International Diet Day, Malissa Jones, Loving Your Neighbor, and Eclairs

May 6 is International No Diet Day (INDD). It was started by Mary Evans Young in England in 1992. I know many people can't wait for this day. I appreciate it for the fact that it picks up both venom (maybe from those on a diet?) as well as supporters each year. I am thankful for a few things: (1) its creation, (2) longevity, and (3)the ability to shock those not 'in the know.'

In Mary's own words, she describes how she began INDD:

"I started INDD in the spring of '92 following two things. The first was seeing a television programme where women were having their stomachs stapled. One woman had split the staples and was in for her third op[eration]. And then a young girl of 15 committed suicide because 'she couldn't cope being fat.' She was size 14 (12 in US). I decided somebody had to stand up and try to stop this bloody madness and in the absence of anybody else, I decided it would be me. So I sent out a press release titled 'Fat Woman Bites Back'...and got some media attention. I was desperate to keep the anti-diet/size acceptance concept in the public eye. So, without really thinking about it, at the end of a live TV interview I said, 'Don't forget to celebrate No Diet Day.' ...Having declared it on prime time national TV I then set about organising a picnic in Hyde Park. Alas it rained, so we adjourned to my living room instead." ~Mary Evans Young


Goals of the INDDT:
-Celebrate the beauty and diversity of ALL our natural sizes & shapes
-Declare a personal one-day moratorium on diet/weight obsession
-Learn the facts about weight-loss dieting, health, and body size
-Recognize how dieting perpetuates violence against women
-Honor the victims of eating disorders and weight-loss surgery
-Help end weight discrimination, sizism and fatphobia

I think it is important to share these words from Mary Evans Young with you:

19th International No Diet Day
Greetings to all of you celebrating this auspicious day.
How far have we come since 1992? Well, in some respects a long, long way.
More health professionals support a 'health at every size' approach.
There are fat study groups in colleges as younger people are challenging the status quo. And people in the public eye are speaking out about their experiences.
Plus there are a few more clothes to choose from.

But, the pressure is still on us all to be other than we are...
Whether child or geriatric
There's far too many people ever ready with their knives.
And quacks peddling magic drugs and potions
Fat remains an easy and socially acceptable target and a useful vehicle for others to project their self hate.

It is not unusual for oppressed people to understand their oppressors more than they understand us.So, no surprise if people scratch their heads in puzzlement as we say, in our various ways, "get off our backs" -when 'they only have our best interests at heart'.But today is a day of pride and to use our precious creative and fighting energy to challenge institutional sizeism and the nasty trinity:
diet, media and fashion who exploit us all for their own ends.

As a British politician famously said, "Don't let the bastards get you down".
INDD is an opportunity to change the rules: encourage self acceptance and respect for all. And use your love and friendship to have a great day.... in the way it suits you. Go well.

In solidarity, Mary Evans Young
Oxfordshire, England

Sign up for and pledge a goal for International No Diet Day on Facebook!

There have been a number of good FAT things here in the NYC: A great article published in the Village Voice by Camille Dodero (@camilledodero) about FAs (Fat Admirers-- "boys who like fat chicks."

As well, my heart weeps for the recent article about Malissa Jones, once dubbed "fattest UK teenager" who, after having gastric bypass surgery is now suffering from anorexia. Find the article here: Malissa Jones

For me, INDD is about the good it does and provides, principle first, for all the good people of the earth, and for those who suffer--like Malissa Jones, and the #%^&*&@! doctors who forced(?) her to have that surgery. However, I will state as I have many times in the past, if you chose that for YOU-- I support you, because I feel you will need support. And because I personally feel-prolifically feel that EVERYONE'S JOURNEY MUST BE HONORED. If you "hate" Malissa Jones because she now suffers from anorexia, I only have 2 words for you. I whole-heartedly agree with Mary Evans Young--honor those "-Honor the victims of eating disorders and weight-loss surgery."

