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Putting heads back on the headless fatties

30th May 2008

Putting heads back on the headless fatties

posted in Arts and Music, Body-Affirming, Fat Acceptance, Fat Bias, Feminist Topics, Pop Culture |

Rachel Moss’ decision to photograph fat people and others and post their photos online with scathing commentary on them and their bodies has rightfully angered a lot of people. There have even been reports of people unrightfully threatening Moss’ academic standing, her job, and even her physical safety. What Moss did is wrong and inexcusable (as are the actions of those who have threatened her) even if she does suffer from an eating disorder and mental illness.

But I also have to ask: Is what Moss did so very different from what we see played out every day by mainstream media outlets?

Fat activist Charlotte Cooper first termed the phrase “Headless Fatty” in this fantastic editorial on the phenomenon of media publications taking and using covertly photographed images of beheaded fat people. That trend has now become unfortunately commonplace, with headless fattie photos splashed across newspapers, magazines and internet sites across the world. News organizations fall under the fair use doctrine of copyright laws; that is, they are permitted to use photos of people without their permission in the reporting of news. As one who works in the field, I honestly don’t feel that these organizations post these kinds of photos maliciously (or at least I hope not.) Most editorial powers-that-be simply do not have a grasp on the long-reaching backlash posting headless fattie photos has not only for fat people, but for a sizeist culture at large. Regardless, the end result is much the same as if they had. As Cooper explains:

As Headless Fatties, the body becomes symbolic: we are there but we have no voice, not even a mouth in a head, no brain, no thoughts or opinions. Instead we are reduced and dehumanised as symbols of cultural fear: the body, the belly, the arse, food. There’s a symbolism, too, in the way that the people in these photographs have been beheaded. It’s as though we have been punished for existing, our right to speak has been removed by a prurient gaze, our headless images accompany articles that assume a world without people like us would be a better world altogether.

I absolutely do not want to stifle the anger of those towards Moss, although I always encourage people to channel their anger in constructive and non-violent means. But instead of making Moss the lone target of our rage and frustrations, let’s refocus that anger on those media organizations that have normalized such behavior as tolerable and permissible. Simply put: Instead of attacking Rachel Moss, let’s attack those forces that have made Rachel Moss.

The process of reclaiming our heads begins with our mouths. When you see a headless fattie photo used, speak up. Write a letter to the editor. Complain to the company’s board of directors. Point it out and name the company on a blog. Let these companies know that this kind of behavior is insensitive, discriminatory and unacceptable. And don’t stop at headless fattie photos; insist that media outlets embrace body-size and ethnic diversity in its publications, too.

At the last Think Tank, COFRA members tossed around the idea of a “Putting the Heads Back on the Headless Fatties” kind of campaign as a way to reclaim both our heads and our dignity. One of the women targeted by Moss, a fat activist named Eileen, had the same idea. She posted her thoughts on Moss and the situation on her blog here, and included an awesome full-head photo of herself. Miriam Heddy, who also wrote a fabulous and insightful response on the debacle, did the same thing by posting her own photo.

In that same spirit, I’m posting a few of my own photos below, cerebrum intact, and I encourage everyone else - fat and thin - to either post a link to images of themselves in the comments below or post their own photos with attached heads on their own blogs. The process of reclaiming both our self-worth and dignity begins by combating the problem — head-on.



(The first photo self-taken this morning; the second sometime last year; and I got married one year ago July 25)

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 3:19 pm and is filed under Arts and Music, Body-Affirming, Fat Acceptance, Fat Bias, Feminist Topics, Pop Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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  1. 1 On May 30th, 2008, This is me… no headless fattie pic here! « Dancing with my mirror said:

    [...] at 8:00 pm (Pictures) Tags: headless fattie, Pictures I’m heeding on Rachel’s call to showing our full-faced pics online to show the world that we are not headless fatties. So here goes, this is what I look [...]

