"Unfortunately fat people are the last safe bastion of discrimination," declares Sally Smith, the new executive director of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA). Smith is in just the position to fight that discrimination: In January 1988 she became NAAFA's first executive director.
Sally Smith has a history of working to end discrimination. She worked for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for three years, and also has experience as a lobbyist for Individual Freedom and Equality; an active California organization that advocates the rights of those afflicted with AIDS. Her educational credentials include a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
"One of the reasons I decided to work in the size acceptance movement is that it's time to advocate for my own rights as a large woman," say's Smith of her new position with NAAFA. A leader since high school, Smith -- now 30 years old -- remembers receiving a lot of mixed messages about being fat when she was growing up.
"I was told that my body was unacceptable, while also being told I was very bright and could accomplish anything I wanted to do," remembers Smith. "I spent my childhood juggling these two messages, and in high school I was an achiever -- I held several student body offices and succeeded academically -- without being persecuted for my weight. I am a lot more fortunate than some of my fat peers. In many ways I came into adulthood with my psyche and my self-esteem intact."
Smith sees the hiring of an executive director as an important step in NAAFA's acceptance as a professionally run and legitimate human rights organization. "This position with NAAFA enables me to combine my personal issues and my professional skills," says Smith. "It's exciting to be a part of this civil rights issue as we gain public recognition."
A growing human rights organization comes of age with the hiring of an executive director
NAAFA was formed in 1969 by Bill Fabrey, a New York man who became angry enough to do something about the discrimination that his fat wife had to face. He convened a group of friends and associates to help him, and by the end of their first year, they had 100 members. From the beginning, the organization has been dedicated to promoting size acceptance in a society that is noted for its intolerance of the large figure.
"When I began NAAFA, all the fat people I knew had bought into the prevailing myth that said they are inferior because of the size of their bodies," remembers Fabrey. "It took me -- a thin man, someone not in their oppressed group -- to have enough self-confidence to fight for size acceptance. Now; almost 20 years later, people of size are becoming empowered and making the necessary changes in their lives, as well as in the system that oppresses them."
Fabrey's dedication and the years of hard work have been rewarded by progress in several areas. In 1969, when he formed the organization, there was almost no legal precedent for going to court in a size-related case. There were practically no fashionable garments available for the large-size figure. And there were no health professionals willing to speak out against the American obsession with thinness and dieting.
"Starting an organization like NAAFA at that time was similar to galloping into the Sahara Desert on the back of a camel with only a 12-hour supply of water" remembers Fabrey. "People thought we were crazy but movement has taken place on nearly all these fronts."
Fabrey remembers himself when he began NAAFA as being a middle-of-the-road, middle-class guy; someone who was unaware of the many social and minority issues that were emerging. Now, though, he advocates that the different groups fighting size discrimination talk with each other and work together.
"Only this way can we begin to see the whole picture," he explains. "The first people to use words like 'oppressed minority' when referring to fat people were the women involved in the Fat Underground in Los Angeles in the early Seventies. The collective writings of these radical feminists, which later were published in Shadow on a Tightrope (Aunt Lute Book Company; 1983), did a lot to sensitize the rest of us to the oppressive components of our struggle."
Since the beginning, NAAFA has implemented a multifaceted approach to ending size discrimination. Their work centers on giving members and allies the tools to fight fat discrimination. This is done through media appearances and letter-writing campaigns. NAAFA also maintains an active mailing list of opinion makers and trendsetters nationwide. Included on this list is the columnist who writes "Dear Abby"; NAAFA's name and address have appeared there numerous times in response to readers' questions and problems.
Despite their success in gaining recognition as an organization and as a reputable clearinghouse of timely information on size acceptance, the board of directors last year felt progress was being made too slowly
"We felt it was vital to the success of this movement that someone with association management training be hired to run the office on a full-time basis," remembers Fabrey. "The hiring of Sally Smith as our first executive director is a breakthrough for us. It signals a whole new era for NAAFA."
