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

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.

Read...
It's not our bodies that are the problem. Image: Thinkstock.

WTF Is Going On In Plus-Size Fashion?

You know what’s more “ostracizing” than being called plus-size? Actually BEING plus-size and unable to find clothes that fit you and that you like.
Plus-size people do not have the same choices as those who wear straight sizes — not in style, quality, price point, or availability. THAT'S ostracizing.

Read...
Come for the fat girls and the internet will smack you down!

Come For The Fat Girls, Get No Girls At All

As a fat woman on the internet I know, “Don’t read the comments. Never, ever read the comments.” But this time was different and it was awesome!

Read...

United Airlines, Leggings, And Deciding What Matters

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

Read...
Fat people need Megyn Kelly and Maria Kang to STFU.

What Megyn Kelly And Maria Kang Think About Fat Shaming Doesn’t Matter

Megyn Kelly and her guest, Maria Kang, bragged about how having their loved ones fat shame them has been part of their fitness and nutrition routines.

Read...
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).

Read...
Let’s take a moment and soak this in: women make up half the population and only 1/13th of the Doctors from Doctor Who, and there are actually men out there deluded enough to claim that this is unfair to men. (Image Credit: Instagram/nymag)

The Misogyny Of 'Dr. Who' Fans - Dudebros Are NOT HAPPY With A Female Lead

Ms. Whitaker is a white woman, so obviously 'Dr. Who' is still desperately behind and lacking in their Doctor diversity. But the show has finally introduced a woman as the main character and men (and a few women, because internalized oppression is a thing) are flipping out.

Read...
I have seen “clean eating” designed as everything from a cock-full-o-meat paleo diet, to a vegan diet and plenty of eating plans in between. I’m “good” if I eat some broccoli, but “bad” if I eat it with cheese sauce? (Image Credit: Instagram/goop)

Celebrity Diet Culture: Just Stop Already

With celebrities suggesting that people eliminate entire food groups in the name of “cleansing” and/or “eating clean," Dr. Jessen comments: “I’ve had many, many patients, so many of them teenagers, convinced that their healthy lifestyle and their clean-eating regime was really helping them when actually all it was doing was helping them hide their increasingly disordered eating and to cover up an underlying eating disorder.”

Read...
Honor the work and time of participants and registrants.

The Truth About Those Telesummits — Insights From An Insider

You’ve probably received an invitation to an online telesummit - fabulous speakers and it’s free, all you have give is your email address.

Read...
It is absolutely OK to be whatever size you are, including hella fat. It is absolutely fine to not be “healthy” or “strong” by whatever definition. (Image Credit: Instagram/body.brave)

We Must Stop Making These Mistakes About Health & Body Positivity

Suggesting that there is some weigh at which we are no longer allowed to love our bodies is fat-shaming and oppressive. Suggesting that you should have to achieve some level of “health” to love yourself is healthist and oppressive.

Read...