Ragen Chastain

Ragen Chastain

Bio

Ragen Chastain is a professional speaker, writer, and real live fat person.  She has spoken everywhere from friend's living rooms to Google Headquarters to Cal Tech and Dartmouth.  She will not stop until we live in a world where the full diversity of body sizes is respected, and fat people are able to live in fat bodies without shame, stigma, bullying, and harrasment, regardless of why they are fat, what being fat means, and if they could (or even want to) become thin. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner Julianne and their adorable rescue dogs, and is training for her first (and hopefully only!) IRONMAN triathlon. If you can't get enough of her on Ravishly, you can check out her blog www.danceswithfat.org

Ragen Chastain Articles

By Anna Hanks (@annaustin) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I Feel Pretty, Not Delusional  

Amy Schumer, of I Feel Pretty, keeps trying to sell us this narrative that she is fat (and ugly, which she seems to think mistakenly are the same thing).

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Unfortunately, Spirit oversold Mr. Cordova's flight and, apparently to accommodate one more thin person, they kicked him off the flight.

Fat Passengers Can't Win With The Airlines

Spirit oversold Mr. Cordova's flight and, apparently to accommodate one more thin person, they kicked him off the flight. This, despite the fact that Cordova had purchased two seats.

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image mashup: Mariah Aro Sharp @mightymooseart

Is Wonder Woman On A Diet?

We are passing our unhealthy obsession with thinness onto girls and it’s causing them to have issues with food, movement, self-esteem, and body image that can last a lifetime.

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All police officers, no matter how well intentioned, live in — and are affected by — a society rife with racism and ableism.  Image: Utility_inc/Pixabay.

Yes, Being A Cop Is A Tough Job. No, That Doesn't Excuse Incompetence.

It is a very difficult and dangerous job, and it does require officers to have the ability to make good split second decisions. None of that should mean that it’s OK to be incompetent, or that we should all rush to justify, ignore, or excuse incompetence, racism, ableism, and the inappropriate use of force.

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We need to talk about how the APA is Fat-Shaming Kids!

APA To Release Guidelines For Fat-Shaming Kids For Profit

What happens when you suggest diet behavior to a kid who’s about to grow a foot? How do you affect their growth? How to you affect their health? This is fat-shaming kids!

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A "fat tax" is an additional fee that is charged to fat patrons by services like pedicurists, spas, even massage therapists.

The "Fat Tax" At Spas & Salons Is Discriminatory And Unacceptable

A "fat tax" is an additional fee that is charged to fat patrons by services like pedicurists, spas, even massage therapists. Sometimes it even goes beyond a tax to complete exclusion.

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United Airlines, Leggings, And Deciding What Matters

Companies make unjust policies all the time, and they rarely change them except by public pressure.

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Kids fitness — by any definition — isn’t an obligation or barometer of worthiness.

Fitspo Is Not For Ten-Year-Olds​

While it's fine for child athletes to be on social media, it should be clear that what they are doing certainly isn’t necessary, or even appropriate.

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I don't care what Donald Trump eats.

I Don't Care What Donald Trump Eats, And Neither Should You

I don’t care what Donald Trump eats, or any other president for that matter. I don’t care if he exercises. Health is not guaranteed under any circumstance.

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Body shaming kids is never the right thing to do. It can damage a parent's relationship with their kids in a way that sticks with that child for the rest of their lives.

#TheySaid Highlights Our Culture Of Body Shaming

People are using #TheySaid to tell their stories of experiencing body shaming. Sally Bergesen kicked things off by talking about her own memory of body shaming, and hundreds of Twitter responses echoed her story.

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