o·be·si·ty

/ōˈbēsədē/

noun

1. the condition of being grossly fat or overweight.

   "the problem of obesity among children"

   synonyms: fatness, corpulence, stoutness, portliness, plumpness, chubbiness, rotundity, flabbiness, grossness

they started calling me

a beast when i was 12

they did not know

that i was a

small girl

with

small bones

dealing with

hands bigger

than her body

I, small despite the weight, young despite survival - 12 years old, living in my 13th foster home, body riddled with signs of abuse and stretchmarks - the topography of the universe. When the doctors told me I was obese I thought they were calling me obeast. A beast is exactly the kind of thing a too small girl who knows violence all too well wants to be. Ferocious. Ugly. Undesirable. Powerful. Intimidating. Grotesque. I started to celebrate myself as a thing of disgust, hoping it would protect me from my abusers. I was diagnosed wasn’t I? Morbid.

Reflecting on my child-mind and its reception of the word obese & the media around obesity in all of its complexity I realized that the word is inherently violent. This realization led to the OBEAST project - a conversation. My hope is to bring humanity to the grotesque, to share the story behind the weight. There are so many intricacies that dictate the differences in our bodies, lets talk about them, lets free ourselves from shame and societal expectation and celebrate the miracle of us. The following is a collection of interviews: seven stunning spirits. A series. Get to know the beast.

OBEAST

VIDEO PASSWORD: OBEAST