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 4:00 pm

  2. 2 On May 30th, 2008, ladyjayeNo Gravatar said:

    There goes. I posted a couple of pics of me. :)

    http://ladyjaye75.wordpress.com/2008/05/30/this-is-me-no-headless-fattie-pic-here/

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 4:05 pm

  3. 3 On May 30th, 2008, MrsDrCNo Gravatar said:

    http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c61/MrsDrC/05-23-08-001.jpg

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 4:35 pm

  4. 4 On May 30th, 2008, nuckingfutzNo Gravatar said:

    http://a797.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/51/l_a9295094ead454aedc27db42256c39ec.jpg

    That’s me in all my fatty glory. ;)

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 4:50 pm

  5. 5 On May 30th, 2008, Heads on Fatties « Diary of a Fat Teenager said:

    [...] 30, 2008 by lovemeformexox After reading Rachel’s post about putting the heads back on headless fatties I was all pumped and such. But then I noticed that [...]

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 4:55 pm

  6. 6 On May 30th, 2008, LizzieNo Gravatar said:

    http://lovemeformexox.wordpress.com/2008/05/30/heads-on-fatties/

    :) I posted some and then linked to the bazillion other blog entries I have with pictures in them. I post too many pictures I think lol.

    (And can I say that you look so pretty in your wedding dress! and your glasses are awesome!)

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 5:02 pm

  7. 7 On May 30th, 2008, RachelNo Gravatar said:
    LadyJaye: you are definitely my shopping muse. And MrsDC: I’m envying what appears to be your own outside room. Nice to finally put a face to both of your screennames :)

    Lizzie: I’ve worn glasses since the third-grade. Then I had to wear either the horribly ugly old lady plastic frames or the wire frames which inevitably broke. I bought contacts with my second paycheck at 16 (the first went to driver’s ed). The contacts scratched my cornea years later and left me with scar tissue in one eye. I was pleasantly surprised by how cute frames have gotten. I actually prefer glasses now over contacts and even corrective surgery.

    And yes, my wedding dress was a real find. I told my husband I wanted to prance around the house in it. It’s a shame something that pretty can only be worn on one day of my life.

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 5:18 pm

  8. 8 On May 30th, 2008, spacedcowgirlNo Gravatar said:

    This is great. And your wedding dress is indeed beautiful.

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

  9. 9 On May 30th, 2008, PaleAndNerdyNo Gravatar said:

    Been lurking here for a long time. Here’s a picture of me and my head:

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 5:55 pm

  10. 10 On May 30th, 2008, PaleAndNerdyNo Gravatar said:

    Erm…I don’t think that worked, please try this: http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=nmgoc3&s=3

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 5:57 pm

  11. 11 On May 30th, 2008, mindyNo Gravatar said:

    One of my best friends wears her dress every anniversary for pictures.

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 6:27 pm

  12. 12 On May 30th, 2008, CindyNo Gravatar said:

    Not brave enough to post pictures, but I was very convicted by Miriam Heddy’s post.

    I wear makeup as an apology for my body. Always have. In fact, when I leave the house without makeup, I feel like it’s an affront to the viewing public to be vulnerable to my fat while not “balanced out” by a full face of makeup.

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 6:35 pm

  13. 13 On May 30th, 2008, BreeNo Gravatar said:

    Here I am, in all my obese glory. As a matter of fact, I’m wearing the same leopard print shirt as I type this.

    http://quietstorm.us/bree2008

    And this one was taken on my birthday, January 29. You can actually see my eyes here, and the tiara I was made to wear.

    http://quietstorm.us/bree2008_2

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 6:52 pm

  14. 14 On May 30th, 2008, La di DaNo Gravatar said:

    One note on photo use - as photography/image laws in Australia stand, a photographer/videographer is allowed to capture images of any person in a public place (eg on the street, a shopping mall, public library, etc) as long as they are not engaging in harassment/stalking. You can ask them to stop but they don’t actually have to do so. You can make a complaint to the police but nothing will ultimately come of it unless you can show that the person was harassing you.

