Fat Con takes Seattle by storm despite pushback from critics
Jan 5, 2024, 3:33 PM | Updated: 3:52 pm
The FITSO clothing booth is seen at Philly Fat Con in Philadelphia in October 2023 (Photo courtesy of Fat Con)
(Photo courtesy of Fat Con)
Fat Con — coined as “the biggest fat celebration of the year” — is underway in downtown Seattle, lasting through the weekend. The Hyatt at Olive 8 is hosting the event.
The convention features performances along with workshops and forums on art, health, public policy and community.
One of the organizers of the event, MX Pucks A’Plenty, told KIRO Newsradio the event is about fat liberation.
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“By calling it Fat Con, we’re taking the sting out of that word,” MX Pucks A’Plenty said. “That’s just a descriptor, and I think that fat has been thrown at people of size as a way to tear us down, as a way to invalidate our humanity.”
Alongside panels and speakers talking about body positivity and fat liberation, Fat Con has hotel room photoshoots with photographers, a marketplace with vendors that specialize in plus-size clothing, food including a “brunch feast,” and fashion shows.
Tickets come in four different tiers: Fat Friend, Plump Patron, Fat Bae and Fat Royalty.
Fat Con organizers state their mission is to improve the lives of overweight humans socially, creatively and politically, but critics against the event claim it promotes poor health.
“While the gathering should add some dollars to the local economy, it’s an incredibly dangerous, backward movement that harms the very people it pretends to liberate,” Jason Rantz wrote in response to the event coming to Seattle. “Fat liberation demands that society and institutions pretend there are no significant health consequences of obesity. It’s a movement that tells patients to refuse to get weighed in a doctor’s office.”
Jason Rantz on Fat Con: Dangerous ‘fat liberation’ convention in Seattle this weekend
“I think it’s an unhealthy lifestyle to get on the internet and dehumanize people because you aren’t attracted to those people,” MX Pucks A’Plenty said in response to the pushback. “I know that there are a lot of folks talking about ‘what if there was a Thin Con? That would be fat-phobic.’ Fat folks aren’t going out and picketing those events. We don’t care. Do your health and wellness.”
For more information, visit Fat Con’s website here.
