Who belongs outside?
This photo of me with my surfboard was taken by Carly from Pink Fin Photography, and was taken at a SeaStr PNW Surf Camp in August.
I’m at the point in my job search journey that I’m starting to get the question, “What have you been doing since your last position?” — I guess I’ve been out of work long enough that it’s started to look like the dreaded resume gap.
Applying for jobs in and of itself is an immense amount of labor on it’s own—but I’ve hardly been idle beyond that.
There’s the paddle boarding… kayaking… swimming… learning to surf… hockey… and talking about it all through my Instagram account @movefatgirl.
@movefatgirl was born out of a lifetime of experiences that communicated one core lie: Fat bodies like mine don’t belong in outdoor and athletic spaces.
It was born from decades of not being able to find athletic or outdoor wear in my size. It was born from being told “There is nothing that will work for you body.” when I went to buy my first PFD/life jacket. It was born from there being zero plus size women’s hockey gear. It was born from my experiences spending nearly a year trying to get a wetsuit that would fit my body. It was born from years of trying to find body-inclusive stock photography, but only finding pictures of fat women who looked depressed, or were eating “diet” food, or were exercising with image tags like #weightloss 🙄).
I want to be active and outdoors—but for most of my life my options have been limited because of the lack of availability of gear, and the astounding level of bias that the gatekeepers of these spaces have against large bodies.
So I launched @movefatgirl in September of 2021. It is really, really far out of my comfort zone to put myself out there in this way—but I just keep thinking—how would my life and my experiences have been different if I had seen someone in a body like mine moving with joy? How would my life be different if I had seen large-bodied women engaging in sports and outdoors because they believe they belong there—not because they believe they’re somehow not good enough.
Who belongs outside?
I belong outside.
You belong outside.
Running @movefatgirl has been exciting (and uncomfortable!) for a lot of reasons—but one of those reasons is the connections it’s brought. Connecting with other plus-size surfers, other fat/large-bodied athletes/outdoor-folk, and other diverse athletes and adventurers has been life-giving. I’ve even connected with a couple brands that invited me to test some product—one of which is about to launch their first plus-size products. I’m excited at the prospect of helping to bring more extended sizes for outdoor and athletic gear and apparel to market.
One connection that I’ve made is with Tommy Corey, an astoundingly talented photographer who shares the belief that everyone belongs outdoors.
We connected when he put out a call for a variety of diverse outdoor enthusiasts—including (but not limited to) large-bodied individuals and autistic individuals. I went out of my comfort zone to respond to the call.
Tommy is working on a book that features the stories of 100 different and diverse people who love the outdoors—and I am among the 100—and I am BEYOND stoked for this.
Today, he launched a crowdfunding campaign to help alleviate some of the cost burden and make the creation of this book a better experience for all who are involved.
If you believe that everyone belongs outdoors, please consider supporting Tommy’s work with All Humans Outside! Folks who give upwards of $100 will receive a copy of the book when it’s published (anticipated to release in 2024).
I am honored to be a part of this—and can’t believe I’ll get to share my own story alongside 99 other incredible humans who love the outdoors.