    They are only not allowed to use the image for libel (defamation) purposes or to sell or endorse a product. So, a photographer could take some street photos showing identifiable persons, hang them in a gallery and sell them for profit or sell prints, etc, but they couldn’t use them as stock photography for an advertisement, or post the picture somewhere saying “This person is an evil child molester and eats puppies for breakfast”.

    [As an amateur photographer who does enjoy street photography, I actually support this, though I do ask parents' permission to photograph children. They always say yes, probably because I'm a woman and therefore perceived as "trustworthy" around children. But imagine if Cartier-Bresson had had to ask permission to take all his wonderful photos. I think we'd lose a valuable part of societal documentation if it was required to ask permission to take photos in public like that. But I digress.]

    I’ve read from a few news producers that they think they’re being kind to the Headless Fatty by not including their head. Why then use the picture at all? What would happen if producers and editors selected an image of a happy fat person to depict the “obesity epidemic”? Imagine a scare story on how we’re all about to die because of fat accompanied by a shot of some older fat senior citizens, with faces, out taking a walk in the park. Imagine a news item on how fat causes every known disease accompanied by a photo of a gorgeous Dawn French.

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 7:51 pm

  15. 15 On May 30th, 2008, RachelNo Gravatar said:
    I don’t think your links quite worked, Bree. I get a prompt to download something when I click on them.

    PaleandNerdy: My mom is kind of, well, let’s be frank, she’s racist and homophobic. I think my desire to piss her off through the years may have subconsciously affected the guys I’ve been interested in: the black filmmaker, the Hispanic professional, the Indian grad student… Wouldn’t you know it? The man I end up marrying is not only white, he’s the whitest white boy ever. He’s just as pale as you are and I have to slather him in the highest SPF sunblock I can find whenever we go out anywhere for prolonged periods of time.

    Mindy: Right on! If my dress didn’t have a corset-back which requires an extra set of hands and much pulling, I’d probably wear it around the house on our upcoming one-year anniversary in July.

    Cindy: I usually wear animal-friendly concealer to balance out my complexion because I do feel kind of grungy if I go out somewhere with a splotchy face. But I do it because it makes me feel off-balanced, not because I care so much about offending others. That’s so sad that you feel that way, but the fact that you recognize those feelings (and hopefully are working to change them) is a positive step, at least.

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 7:57 pm

  16. 16 On May 30th, 2008, BreeNo Gravatar said:

    It might be the Geocities server I host them on, oh well. I get an E for effort, ha!

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 9:39 pm

  17. 17 On May 30th, 2008, i-geekNo Gravatar said:

    Bree: “It might be the Geocities server I host them on, oh well. I get an E for effort, ha!”

    I can open them with no problems. I wonder if there’s a software conflict somewhere.

    You look really cute in the photos, Bree. I love the leopard shirt. :)

    And Rachel, you + wedding dress = goddess.

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 10:50 pm

  18. 18 On May 30th, 2008, LindseyNo Gravatar said:

    Well I have a few of me, though the last full length pictures of me were from about a year ago, but I have a face one from just today, as I took some to commemorate my MUCH shorter hair. xD
    http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y208/fallingtomydeath/Photo151.jpg
    http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y208/fallingtomydeath/Picture688.jpg
    http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y208/fallingtomydeath/Picture738.jpg

    First one was taken today, second one was last year, post-Renaissance Pleasure Faire, and last one was senior prom, with my date, and then my bestie and her date.

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 11:00 pm

  19. 19 On May 30th, 2008, YdnicNo Gravatar said:

    *delurking*

    I went ahead and downloaded the files Bree posted. When I added “.jpg” to the end of the file name, they opened up fine.

    I love seeing the cute faces behind the names!

    Here I am in Olympia, Washington, a year ago:
    http://i32.tinypic.com/210m3rd.jpg

    I am no fashion maven, obviously! LOL

    posted on May 30th, 2008 at 11:14 pm

  20. 20 On May 31st, 2008, Non-Headless Fatty « Fat Girl on a Date said:

    [...] small act in protest of Rachel Moss’s dehumanization of the women she photographed at [...]