This is a processing point, a problem beyond skin, sometimes even beyond soul. If is for those who suffer. I love and care for you. I pray for you. I pray you gain peace--whatever form it comes in for YOU. Whatever is right for YOU. And as Ive said time and time again: as we lay our heads down tonight upon our pillows-- somewhere- some one's last words to themselves are " I ate the carrot," and for others it is "I did not eat the carrot." As long as you are nourished my sister, or my brother, may you sleep restfully. The constant physical, emotional, mental battle is--simply, feroious.

The roller coaster ride that exists, emotional and physical, exists for many. Please take a moment of silent reflection or thought for all who have tried and continue to so, some at great peril to themselves in one capacity or another--who have been victims or victimized doe to their size, weight, or some combination thereof. I always pause to think that there were a lot of women buried in muumuus, because there was nothing else. For thee, I pray.

My contribution to International No Diet Day:

If we are friends on facebook, or you can follow me on Twitter @FatGirlsFloat

I am taking a pic of everything I consume tomorrow.... a photo documentary, you might say and posting it on Twitter and Facebook.

I want people to please understand that I am pretty regimented in my eating schedule/pattern; because if I am not, then I will not eat, forget to eat, and get too caught up in work to eat... .and lived off a "diet" of coffee[kawfee as we say here in the NYC] for years. I realized that that was definitely NOT HAES as well as not healthy!

I have been told a number of times: "Kira, why are you fat? You don't eat "like fat person"?!" What the hell does that mean?! Good friends Yossi Loloi and David Garrett have seen me at my best and my worst, but not scarfing down -I should say eating- a whole pizza.{Sometimes my old 80s high school self comes out!} And they kind of just don't see me, but for some reason do not necessarily expect me to "over eat"--just maybe are surprised I am 325 pounds. To quote a beloved pastor I heard speak, "It wasn't from eating tofu, ya'll." {Ahem, tofu, not Tofu.} And I will admit that I was not angelic about my eating habits. However, my biggest battle was going for very long periods without eating. Still is, sometimes. And I am not here to apologize.

Further, I recall going to the Philly Bash and rooming with dear friend Nancy Goddess. She and I have discussed this--privately and publicly. Nancy ate constantly throughout the weekend. I was failing asleep to crunch, crunch, crunch. it did not bother me, I found it amusing, and I don't know why-- as well as endearing. She was once 420 pounds, having had gastric bypass surgery in hopes to having an operation to fix her knee, and has lost a considerable amount of weight. Nancy joked all weekend, "Kira.. what the hell is wrong with you? How are you 300 pounds? You don't eat. You gotta find yourself a chef." That last thought led me to pen "I Wanna Marry a Chef" in Nancy's honor.

Now, please don't misunderstand me. Eat what you want. What I believe might be different from some: eat what you want until you are satisfied, be present, try not to eat 'on the go' (hence my disdain for those who eat in the subway--more because I don't like to witness the oddity and smell!), unless you HAVE to; and to try to plan to some degree. Why? It works for me. I like structure, and for the bulk of my professional career-- and waking hours-- I need both fuel, and convenience; so bringing my breakfast and lunch work for me. I eat what I choose to eat, what works for me, and for the physical ailments from which I have looooooong [since age 13!] suffered: PCOS, anemia, and a lack of enough B12. To be direct, I kinda live like it is LENT all year 'round. It might be structured eating, but it is not no diet.

I have a hard work schedule…... I am up at 5am! Leave for work at 6am-ish, and well...... do not live in a work area that you can buy lunch….. so I have to bring it. I know that by sharing it leaves me open to criticism, so I am actually interested in what people will have to say. Judgment is passed around like people giving out Halloween candy. Ba dump bump. Cast ye, your first stone. I do not wanna feel judged by what I do eat, or what I don't eat--or how much. By anyone. Oh, right.. and I, like everyone else, is entitled to my own damn opinion. I do not need to tote the party line; I am independent. Still convinced I am the Sarah Palin of Size Acceptance. I don't know, for some reason I just FEEL rogue.

