“Philly FatCon,” Philadelphia’s first “fat-focused convention” which aims to help fat people navigate a “fatphobic world,” will be hosted at Temple University.
The event will host speakers, panels, fitness classes, and vendors and will take place between Oct. 28-29, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Philly FatCon, the city’s first fat-focused convention, is coming to Temple University in October.
FatCon wants people to “connect with other people that look like you, think like you, feel like you, and understand you,” said one of the founders.https://t.co/nzj9YD5432
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) July 17, 2023
Adrienne Ray, one of the event organizers, runs the online plus-size clothing store Curve Conscious. Ray believes using words such as “body positivity” and “body neutrality” can be harmful to fat people, the outlet reported.
“We’re not into the buzzwords because we’ve seen how it affects and impacts people — it makes people feel either included or excluded,” Ray told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “That phrase [body positivity] has become bogged down with relating to body image … That can be very triggering for folks who have disabilities, chronic illness, have been dieting on and off all their lives, and developed eating disorders because of it.” (RELATED: ‘Fat Gift To NYC’s Bottom-Feeding Legal Sharks’: Mayor Signs Anti-Weight Discrimination Bill)
Despite throwing a large event to “celebrate fat bodies,” Ray believes that many people are not content with the bodies they’re being called to celebrate. “People just want to be able to be themselves — that’s the dire need for something like Philly FatCon,” Ray said, the outlet reported. “Some people are not in love with their body every day, but this is the body that they exist in.”
General admission tickets for both days of the event are available for $150 and VIP tickets are available for $250. The event will include speeches from the self-entitled “fat sex therapist” Sonalee Rashatwar and author of “Fat Girls in Black Bodies” Joy Cox, the outlet noted. Booths selling plus-size clothing will also be at the venue.