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

This show didn’t just do irreparable harm to its contestants, but also to the viewers of all sizes who tuned in every week to see supposed healthcare professionals model the idea that fat people need to be screamed at.

The Biggest Loser Might Be Cancelled And This Is Why That's Great News

NBC's The Biggest Loser might be cancelled after allegations of abuse and fat-shaming. Here's why it would be a GOOD thing if the show never aired again!

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Can plus-size people use menstrual cups? Be prepared for a learning curve...

Can Plus-Size People Use Menstrual Cups?

Many assume that the menstrual cup doesn't work for fat people. So we're tackling the question, "Can plus-size people use menstrual cups?"

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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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Restroom sign. Image: Pixabay.

The Real Solution To The Trans Bathroom Debate

[CN: transphobia] Having apparently solved all the actual problems in the world, a number of conservatives in state and local governments have turned their “small-government” focus onto the bathroom needs of trans and non-binary people.

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Roxane Gay at a significantly less dreadful interview with Trevor Noah

How Mamamia's Treatment Of Roxane Gay Reveals The Fatphobia In Feminist Spaces

One has to wonder what they would have done if they had been trying to do it with a “mean spirit.”

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Doctors need to tell the whole truth about weight loss surgery's frightful side effects.

The Inconvenient Truth About Weight Loss Surgery

For fat people, Weight Loss Surgery is often touted as the magic bullet that will solve everything from sickness to single-ness to stigmatization.

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Kerryn manages to commit every fallacy of fatphobia in less than three minutes. Image: screengrab — Steven Tanenbaum/Vimeo.

Kerryn Feehan: Concern Troll, Fatphobe, and Bullshit Artist

Actress and comic Kerryn Feehan decided to use a publicity opportunity on a radio show to go after the show’s intern Whitney Way Thore, who is the subject of the reality show My Big Fat Fabulous Life.

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Men, however uneducated or inexperienced, consistently feel that they know better than we do how about our bodies work.

What I Call Them: Men Tell Women About Our Bodies

Mansplaining is rampant in our culture, and nowhere is it mansplain-ier than when men explain women’s bodies to us.

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Facebook needs to change its policy on banning users because of cyberbullies. Now.

Julia Busato & Facebook's Fat-Shaming Problem

The herd of misogynist, sizeist cyberbullies who have a lot of issues and seemingly endless free time abused the tool that Facebook has for users to report images that violate their community standards. Facebook rewarded them by banning Julia for 30 days with no explanation — she can log in and see what’s written, but she can’t post or reply to anything there.

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Lush issues a half-baked apology that should never have been necessary in the first place. (Image Credit: Instagram/@lush)

Lush: More Bathbombs, Less Fat Shaming

The pictures Lush posted are media that was created by the film company — and the film is inherently problematic in terms of “diversity and inclusion justice.” Lush re-posting them is a problem. That they were created in the first place is a problem.

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