And.... most funny (to me) was one year when Velvet was in town and we had dinner with Yossi, Substania Jones(?),and her friend Pony from college!--Pony's response was the very best I have ever heard, as he inquired about International No Diet Day, he said" What do you guys do? Sit around and eat eclairs?" Not a bad idea, Pony. Not a bad idea at all. Please, I hope someone eats a damn eclair! I don’t really like éclairs, but SOMEHOW I feel obliged to eat one every May 6th, just because Pony said that! So, I guess one goal tomorrow will be to eat an éclair.

With love and NO diet sense, just good eating-- whatever that means!

Love you all....

KIRA NERUSSKAYA
New York City….. and lives in walking distance to Veniero’s! See you there?!
Please hit me up @FatGirlsFloat on Twitter and #CheerTheEclair. If I get enough of a following/response I will send pics and/or video of "The Eclair Eating"

ps. it is currently 11:43 p.m. EST.. dude I had 4 hours of sleep last night.. I wanna GO to bed!

Fat Girl Flea Market 2011

It is that time again.... where all fat, plump, plus size, curvy, fluffy, and the extra va-va-voom join together for... cheap fashion!


is where you can find all the information you need... how to donate, and where exactly we will be on Saturday
April 30th, 2011 in New York City.

Join the Facebook page for up to the minute info! FatGirl Flea Market 2011 Facebook

I will see you there!

KIRA

My Very Own Moment of History.... with Geraldine Ferraro

Circa the mid-1990s.
I was on a plane, yet again. I said in the window seat. And if I remember correctly, I had used my own seat belt extender from AmpleStuff. You always expect the worst on planes for some reason. Like the person is going to look you over with an a snotty attitude, eye roll, etc. And I was probably fatter than Kevin Smith, but they kept my ass on the plane. My shuttles to and fro DC were always pleasant and extremely regular. How regular? The custodian for the ladies room at LGA was named Olga. If you are still there, Olga-- "Hello again." Smile.

So, I get settled and I notice there is a middle aged woman in a nice suit taking her seat on the aisle in my row. She greeted me with a warm smile. I wasn't worried-- LGA's Air Terminal shuttle to Dulles was a relatively short ride.

So here I am, bored with whatever I am reading, and I look over at this lady, and am thinking to myself. I ought to tell her she really looks like Geraldine Ferraro. Hmm.....I would love to give her that compliment, but... well, thinking to myself--you never know how someone would react to that. What if she was a Republican?!

The flight attendant shows up to serve the drink. The lady next to me whips out her AMEX card, and purchases something on the sky mall--from what I recall nothing particularly expensive, important, or exciting.

As she is handing the card to the flight attendant.....I looked over and read "Geraldine Ferraro." Hot damn! Well, I know she didn't leave home without it. Now, I never thought that I was going to grow and be President, but...I did serve as a page for the State of Connecticut--so I had my political moments and political interest. And this made me happy because she was the first woman political candidate on a presidential level.

I felt happy that Ferraro--despite all the controversy and crap that followed, that she was chosen, and ran. It mattered not that they did not win, the victory, I felt at that time--and still do, was that she was a woman--and another rung on the ladder was taken upward when she ran for VP.

So I looked at GF when the flight attendant had finished, and said "You know I was going to tell you that you looked just like Geraldine Ferraro; but based on your interaction with the flight attendant.....not only do I think you look like her, I think you are her!"

"Yes I am," she said, warmly with a half-chuckle. I have to say she was really lovely and very pleasant. She saw me as a kind of admirer, a woman younger than she, and a person who sat on the same plane she did. She never "looked me over", or at any other part of my body. She looked me in the eye. And ya know what? I appreciated that.

I told her I thought she was great. I know it was not an easy thing to live through--the good, the bad, the press, the indifferent. But, that her choice to run was an act of courage. Truly her life was never the same. But, I appreciated her courage. She had fought for women's rights even as a lawyer.

