There’s a fat positivity festival in Berkeley and we’re so here for it

Today in “awesome people doing awesome things to make the world more awesome” new, badass body image activist Virgie Tovar has organized a Fat Positive Summer Festival, taking place in Berkeley today through July 6th.

Hosted by the Berkeley Public Library, the fat positivity festival will include lectures, short films, and readings around the topic of body acceptance for people of all sizes. “Each of the events in the festival pushes against the current cultural paradigm that seeks to pathologize and marginalize fat people,” said Virgie in a statement.

And the timing of the festival is no coincidence. Summer can be a really stressful, uncomfortable time for people with body image issues. Temperatures rise, clothes get skimpier, and the messages about what your body is SUPPOSED to look like get louder — and meaner.

“This festival is about reclaiming summer as a season for all bodies,” Virgie continued. “Summer used to be the most terrifying time of year for me because it was bikini season — a yearly reminder that I had failed yet again to achieve a ‘beach body.’ I want to pay it forward, and give people the gift those activists gave me: the fearless reclamation of our bodies.”

If you’re in the Berkeley area, go check out this fantastic event and support the people working hard to change our culture’s harsh and unrealistic ideals about weight and body image.

Oh, and the dress code? Fearlessness. Says Virgie: “I encourage everyone to wear short shorts and crop tops to the festival!”