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 12:19 am

  21. 21 On May 31st, 2008, CynNo Gravatar said:

    Rachel, you have the best fashion sense ever. I wish it was cold over here, so I could wear stuff like that.

    Mindy: that sounds really awesome. It’s such a waste of money and resources if you only wear your wedding dress once in your lifetime.

    My part on the Fatty-with-a-Head project:
    http://closet-romantic.blogspot.com/2008/05/re-putting-heads-back-on-headless.html

    You girls are gorgeous!

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 1:16 am

  22. 22 On May 31st, 2008, RachelNo Gravatar said:
    Lindsey: I really love your new short do, but then again, I’m rather partial to short hair :)

    Ydnic: I’m no fashion maven, either, trust me. I told my hubby I totally wouldn’t be offended if he signed me up for What Not to Wear.

    Cyn: It’s getting very muggy here in Cincinnati so all my cute blazers have been resigned to the back of the closet. So sad, because I love layering and wearing cute scarves and such.

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 9:38 am

  23. 23 On May 31st, 2008, MrsDrCNo Gravatar said:

    Aww Rachel, I’m all excited you’ve noticed my posts :o)

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 11:31 am

  24. 24 On May 31st, 2008, CharlotteNo Gravatar said:

    I love this thread! I wish I knew how to post a picture; I would love to stick my head (and the rest of me) out there.

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 4:44 pm

  25. 25 On May 31st, 2008, CynNo Gravatar said:

    Lindsey: your prom picture made me smile. Not only because you and your friends looked fabulous, but because your best friend brought a girlfriend as her date. It really makes me happy that it’s easier and more acceptable that same-sex couples go to the prom together, or to events in general, or are seen together in everyday life. It’s just so awesome that love is not as afraid to be shown in public as it used to. Yay! :)

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 6:45 pm

  26. 26 On May 31st, 2008, RachelNo Gravatar said:
    I thought that was cool, too, Cyn. My best friend in high school went to another school before she transferred to my high school where we met (this was in 1995). She took a girl to the prom and faced harassment from not only the other students, but from teachers. The climate there got so bad, she was forced to transfer schools, hence why she came to mine.

    I would like to say things have changed at that school, That school is now one of the schools I cover for the paper. About three years ago, they had near race riots amongst its large white and small black student populations. The local sheriff’s department actually had to maintain a presence on-site there for more than a week to ensure the peace and safety of the black students.

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 7:03 pm

  27. 27 On May 31st, 2008, LindseyNo Gravatar said:

    Rachel: I never knew I was partial to short hair until yesterday, when I got it cut. Now I don’t think I’m ever going to let it grow past my ears. xD

    It’s devastating that your friend had to go through something like that, but positive that you both met eachother through her having to transfer. Even so, I would never wish something like that on anyone. My best friend actually went to a different highschool than me for three years (we met freshman year before she switched, which was also when she met her date), and she never came out to the people at her school for fear of the backlash it would create, since her school was a very small private school, so if a few people knew, everyone would know.

    Cyn: I still know a lot of schools even in the area I grew up in that look down upon it. My school, thank goodness, just happened to be a very accepting environment, where people could be open about things like that. The coolest part for me is that I saw one female couple who both dressed in tuxes, and no one (that I saw anyway) even batted an eyelash.

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 8:03 pm

  28. 28 On May 31st, 2008, RachelNo Gravatar said:
    I got my hair cut short in the ninth grade. I had really thick, shoulder-length blond hair and never could do much with it. My band was selling coupon books for local businesses and I purchased one and used the coupon for a free cut/style at a local high-priced salon. The woman there (also named Rachel) took the time to go through the hair books and discuss hairstyles even though she was aware that I had a free coupon and was just a kid. She gave me the most awesome short haircut ever. It was the first time I, the fat kid who was always made fun of, truly felt pretty.