Somedays I feel like the Sarah Palin of fat acceptance, because I feel what I feel, which sometimes does not 100% agree with the party line in one degree or another--whatever form that may be-- and that makes me feel very Sarah Palinesque, um, I mean rogue. [I might join her for s'mores, but I challenge her at shooting. Hence the photo. She does not seem to agree with Michele Obama's tactics (sans tact?), I mean strategies, for her childhood obesity propaganda, I mean initiative. Ahem.]

Now, out here in FATLAND, I must say that one may not agree with everyone, nor will everyone agree with me. BUT, I am fiercely sincere in wanting everyone to be respectful,feel respected and included, and agreeing to disagree if need be. We are here to celebrate our differences, and build bridges, not create walls. It is those same differences that we try to elevate,celebrate,lighten and enlighten among our own overlapping communities as well as society at large, medium, or small.

So, thank you Geraldine. I know I thanked you in person, but I am just sending you this reminder and adieu out into the cyberspace of the world, hoping it reaches you where ever you may be. Even Sarah Palin commented about Ferraro on her own FaceBook,"She broke one huge barrier and then went on to break many more. May her example of hard work and dedication to America continue to inspire all women." I say--Amen to that.

A nod, a smile, and a wink, for you Geraldine. You really are up in the sky this time. God bless America.

Waving from here,
KIRA NERUSSKAYA
NEW YORK CITY

A Film with a FAT HEROINE--Ten Stories Tall screens at NYWIFT, NYC

Hello ya'll

Hope you are enjoying Spring-like weather where-ever you are!

On Tuesday March 22, right here in the NYC, there will be a screening hosted by New York Women in Film and Television of Ten Stories Tall. One of the producers, Merle Augustin is a very nice lady!.. and thus-- a woman in film.


This original, independent screenplay is the debut feature from award winning film maker, size acceptance team member and supporter, and all around swell dude--David R. Garrett.

Below you can find links of your choice, a blog interview done by yours truly, and the info!

Hope you can join us........ this is a rare gem... a New York City tale that ultimately shows a lovely plus-sized woman in a positive way.


Hope to see you there!

Best regards,

KIRA

NYWIFT screening series: Ten Stories Tall
Event: Tuesday Mar. 22, 2011

This screening series celebrates the work of NYWIFT members. Whenever possible, the filmmakers are present for discussion and socializing after their works are shown. Screenings take place at Anthology Film Archives, 32 2nd Avenue @ 2nd Street.

There will be a Q&A following the screening, and an after-party to follow, with Cash Bar and complimentary food @ Dempsey's Pub, 61 2nd Avenue, between 3rd and 4th Streets.

This month, the NYWIFT screening series is proud to present the moving family drama Ten Stories Tall.


When her best friend, Anna, dies, grief-stricken Grace, played by Tovah Feldshuh, confesses to their lifelong affair. Her revelation strikes at the core of the friendship between the relatives of the two women and provokes a confrontation with Anna's daughter, portrayed by Ally Sheedy. It also spurs unexpected journeys of self-discovery for every member of the family. The film also stars Josh Hamilton, Sherri Saum, Jim Gaffigan, Jennifer Regan, Emily Skinner, Jean Brassard and Simon Jutras.


Written and directed by David Garrett; produced by Merle Augustin and Kaer Vanice.

David Garrett, writer/director, made his first film, Your Children: The Testimony of Charles Manson, as an adaptation of his play of the same name. His next short, Clown Car, won several festival awards and was distributed by Warner Brothers. He’s been a semi-finalist in the Nicholl Fellowship competition and won the Ezra Litwak Award for Distinction in Screenwriting from Columbia University, where he earned an MFA in film. His short Warlord debuted at the Rotterdam Film Festival and won best short at the South by Southwest festival in 2008. Ten Stories Tall is his first feature.

Marle Augustin was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She left Haiti to become a journalist for the Miami Herald, the Sun-Sentinel and the Associated Press, before moving on to filmmaking with the multi-media documentary Indivisible: Local Heroes Changing America and narrative filmmaking with an MFA in directing at Columbia University. Before Ten Stories Tall, her first feature, she produced several short films including Warlord in 2008, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the SXSW Film Festival and 2007 official selection at the International Rotterdam Film Festival.

