Marilyn Wann

Marilyn Wann is THE fat activist hero. She's the blonde in the photo to the left. Here she and The Bod Squad are demonstrating against WLS, or weight loss surgery. Marilyn is the author of Fat!So?,  she performs with Bod Squad, and she is an activist for fat acceptance in whatever capacity she can be.  She is probably the most well known and well respected person in the movement.  Here is a link to an article about Marilyn...Link

Velvet D'Amour

Velvet  D'Amour, at  5'8" and  280 pounds, was a  model for Jean Paul Gaulthier during Paris Fashion Week this year.  She was born in the US and is now based in Paris where she is a model, actress, dancer and photographer.  Not only that.......she's smart and well informed and refuses to be dragged in to bashing thin people.  I could take a lesson from her on that point at times.  Here's a link to a very good interview.

Susan Stinson

Susan is the author of Venus of Chalk, Martha Moody, Belly Songs, and Fat Girl Dances with Rocks. London's Diva magazine called her "the most criminally under-rated dyke novelist in the world."  After reading Venus of Chalk, you'd get no argument from me over that statement.  Here's a link to Susan's site to find out more about her writing and schedule...Link

Jo Brand

Jo Brand is a British comedienne.  She left the field of psychiatric nursing to join the alternative comedy scene in 1987, and managed to turn pro within two years.  Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of information about her in any one place on-line, but there are bits and pieces if you want to do a search. 

Dawn French

Dawn French is a British comedienne and actress.  She met Jennifer Saunders while training to be a drama teacher and they became a part of the alternative comedy scene in the late eighties, known as French and Saunders.  Dawn has had an extensive career in television, as well as working in films and the theatre.  Link

Andrea Dworkin

Andrea Dworkin (1946-2005) was a radical feminist.  Her life was never easy, beginning with a tumultous relationship with her mother, and moving on to an abusive first marriage.  She struggled for years to become a "real" writer, developing deep friendships that she tested the limits of, and then on to another unconventional marriage to John Stoltenberg.  In 2000, she was raped in a Paris hotel room, but many doubted her story, and she withdrew from public life.  Her health began to fail shortly after, and she died in 2005 from myocarditis.  Read about Andrea here.

The Venus of Willendorf

The Venus of Willendorf was found in Vienna in 1908 by archaeologist Joseph Szombathy.  She dates to from around 24,000 to 22,000 BCE. She is assumed to be a fertility charm of a goddess.  She is about 11 cm in length and now lives at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna.  Read about the Venus here.

Beth Ditto

Beth Ditto, "a fat feminist lesbian from Arkansas", fronts the indie band Gossip.  Her breakthrough song, "Standing in the Way of Control" was written about the US government's denial of the rights of gays to marry.  She has a big voice, a big mouth, and big style.  Read about Beth here. 

The Chubsters

"A Chubster shall know another...
For their badass ways, their chub pride, their hottness, their allegiance to the Chubster way, and the evil glint in their eye. "

The Screaming C
 

The Big Ballet