'FatCon' is Philly's first 'fat people' convention, featuring ‘superfat’ sex therapist at Temple U
Temple University plans to hold Philly FatCon Halloween weekend in the student center.
Speakers such as 'The Fat Sex Therapist' and the author of 'Fat Girls in Black Bodies' will be featured on campus.
Temple University plans to host a conference “for fat people, by fat people” this fall.
Philly FatCon will run from October 28-29. Philadelphia’s first ever fat-focused conference will host “fat speakers, influencers, performers” and more.
The keynote speaker, Sonalee Rashatwar, a.k.a. The Fat Sex Therapist, defines “thinness as a white supremacist beauty ideal” and focuses on offering “fat positive sexual healthcare” to patients.
Rashatwar has previously hosted workshops on topics such as “Understanding the White Supremacist Origins of Fatphobia” and “the intersection of fatness and gender on queer bodies” as stated online.
The conference organizers, Adrinanne Ray, Kenyetta Harris, and Donelle Jaggman, each own plus-size clothing or lingerie stores in the Philadelphia area. “This is such a dream!” Ray posted to Instagram, “to have a space for the fat community where fatphobia doesn’t exist.”
The mission of Philly FatCon is to guide individuals through “this fatphobic world and society in a different way,” co-organizer Ray said, and to acknowledge heavy people who may “often [be] overlooked because of their size.”
The two-day event takes place in Howard Gittis Student Center on Temple’s campus and will include expert panels, a fat marketplace, and evening burlesque performances for attendees.
FatCon plans to go beyond bringing ‘body positivity’ to the Philadelphia campus, and denounces similar terms like ‘body image’ and ‘body neutrality’ as they are believed to be ‘triggering’ to certain individuals.
The convention has attracted multiple sponsors who plan to help advance FatCon’s mission, including Radiance Medical Group, which provides its patients with gender affirming practices, as well as featured speaker Dr. Joy Cox, author of Fat Girls in Black Bodies.
“The marginalization of fat bodies along with several other identities (i.e., race, disability, gender, etc.) need outlets that remind and affirm them that they are more than what mainstream society paints them to be because this is often done through a stigmatized lens,” Dr. Cox told Campus Reform.
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In addition to Philly FatCon’s speaker panel, attendees can visit numerous tables and booths, as well as participate in a Halloween costume party, and a Plus Shop & Swap clothing trade. Tickets are offered as general attendee for $150 per ticket or $250 for VIP beginning Aug. 1.
The convention’s organizers officially announced their event on social media early March 2022 and have accumulated over 1,500 followers.
Campus Reform has contacted all relevant parties for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