Kaer Vanice studied photography and fiction at University of Kansas and transitioned to narrative filmmaking with an MFA in producing at Columbia University. He has worked as a producer on both shorts and feature films. His credits include Warlord, winner of the 2008 Grand Jury Prize at the SXSW Film Festival and 2007 official selection at Rotterdam Film Festival, as well as Padre Nuestro, winner of the 2007 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Sponsored by:
NYWIFT programs, screenings and events are supported, in part, by grants from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York Council of the Arts and

A Valentine Poem for my FAT Sisters

Hello my loves, my FAT sisters:

It is for you that I toil.
No less. I am a silent sufferer
With too much of a buffer
of too little time, and not enough dime
To do ALL that I HAVE to.
Be it duty or obligation
I find it a great sensation
to tell a story, of you in all your fat glory
to a nation who defiles us,
with admirers that beguile us (and often don't tell the truth.)
Ah, yes, save the youth.
Practice what you must, and preach if you have to.
Do what you can with what you have.
Make sure to treat yourself right all the while.
Know the strongest of light comes from within,
and united light makes a gleaming glare at inquisitors
to attempt to blind us.
An eye for an eye, makes us blind….
And if we are blind, can we truly not see?
Look with your heart, it’s all there.
Never despair.
Rise up, if you can, and shake that fist.
Do not be mean in your quest for change-
Recall how to walk tall with nonviolent benevolence.
Forgive and remember.

And in the meantime…….
Delight in your delicious diva-hood
Do it right--and be kind to yourself.
May you remember those who walked a similar path
With less light from above or within
Nod your head at their tribute, and let them rest—but never forget.
But hear my words and know my heart
As I reveal it all in small doses
I long for your poses of smiles
Happy within
Able to grow-
to pass on what you know.
To show others we have been here the whole time.
Share, even when you don't want to,
Someone, yes, someone needs your help.
Treat each other right,
For that’s the real delight, finding a friend.
And sometimes that might even be yourself.
But, don’t worry.
And I am right here with you.

Love yourself.
Love your body.
Love your neighbor.

With love to you and yours on this Valentine eve 2011 from New York City,

KIRA NERUSSKAYA

AMOR VINCIT OMNIA
Love Conquers All

Maura Kelly: Your Prejudice is MUCH BIGGER than My Body

A few words on Marie Claire/Maura Kelly-Gate:

In February 2010, I was invited by Joanna Coles and her team for a focus group, informal type of consulting regarding the plus-size world. As we went around the table introducing ourselves; I was the first person to say thank you for having a major publication embrace plus-size beauty at that level. I also made it clear that I did not like the title of Ashley Falcon’s column, “Big Girl in a Skinny World.” As true as it all might be; the mere title continues the divisive attitude in fashion, about beauty, and in the world. We are walking, ok-it seems shuffling at times—toward size neutrality and-as one would hope—inclusiveness. A title separating people, particularly women, and by size demands separation rather than unification. Where is the old attitude of ‘we are all in this together?”What would have been wrong with calling the column “Big Girl Style?” I continue not to understand why, if you take the chance, and gain another demographic—with a loyal following and money to burn….would you kick us in the teeth like this? Are you to tell me that an editor at Marie Claire read Maura’s post and said, “OK, publish it.” No one had a freaking brain in their body (not matter what its size!) to say “Gee, honey, you might wanna re-think this, or at least read it aloud.” Meanwhile, Joanna, you have disappointed me.

That meeting ended with ‘we should all eat the cupcakes everyone was staring at on the table. I thought to myself, “Are they buying off fatties with cupcakes?” But, cupcakes in New York City being what they are: popular and a staple treat among the popular. I did not find deeper political meaning behind it; I simply saw it as hospitality.

What –sort of—cracked me up about Marie Claire/Maura Kelly-Gate was how ill informed Maura’s post was. I was saying to myself… has this girl ever actually READ the internet? No worries, love, you did not set us back on our journey toward size equality. In fact, thanks for uniting New York, Philly, and San Francisco and the web with your words. See how powerful they were. They united rather than divided.

