Frequently Asked Questions

When does the workshop meet and what do I need to join?

This is a virtual workshop that meets once a week on Zoom. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons we will meet for synchronous classes during the month of May. You will need a notebook or somewhere to record your thoughts and participate in the exercises.

I also recommend that you have someone in your support system (a therapist, close friend, partner) that can help you decompress or further process some things that may come up for you during this work. Often when excavating our personal relationships with diet culture, we realize the pain goes beyond cultural or social-- issues with food or body image may be a component of the pain we have, but often the real shit is rooted in the stories we've been taught by those closest to us.

Will you offer this workshop again?

The Everybody is a Babe Workshop has become one of my favorite things I've ever done, but I am only able to offer it once a year. This will be the only workshop in 2024.

What is the refund policy?

If you change your mind before the first class, you will be refunded in full. If you are unhappy with the workshop after the first class, you are welcome to withdraw and will be given a 50% refund.

Are there scholarships available?

Yes! I accept applications on a rolling basis, so there are quite a few applicants from previous cycles, but if you need financial help, please reach out and I will do everything I can to help. Doing this work shouldn't be prohibitively expensive, so I have tried to price the workshop fairly. If you're able to pay 50%, please let me know in your application, it would be much appreciated. Though scholarships are awarded to many different kinds of people, preference is given to BIPOC, trans and non-binary folks, immigrants, people in bigger bodies, and people with disabilities. Please fill out this questionnaire to apply.

Is this the same workshop that you previously offered?

Yes, this is the same workshop. If you attended previous workshops, you have a lifetime membership to the babedom and you are welcome to participate as many times as you'd like. The workshop is different from the course, though much of the material is similar.

Is this only for fat people? Or women?

Not at all. Body shame lives in people of all shapes, sizes, genders, and ages. While the workshop does have a focus on marginalized bodies and primarily centers fat experiences, I find that examining and working to dismantle our internalized anti-fat bias is something that benefits our collective liberation. Regardless of our own size, we are conditioned to see larger bodies as a moral failure and to fear fatness—usually under the guise of beauty, desirability, and "health". Those fears and anxieties lead to body shame, body dysmorphia, and disordered eating for people of all sizes.

I have found that using my own personal lens of being a bipolar, queer, fat woman is the most helpful way to facilitate this work. If you are somebody, you are a babe! And you deserve to feel radical self love!

Do I have to attend the classes or discussions?

If you can make it, you totally should. Discussion days are community oriented, and most folks say the group hangs are the best part! But if you can't or if Zoom freaks you out, that's 100% OK. You'll still have access to the educational videos, materials and the Facebook group. If hanging with other folks isn't really your thing, consider taking the self-paced course!

Are you a medical professional?

Nope! I am a singer/songwriter/poet who is also a fat person! I have done years of research for my own growth and body healing journey (and book!), and I am constantly asked "what worked for you?" This workshop is meant to be an answer to that question. I intend these 4 weeks to be a collaborative experience for you; to introduce concepts and texts from actual professionals while you build community with other folks who are on a similar journey. Consider me your cheesecloth for body positive concepts, exercises, and books. This workshop is intended to be educational–NOT to treat physical or mental illness. Please consult a licensed service provider if you need help.

If you are battling an active eating disorder, are in recent recovery, or feel that participating in discussions about food, exercise, or body shame may disrupt your healing rather than help, please consult with your recovery team before enrolling.

What principles are you going to cover?

This workshop is strongly anti-diet. With very rare exceptions, I believe intentional weight loss is incredibly damaging and is essentially a prescription for disordered eating. I believe in creating a new approach to health where weight is a neutral component. You are more than welcome in this space even if you are pursuing weight loss or thinking about pursuing weight loss—in fact, I highly recommend this workshop to evaluate if intentional weight loss is truly serving your long-term goals. While openness & vulnerability in this group is foundational, openly discussing active weight loss pursuits is antithetical to this work.

In this workshop, we examine the current systemic and cultural treatment of marginalized bodies, the historical treatment of marginalized bodies, how weight stigma affects opportunities and access for fat people, how fatness is a mechanism of white supremacy, how capitalism plays a key role in body shame, how intersectionality is essential to this work, and how we might imagine a new world for all marginalized bodies. We begin with an external lens initially, because it’s important to see how oppressive systems manipulate us to be consumed with our own perceived failure–ultimately, none of us should need a workshop like this, and yet, so many of us do. That alone should be a red flag that the systems we are subjected to are not working!

The second half of the workshop is devoted to self-work, reflection, and to introduce new ways of thinking about food, movement, and our own behaviors. I will be using the principles of HAES, intuitive eating, joyful movement, mindfulness, meditation, and CBT to guide us through the Great Unlearning!

What if I have don't have any negative body issues?

First of all: BABE! WE STAN! YES BODY LOVE! YES RADICAL SELF LOVE!

This workshop is geared more toward folks who will be learning new tools, rather than seasoned self love pros, but sometimes a refresher can be helpful!

Is this workshop good for teenagers?

I would have loved to attend this when I was in high school, it might have saved me from some really harmful behaviors.

We have had a few parents actually enroll with their teens which I find is often the ideal situation, because the anti-diet language and approach is still considered fairly radical, and teens struggling with body image need all the support they can get. Caveats: I swear a fair amount, and there are a few exercises/resources that include nudity and discuss some adult topics. During discussion days, participants do talk in their own groups unmoderated. Additionally, the facebook group is not heavily monitored either, and adult topics may occasionally pop up.
These things are easy to opt out of, but it's best if you give me or my workshop coordinator a heads up that you/your teen is under 18.