The store was packed, mostly with heavyset women like me.
Stanley started by charting her journey as a yoga practitioner and public advocate.
She addressed some of the problems withyogain America today.
Leonardo Patrizi/Getty Images
The conversation ranged from fat acceptance to systemic racism to why she still teaches pay-what-you-can classes.
It was a meaty, thought-provoking discussion.
The woman on that stage was sharp, funny, unapologetic.
The crowd was rightfully feeling it.
I walked away with a copy of the book and a whole lot to think about.
Same goes for dancerAkira Armstrong, who has garnered attention for heading up the dance collective Pretty Big Movement.
Its hard to admit feeling conflicted about all this.
Not about these remarkable women themselvesthey deserve all the attention and accolades theyre getting.
I wish there were more stories like theirs out there, many more.
Shes busting the stereotypes!
Try as I might, I cant shake the feeling of being simultaneously pandered to and dismissed.
Are these stories really representing a new embrace of diverse bodies?
Or are they highlighting a few who, while amazing, portray a certain kind of fatness?
With such limited representations of fuller figures in media, where do Ian ordinary and self-conscious non-athletefit in?
Losing weight is to be celebrated,regardless of how it happens.
By this measure, these athletes bodies are acceptable and even inspiring because theyre physically phenomenal.
These plus-size yogis can put their feet behind their heads!
These plus-size runners can cross the finish line in a marathon!
Andits there, quietlytheyve remained fat, even though theyre neither lazy nor physically unfit.
That upends the narrative, and it seems to earn them a societal break.
So where does that leave women like me?
Athletics are not my strong suit.
Its all congenitaljust the way my body is made.
Its not for lack of trying.
I fall out of lunges in Sun Salutations.
My feet blister and bleed when I walk.
I take forever to finish a hike.
Running is a nightmare and I refuse to do it.
If I were slim and conventionally attractive, this all might read as quirky, even cute.
So when I exercise, it feels like I am fulfillinga stereotype.
I know this shouldnt bother me, but it does.
And I suspect Im not the only one.
Its as if women only have permission to be heavy if they are also athletic.
Meanwhile, where are the non-athletes?
We see thin bodies in varying stages of physical skill, from clumsy to amazing.
I sure as hell dont look likeTaylor Swiftwhen I stumble in a dance class.
On bad days, this gets to me.
Or, if I cant avoid, Ill overdo.
I dance even when my feet are aching and my ankles are wobbling and my thighs cramp like hell.
I tell myself I should prove my worth, otherwise I dont belong.
But I do belong.
All types of bodies belong, no matter what our culture tells us.
Physical fitness isnt always about natural light and breaking barriers and that inspirational (or aspirational) glow.
It can be difficult, painful, emotional, sweaty, slow.
It can involve blisters and blood, muscle cramps and pratfalls.
Just as we need images ofplus-size womenbeing phenomenal, maybe we also need to see them being utterly ordinary.
So yes, lets celebrate the plus-size athletes and highlight all the things their bodies can do.
But Id also love to see our media embrace women of all sizes and all levels of ability.
Who might have physical differences, or just be congenitally clumsy.
Lets make it OK to be fat and fitor not.
Zoe Fenson is a Bay Area-based writer.
She blogs about food, health, and body image atDare to Eat a Peachand tweets@ieatthepeach.
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