What FREAKING purpose did her post have? It seemed to be HER well-formed, well-prejudiced opinion about hating fat people: walking across a room, on the street, and on-gasp!-TV. She DID NOT See the show—so the post was not a critique of the show really. It was a critique that fat people should not, and should not be allowed to be affectionate on TV. Ok, so why not use your own blog to write those explosive comments? Why get paid for such garbage. If that was anti-Obama speech, racial epithets, and/or the like—we would be on CNN talking about this. O, but it is just fat people. They should get a room, right? Hate speech is hate speech, yo! Why was this allowed in a professional setting?

The photo that was included of Mike and Molly did not show any fat rolls. Of course, despite being TV stars—they are ‘fat.’ So the costume powers that be will certainly cover them up at all costs. Do NOT expect to see any skin except from neck up, wrist down, or below ankle. I would not be surprised if the characters have on gloves, scarves, and socks at all times! But, dude, really? There were no fat rolls in that picture of the characters. Really, Maura, really? [Edit!-wait! I found a pic of Melissa McCarthy with forearms showing. A shirt to the elbow—how kind of you to let her show skin.]

The writing and the structure was, sorry to say, babyish. I am not a paid blogger, no one is putting money in my pocket….and I have put a nice chunk of cash into a project it is taking me longer than I had hoped to complete because I work a demanding job for a living. However, we are not drunks and heroine addicts. We are fat. And yes, Maura, to answer your question: I find you to be an insensitive jerk. But I am gonna love you anyway. And I am gonna forgive you anyway.

I am not asking to cut her any slack, but I am asking for us to be understanding. If, as reported, Maura Kelly is a recovering anorexic—despite her fat hatred—personal political— and professional—she comes across as a person who is still healing. And ‘still healing’ means ‘unhealed.’ I sincerely wish her well in her journey, a far different one from mine, from ours. But along your continued journey, Maura, I request you cease your hate speech, especially from the seat of a national publication site.

Even Natalie Zutter from Screen who felt that “Maura Kelly Has a Point” as a former (?) anorexic:

Kelly's mistake is in sounding too chipper and oblivious in parts: when defending her argument by saying that she has "plump" friends, and by offering
breezy weight-loss advice that seemed unaware that for obese people, losing weight is not as easy as a quick jog on the treadmill. But the fact that she was a self-confessed former anorexic was going to sabotage her position from the beginning, which is incredibly ironic--who better to understand body disorders than someone who has suffered?

I guess it is because of her suffering that one would think she would be a bit more open-minded, Natalie. I am sure Maura might have suffered ridicule due to her, what I assume might have been ‘extreme thinness’ at one time in her life. That is kind of why it is more puzzling to me.

Zutter feels there was a misunderstanding. Aww. She feels that the characters of Mike and Molly are not obese.

There's a misunderstanding here: while the characters of Mike and Molly are
overweight, they are not obese; so they weren't the appropriate subjects for an article about obesity.

Are you sure about that, Natalie? Um, did the character bios come with a BMI? If the actors are obese; it would be their doctors to make that call—and McCarthy and Gardell to reveal that information, should they so desire. And what if they are? Their size is not preventing them from doing their job. What bothers me most is the fact that why is it that fat love is usually depicted with a fat woman and a fat man. There are plenty of men who are not fat who love fat women, and vice versa. Onlythe latter has been over exposed and the former hardly ever touched. How about a fat woman character and her adoring, loving, thin husband? Were is that one, television land?


Zutter goes on to say that when Jezebel [a place for obesity glorification, according to Zutter] picked up the story, it seemed shocking that Kelly was called a bigot, in very simple terms; which, by her post, resembles a classic textbook, dictionary definition of the very word.

Zutter continues to state that a case cannot be solved on body type, even though she thinks the following:

...Then you find out that you can't solve a case based on body type. Kelly never suggested that you could. Kelly doesn't pretend to have any right to judge obese people's morals; she simply admits something that takes a lot of guts, that she doesn't jibe with the norm of blindly accepting a patently unhealthy lifestyle.

