Written by: Ieva Miltina

Fat liberation can feel abstract when you only encounter it in books and online. For me, it became very real the moment I walked into FatCon. It showed me how liberation is celebrated and how it looks like when it is lived, not just imagined. This is the third article in a series “A Latvian in Fatcon: an intensive crash course in fat liberation”.

Liberation is…your body being celebrated.

Initially the heading for this part sounded more like “…being on stage in front of a fat audience.” An anecdote, but the ovations and audience support I observed in the Fatlesque Fest NorthWest (a fat burlesque festival that was happening at the same time as FatCon) and the fat fashion show, I had only seen among Latvians in an ice-hockey game. I thought maybe there is some cultural difference in how one welcomes stage performances in the U.S., but was soon assured that this is what explicitly happens in fat and queer spaces.

Apparently, and obviously, people just cheered for other people to loudly acknowledge all the complicated history and trauma society has put on non-conforming bodies in visible spaces, and what it took to get to this moment we now saw on stage. They showed their appreciation for bravery and encouraged those on stage to continue performing. Not for nothing – being on a stage in a fat body encompasses so many traumatic aspects of a fat lived experience that seeing liberated bodies performing in resistance just resonated so deeply and made the audience go wild.

Even more so, when the fat liberation is used as a statement to underline that none of us are free until all of us are. I think one of the most powerful things I have seen on stage to this day is the performance of Alexa Perplexa. A Palestinian burlesque performer based in Seattle that through liberating her body from clothes on the stage beautifully painted a vision of free Palestine. It seemed like we all felt it in the audience, at least I did for sure. It makes me emotional just remembering it.

But what happens on the other side of the equation when you gather your courage and proudly show your fat body on the stage? It is an experience I still aspire to arrange for me in the near future, but sitting in the first row of the FatCon fashion show gave me a glimpse on what that might feel like. I saw the reactions and micro-expressions of models walking on the runway. Their posture and confidence said it all – taking off a bathrobe to reveal a bikini at the end of the runway, they received the loudest celebratory ovation … and I saw genuine pride. Their bravery (because in other circumstances we fatties would experience microaggressions and shaming when doing that) was rewarded with an opportunity to heal through the warm welcome of the audience. 

FatCon made me see how liberation happens in the space between two opposites – “i should minimize myself so others don’t notice me” and “let’s put my body in the center of everybody’s attention”. As I learned from my observations then, you don’t need to physically step on the stage to feel the liberation through this medium. Because, let’s be honest – the stage is not for everybody, but there is something beautiful that happens even just observing liberated fatness on display, being warmly embraced by hundreds of supportive eyes. Liberation happens in places where bodies are celebrated!

[Click here to read the fourth and last article in the series]

Concluding this, I wish to express my gratitude for this opportunity – to the professional internship program at BAFF for bringing me to the US, to NAAFA for inviting and supporting me throughout this event, and to FatCon for the joy and source of revelations for the time to come.

Visuals from collection of Ieva Miltina