Pop culture stereotypes, shopping frustrations, fat jokes, and misconceptions about health are all ways society systemically rejects large bodies. BIG is a collection of personal and intimate experiences of plus size women, non-binary and trans people in a society obsessed with thinness. Revealing insights that are both funny and traumatic, surprising and challenging, familiar and unexpected, 26 writers explore themes as diverse as self perception, body image, fashion, fat activism, food, sexuality, diet culture, motherhood and more. These stories offer a closer look at what it means to navigate a world designed to fit bodies of a certain size (sometimes literally) and, in turn, invites readers to ask questions about -- and ultimately reconsider -- our collective and individual obsession with womens bodies. Contributors include Dr. Rohini Bannerjee, Amanda Scriver, Cassie Stocks, Jo Jefferson, Layla Cameron, Rabbit Richards, Sonja Boon, Simone Blais, Tracy Manrell and other writers from across Canada, the US, and the UK.
Christina Myers is an award-winning newspaper journalist turned freelance writer and editor. After leaving her long-time newsroom post, she turned her attention to more creative work, including both fiction and narrative non-fiction (and sometimes, secretly, poetry too.) She holds degrees in journalism and psychology from TRU and UBC, respectively, and is an alumnus of the Writers Studio at SFU. She is a fan of vintage collectibles and big dresses with deep pockets, she juggles parenthood and creative work from her home outside Vancouver, BC.
"A book long overdue, expressing perspectives often ignored, by voices that will no longer be silenced! -- Candy Palmater LLB Orator, Writer, Humourist
Accepting yourself at every size? That means rejecting all the whispered edicts of Eurowestern society and the out-loud abuse of strangers. Thats a BIG project. And one worth documenting. As a BIG girl myself, I NEEDED all the stories in this collection, from the sad-stark-raging to the joyful-triumphant-funny. -- Ariel Gordon, editor of GUSH: menstrual manifestos for our age