Natalie Zutter, dear, since when has fat been blindly accepted and by whom? Moreover, are all fat people unhealthy? Um, you and Maura should have a cup of tea and read the internet. We have answered that already.

Kelly’s post was not about obese people’s morals; it was about the size of our bodies and making the connection that because we are fat we are immoral.

Yet, Zutter seems to feel WE are the bullies, by protesting Kelly’s comments, we are defensively celebrating. Well, Ms. Zutter, you call it as how you see it; I call it a reaction to negative biased media. And the disgust and tiredness of having it hurled our way. We are calling you, and Ms. Kelly on HER words.

Yes, Kelly technically says that she would be "grossed out" by watching two
obese people kiss--but she doesn't linger on that statement the way that later
commenters have. It's a point of comparison to her real issue, a relevant one:
The disturbing examples of obesity in culture. Let me repeat that: I'm not
talking about overweight/fat people, I'm talking about those who are morbidly obese.

Regarding “disturbing examples of obesity in culture.” Right. Remind me where they are again? O, yes, fat people walking. Kissing. Living. Breathing air.

DOES ANY ONE ELSE SEE THE IRONY IN ALL OF THIS SOUNDING LIKE SCHOOL KIDS IN AT RECESS???

Here is what I have to say: I am disappointed in Marie Claire. Kelly’s post, and allowing it, shows the real and utter distaste of Kelly, but it also shows a real and uber distaste of fat people by Marie Claire by its editors and its authors—you allowed this to be published on your blog, which means you claim not only notification of its content, but therefore, agreement with it. At no time did you make a disclaimer.

As U.S. citizens we are allowed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And tha includes fat people being happy, and loving each other, themselves, family and friends. That includes showing affection. And occaionally with tongue. Behind closed doors. Outside. On the street. In movie theatres. In cars. Wherever.

I think Maura Kelly will have more healing to do. I am empathetic to her journey, and wish her love and light. Frankly, I think she needs it. I always come to the same place whether it is a drive-by comment on the street, a blatent remark on the subway, or the like: I end up feeling pity for that person, sympathy, sadness.

I truly feel that by negative name-calling and blogging with negative words toward the author makes us no different than a bully in a school yard. We are better than that. We have lived our lives being better than that. And we should continue to do so.

What Kelly needs is forgiveness. Through forgiveness we can keep moving forward. I didn’t say we shouldn’t call her out for her bigoted comments; I just feel we should forgive her for it. With such an action we can rise above the hate. After all, FAT GIRLS FLOAT.

Let’s look at them from a positive note. Her words brought us together as a community once again. And we got something positive out of it: kissing and affection, unity, press, an opportunity to reach out to the public and “fatty on the street,” and a reminder that we are strongest when we work together.

Yes, I believe in loving your neighbor. And I believe that your enemy is also your neighbor.

Maura Kelly, your prejudice is much bigger than my body. But I am using my big-assed body to forgive you. Know why? It contains my big-ass heart.
I see this as simple as Hate vs. Love. I choose LOVE.


KIRA NERUSSKAYA
New York City Big Fat Kiss-In participant, mouthing off from her kisser!

FullBeauty Project Opens in Milan

On October 28th Milan, my good friend photographer Yossi Loloi opens his exhibition the FullBeauty project at the Gian Paolo Barbieri Studio.

As artists, we have to just keep pecking away at the mountain of ideas and hopes we have in our head.

His work speaks for itself. His committment to fat women is one of beauty and love. He is definately an admirer of big women, and from the very primordial appreciation. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Yossi behold beauty in all of these brave women of size.

The beauty of it all is that the honesty of the pictures, the lighting, and the ladies who were brave enough to pose is ever present--and the idea to a whole new level beyond what Nimoy was able to do, for example.

Please view all pictures at FULL BEAUTY PROJECT
Good luck today, Loloi!

Love,
KIRA