That’s one way to get attention.
“Fat Beach Day” events are being held across the United States with the aim of creating gathering spaces for the plus-size community, and one is scheduled to take place in Far Rockaway on Saturday.
“We experience cultural events that impact us every day on both an individual and organizational level,” said event organizer Jordan Underwood. Parents“We’re trying to create a space where people can be themselves.”
Underwood, a plus-size model and artist, was bullied since middle school about her weight, which prompted her to start a blog at age 12 to document her experiences and begin her journey into the “fat movement.”
Underwood has been organizing events around New York City, and partnered with Brooklyn-based “curvy-curated” vintage store Berries to host Fat Beach Day at Jacob Riis Park.
“I’m very self-conscious at the beach and I’m never with people who look like me,” Emma Zak, who founded Belize in 2018, told the outlet. “I’m happy to have created a space where larger people can have fun.”
In an era when weight-loss drugs like Ozempic are popular and thinness is celebrated as the ideal standard of beauty, events like Fat Beach Day are seen by some as a backlash.
Vogue Business reported: For the fall/winter 2024 season, plus-size models make up just 0.8% of the market, while mid-size models make up 3.7%, down from the previous year.
a KFF Survey A survey conducted in May revealed that about 1 in 8 U.S. adults had used weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic or Maunjaro, highlighting a societal trend.
“The 2000s saw a strong anti-obesity cultural shift that was very similar to what we’re experiencing now,” Underwood said, highlighting the decade’s insidious fat-phobia, which saw celebrities like Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson labelled as “fat” for being a size 6.
Similar events are being planned across the US: Fat Friends Pool Party is in Chicago on July 13, while Belly’s Out Beach Day will take place in Los Angeles a few weeks later.
“Chubby bodies and Reese are a match made in heaven,” Cleo Arana told The Guardian at the event on Saturday. “Jordan Underwood and Berry’s brought heaven to Queens.”
Recently, New York State passed legislation banning weight discrimination, and in 2023, Mayor Eric Adams signed a bill banning weight discrimination in employment and housing.
But the hatred persists, especially online.
“It’s a really awful time to be fat, not just online but in society in general, and it feels really violent in a lot of ways,” Zac says. “New York is so open and you think it’s not an issue because you can dress however you want. I always say I didn’t realize how much hate fat people got until I started TikTok.”