Sally Smith brings to her new job an eagerness and a willingness to work that will surely help NAAFA succeed in making size acceptance a priority in our society. "One of the biggest issues that we have to deal with is legitimizing the movement, or establishing ourselves as an oppressed group," says Smith as she outlines her work priorities for the future. "Fat people know they're discriminated against, but we have to first establish this issue as a valid one before people's minds and attitudes can be changed.
"Fat people are just as legitimate a minority group as blacks or gay's or the physically challenged or women. We need the same type of protection. We need federal legislation, and if we can't get federal legislation, we need local and state legislation to protect us. But the main hurdle, I believe, is the fat people themselves -- too many of them are still buying into what society says about them. NAAFA needs to have an outreach program to these people. We need to bring them in and give them some positive reinforcement for who they are."
Smith describes oppression as anything that impedes the right to enjoy all of life's opportunities or that prevents people from living up to their potential. "We're oppressed, as fat people, in a variety of way's," she explains. "We're constantly bombarded by the media with messages that say we're not attractive -- we certainly don't look like their models. We're oppressed in the school systems when fat children cannot participate in sports at their level of capability; when they are not given the emotional support necessary to build a healthy self-esteem. when they are not called upon to perform or participate in class projects. We are oppressed in the workplace and in the job market, as well as in application for higher education. And in the social setting, opportunities are denied us because of the aesthetic standards of this society By and large, we're punished for being fat."
Chapter activities, according to Smith, provide a place where people can feel safe in a social milieu. "Pool parties, dances, potlucks, walks in the park, movie nights -- all provide a very safe space for people of size while also educating the public," she say's. "When the public sees a group of fat people having a good time, enjoying themselves, it shatters some of the stereotypes about being fat."
At last year's NAAFA convention (held each year over Labor Day Weekend), activities included those geared toward both support and action. More than 40 workshops were offered, with subjects ranging from activism through the mail to fat and healthy. Leadership workshops were offered for chapter leaders, and social events included a dinner cruise and a dance -- open to all supporters of NAAFA, fat or thin. Smith strongly believes that support from thin allies is of major importance.
Smith agrees with Fabrey that joining forces with other organizations and groups that are fighting discrimination is very beneficial. The NAAFA Feminist Caucus attended the California conference of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in May 1988, and was able to pass a resolution for size acceptance that will be presented to the national board for adoption as part of official NOW policy
"They have a legal defense fund and lobbyists, making them better equipped to fight that angle of our battle," says Smith. "I've also been in contact with a woman on the Equality Committee for the ACLU. I'd like to see the ACLU national board take a position against size discrimination and put that issue on their agenda, too."
Clearly; Smith is a woman of action, but she dreams, too. "My wildest dreams about NAAFA include getting a million dollar grant to do public education, particularly in the schools," Smith says enthusiastically. "We need to educate counselors and teachers and librarians about how to reach out to these fat kids. I have read heartbreaking letters written to NAAFA from children, letters that make me realize that the support and positive reinforcement for who they really are is still greatly lacking. We need to reach out to these kids with accurate information and with the tools that can help them deal with the negativity this society has toward fat people. It's so much easier to build a strong sense of self with children who are fat than it is to do repair work once they have reached adulthood with a deep sense of inferiority"
The tradition of Bill Fabrey and the presence of Sally Smith are sure to propel the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance toward accomplishing their goals. Smith nods agreement as Fabrey describes the solid foundation of the organization: "What I noticed in these 18 NAAFA years is that if you can get a bunch of people riled up enough about their rights, when previously they thought they didn't even have any progress is therefore inevitable."
For copies of NAAFA literature, its constitution and bylaws, and a list of its committees, write to NAAFA. P.O. Box 188620. Sacramento, CA. 95818, or call (916 443-0303.
This article was co-written by Alice Ansfield and Lorna Cunkle.
