I’m talking in this case about former Green Bay Packers cheerleader, Kaitlyn Collins.  Apparently somebody posted a picture of Kaitlyn from her Packers cheerleader days on the Chicago Bears Fan Facebook day with the caption, “Like If You Agree The Packers Have The Worst Cheerleaders In The NFL!”  And the comments.  Oh the comments.

Now as a diehard Packers fan, I can attest that the rivalry between the Packers and the Bears is longstanding and epic.  And thus, it’s probably not that surprising that the comments got ugly in a hurry.  But this level of body disparagement and the nasty objectification of women did not go unanswered.

Kaitlyn created the YouTube video that you see above and she was NOT playin’.  She called some of these bullies out by name–which may be getting somewhat humiliating for those folks, especially as this story gets more and more public.  And I think the point she made was clear and concise.  I don’t really have a lot to add, except…

It reminds me somewhat of the case a few months back, involving the anchorwoman from Eau Claire, Wisconsin who called out some comments regarding whether or not she should remain an anchorwoman at her current weight.  She called those hateful folks out on the air as well and the backlash was amazing.

I guess I’d like to point out three things here:

1.  Nobody is safe from body snarking–not even gorgeous NFL cheerleaders.

2.  I’m from Wisconsin.

3.  You just don’t want to mess with us women from Wisconsin.

That is all.

Love,

The Fat Chick