Episode #79: Body Positivity and Health At Every Size: PART ONE
Grace and Alvina welcome a very special guest to the podcast this episode. Phoebe Wahl joins the Book Friends to talk about body positivity and the insidious wellness industry. Phoebe is an award-winning children’s book author, illustrator, and surface designer who lives in Bellingham, Washington. Her latest book, The Blue House, was published in August. This is part one of two episodes so please stay tuned for even more chats with Phoebe next week!
The book friends want to thank Melissa, a podcast listener, for making the suggestion to discuss this important topic. Thank you for your email!
First, how have you’ve been?”
Grace has been getting up earlier each day to make more room for more creative time. (4:30AM!) She’s been really tired but hoping her body will catch up and get used to this change. She’s found a pod for her daughter to join this school year and is very relieved.
Alvina is loving life in Vermont and especially this week because she’s been ON VACATION! She’s been enjoying all the natural beauty around her including some great little hikes and not one, but TWO maple creemee’s in one day!
Phoebe has been wildly busy. She and her partner were supposed to get married on August 1st, but of course they had to postpone the ceremony until next year. They decided to go camping instead this year. She’s been working on her next book as well as an animation that’s in production. Her latest book was just released called The Blue House! This is a real-life story of her partner and his son leaving their house a few years ago.
Health at every size…
Phoebe talks about growing up with body issues and how she didn’t see many characters that looked like her in books. Alvina draws parallels between diversity issues and with body image/self-esteem issues growing up. Similarly, the books she read growing up didn’t have any Asian princesses and they never had any fat princesses. For so many children, this can begin a path to self-hatred and the desire to try and fit into today’s standards. Too many books, (including Harry Potter books that Phoebe loves!) have fat characters as the villains.
“What are some ways you have been radicalized?”
Phoebe started seeing a Health at Every Size therapist who helped her find freedom and the time to think about other things besides weight loss. We normalize talking about being thin and shrinking our bodies so much. She was given the language and the tools to “turn that normal disappointment around when we don’t fit into something or when we feel our bodies start to deviate from the norm.” Our culture has put so much fear on getting bigger. Important questions come up: Why? Who profits off of that? Who gets stigmatized and oppressed on the flip side of that fear? We are fed all these ideas about what is beautiful and what is perfect health. So much of your health lies in the hands of social determinants as well. Who is saying that being thin is equated with being a good person? The book friends talk with Phoebe about social pressures and obsessions with health and wellness. She reminds you to take a look at your social media feed…try not to follow people that make you feel bad about your body.
TO BE CONTINUED next week! Join us for PART TWO with Phoebe Wahl.
What are you grateful for?
Alvina is grateful for her time in Vermont, visiting relatives, and feeling safe there.
Grace is grateful for the Eric Carle Museum that has just re-opened. She’s been going there with her daughter lately to play in the studio and see some exhibits. They are selling her Where The Mountain Meets the Moon 2021 calendar! Check it out and purchase your own!
2 Minute Book Review with Alison Morris
Max Meow, Cat Crusader by John Gallagher
Alison Morris is a nationally recognized children's book buyer with an infectious enthusiasm for reading and 20 years' experience matching books to readers. As the Senior Director of Title Selection for nonprofit First Book, she oversees the curation of children’s and young adult books on the First Book Marketplace, hand-selecting a diverse range of titles that speak to and address the needs of kids in underserved communities, with a keen eye to inclusion, authenticity, and kid-appeal. She previously served as Senior Editor at Scholastic Book Clubs, Children's Book Buyer for Wellesley Booksmith and The Dartmouth Bookstore, and was the founding blogger of the ShelfTalker children’s book blog for Publishers Weekly. She'll be joining us from her home near Washington, DC where she spends LOTS of time discussing books with her husband, illustrator and graphic novelist Gareth Hinds.
Other books and media mentioned in this episode:
