Month: June 2018

Introducing ISCHP’s Podcast: The Operative Word

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Brett Scholz (University of Canberra), Britta Wigginton (University of Queensland), and Ally Gibson (UNSW Sydney)

At ISCHP (the International Society of Critical Health Psychology) conferences, conversations inevitably circulate around how to break down existing paywalls, geographical boundaries, and the institutional privileges that disallow or constrain access to academic knowledge. Indeed, flattening academic power structures and promoting fairness are some of the values that characterise ISCHP as an academic community. As critical scholars, we are all too aware of the power relations imbued in the knowledge production and dissemination process(es) of the academy. The creation of a podcast series for ISCHP, entitled The Operative Word, therefore represents our attempt to join digital media platforms, in an effort to freely disseminate and share critical perspectives and knowledge, and to inspire conversations amongst critical scholars around the world – wherever their location. Continue reading →

As a health coach, my fat is my greatest asset –– not a challenge to be overcome

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By Tiana Dodson
As a fat person, you’re constantly browbeaten with the idea that your health has been somehow damaged, ruined, or compromised and that it’s imperative that you reclaim it by figuring out some way to make your body thin. So we look for people who model what we’re supposed to be. We look for the yoga teacher with the tightest butt, the deadlifter with the biggest pecs, the marathoner who makes the 26.2 look effortless, and the lithe, glowing health guru smiling around the straw of a green juice.

It might seem logical –– imitate that which you want to become –– but what people don’t know is that it’s more than a lifestyle that got those people there. It’s their job. So unless you’re trying to make fitness your career, you’re more than likely going to be trying to squeeze fitness into a life where time, energy, and resources are already at a premium. Trying to emulate these people almost always falls short… and that’s without starting from absolute fatness. Continue reading →