I know I am a high femme but trust, I was a Girl Scout who earned her Gold Award. I have a secret love for camping. I watched the TV show, Bug Juice and the movie Camp Nowhere religiously growing up. And although I never went to sleep-away camp, I met my best friend at a week-long church camp that I went to every year for 8 summers. When I found out that Annette Richmond, the founder of Fat Girls Traveling was hosting a , I knew I needed in!
When Fat Camp made its debut in 2018, it became the . A body positive fat camp is a radical idea. This is a term that’s associated with everything that Richmond’s Fat Camp is challenging. The term “fat camp” is typically associated with summer camps that parents send their kids to so that they can lose weight. These camps are breeding grounds for restrictive eating, working out to the point of physical exhaustion and hierarchical hook-ups. I suggest listening to the podcast episode from “She’s All Fat” titled “.”
I captured Fat Camp in a vlog that you can find below or over on my but we as campers were lucky to have the amazing there to capture every moment. All of the images you see featured in this blog post are hers. She worked incredibly hard to capture our experience. Her tagline is “embrace all bodies” and I couldn’t have felt more included when in front of her lens. If you’re looking for a body positive boudoir photographer in North Carolina, book Katelyn!
Now back to the Fat Camp experience! When I arrived to camp, I was met with friendly fat faces – some I knew from online and others who I met for the first time at camp. I can definitely get anxious in large groups of people I didn’t know but the environment made it easy to just be myself. My cabin-mates and fellow campers became fast friends I felt like I had known for years.
I was at Fat Camp to be a speaker on a panel but I really got so much out of the experience as a camper. Most of the women in attendance were passionate about traveling but otherwise represented a variety of interests and lived experiences. This gave us the opportunity to listen and learn.
The activities challenged us in different ways. The posing challenge during Color Wars was easy for me but dancing in front of a crowd, still terrifying. Here’s a breakdown of all of the activities that made Fat Camp such a memorable experience!
Panel Discussions
I spoke at Fat Camp about learning to love yourself and dating alongside fellow bloggers: , and Other discussions covered grief, advocating for yourself as a fat person in healthcare, and posing and being in front of the camera. These panels got very vulnerable and I really felt so much closer to all of the campers as a result of their openness to share.
The Lizzo Lip Sync Battle
I was already loving the babes I shared a cabin with at Fat Camp but I have to say that the Lizzo Lip Sync battle definitely brought us closer together. We were all tasked with the challenge of taking a Lizzo song and coming up with a catchy performance. The winner received points towards Color Wars. We quickly realized that cheetah print was something we all packed and we went from there! And p.s., WE WON!
The Body Positive Pool Party
Would it really be a body positive fat camp if there wasn’t a pool party?! I have been to a few body positive pool parties over the years and it’s honestly something I will never get tired of attending. There’s always something really magical about being in a pool with a bunch of fat babes wearing swimsuits and just thriving! I loved jumping into the pool, attempting to learn synchronized swimming and of course just dancing and having a blast.
The 90s Party
I am a 90s kid and that remains one of my favorite eras for fashion. I was pumped when I heard that there was a 90s themed dance party during fat camp! I didn’t have to buy anything. It was easy for me to just shop from my own closet to find something that worked well! I am so happy with my look and it was fun to dance to 90s jams. PLUS, the 90s dance party ended up with the kick of COLOR WARS! We did a few games and ended the night in a tie.
Yoga
It’s been a long time since I’ve practiced yoga. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it because I really do but it’s rare that I feel welcomed in yoga spaces. I have never had a yoga instructor who was fat. Doing yoga with a fat instructor was a game changer. She made modifications that made sense because on where we carry our weight. It was peaceful and relaxing.
The Dancing
Dancing was a big part of the activities at Fat Camp. We had a local body positive dance crew come and teach us a dance. There was later a dance-off where the winner got points for Color Wars. Although I didn’t face my fear and get involved in the dance lesson, I did dance during the Lizzo lip sync so progress is progress!
The Epic Photoshoots
I LOVE being in front of the camera but it’s rare that I get to do it with a whole group of fellow fat babes at a body positive fat camp. The speakers did two pool shoots with plus size swimwear from and Becca Etc. Every camper had the opportunity to shoot in the pool with Katelyn and I took advantage by posing in one of my favorite plus size swimsuits of the summer from ASOS.
Overall, I had a great experience attending a body positive fat camp. I’m so glad that something like this exists. It serves to get you out of your comfort zone. I attend a lot of plus size fashion events but none of them where you are sharing a cabin in the woods with the fellow attendees. This felt focused more of self love than fashion and I really felt renewed when I came home.
I’m not the only one who felt that way. I asked my fellow campers if there were comfortable having their images shared here on my blog and one of the responses really sums up why Fat Camp was such an impactful experience. Angi wrote,
“I hate pictures of myself, but think all of these are beautiful. Maybe itâs âs magic. Maybe it is because of the fantastic time I had with all of you insanely gorgeous women. Maybe itâs fat camp afterglow. Maybe it is growth. Or all the above. Regardless, thank you all for being a part of it!”