    I remembered that woman when, in my early 20s, I could afford to go to a better salon. I went back to the same one and got another fabulous hair cut. I’ve changed stylists a few times there, but never salons, even though it’s now a half-hour drive from my current residence. I’ve been a patron of that salon for the past 5 - 6 years now and with as much as I pay for my hair, I’d say their free coupon promotion was a financial success.

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 9:07 pm

  29. 29 On May 31st, 2008, LindseyNo Gravatar said:

    As dumb as this may sound, when I walked back from the salon, and checked out my hair in my own mirror, it was like something intangible clicked into place. It was like, I wasn’t really myself until I saw myself with this hair. In the same vein, ever since joining the FA movement, I’ve felt like I accept my body, and love it, but I have never felt pretty, but with this hair, I feel gorgeous, and more confident than I can ever remember feeling before.

    I think I’ve always been afraid to cut it because as a fat kid, I was supposed to hide behind my hair, and when I wore it around my face, people would always comment on how mice it looked, so I let it grow out to what it was before I cut it. Then I realized the impracticality of having long hair, because I always wore it up anyway, since my hair is really thin, so someone just has to look at it wrong, and it tangles, so keeping it up mean not having to spend half an hour brushing the knots out. So, off came the hair, and up went my happiness I think it’s a fair trade.

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 10:11 pm

  30. 30 On May 31st, 2008, ElizabethNo Gravatar said:

    Oh, what a revolution. Everyone is so beautiful! Hooray for photos. Here are mine: darlingthisislove.blogspot.com

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 10:13 pm

  31. 31 On May 31st, 2008, EdenNo Gravatar said:

    I am totally in love with your haircut. Just had to say that.

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 11:04 pm

  32. 32 On May 31st, 2008, LizaNo Gravatar said:

    Fatty, with head:

    http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/profoundsarcasm/DSC03578.jpg

    posted on May 31st, 2008 at 11:25 pm

  33. 33 On June 1st, 2008, rickiNo Gravatar said:

    You know, I think it’s really ratty for someone to do what Moss did. I’m terrified of having my picture taken in public for fear that someone might post it online with unflattering commentary. Yes, I know - it’s more revealing of the smallmindedness of the person doing it than it is of anything about me, but as someone who spent most of her childhood being fairly brutally teased, I feel like my “dignity” (such as it is) is a pretty precious possession and I don’t like the feeling of it being violated. Especially if it were an instance of my stumbling across it, or someone e-mailing me the link.

    I’d probably turn down someone I didn’t know (and some of the people I DO know) if they asked permission to photograph me on the street or in my classroom or somewhere else like that.

    I guess I’m still not totally comfortable with how I look, but there you are.

    posted on June 1st, 2008 at 4:37 pm

  34. 34 On June 1st, 2008, withoutsceneNo Gravatar said:

    You have really been crankin out some spectacular posts lately! I read this the other day, but am just now having time to post. Hope this works.

    Me head, yesterday.

    http://a830.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/39/l_2b464b308f163ca36165ba9c5c09e42d.jpg

    Me body. It’s from a year ago, but it’s the best body shot I have aside from the COFRA picture.

    http://a254.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/40/l_2788f60df1c5e70565582b3363c4060d.jpg

    posted on June 1st, 2008 at 7:27 pm

  35. 35 On June 2nd, 2008, This is me… « Holding nothing back… said:

    [...] in Uncategorized at 10:59 am by Pet~ As of today, I join several others in heeding Rachel’s call to post pictures of myself in all my fat chick glory, head intact.  .gallery { margin: auto; } [...]

    posted on June 2nd, 2008 at 12:59 pm

  36. 36 On June 2nd, 2008, CatgalNo Gravatar said:

    I am loving this!!! Here is my contribution of head and body!!!

    http://thumb16.webshots.net/t/63/663/7/54/91/2828754910014650516vstdUF_th.jpg

    This is me in Barcelona in January petting an Orange cat that I made friends with.

    posted on June 2nd, 2008 at 4:09 pm

  37. 37 On June 28th, 2008, DavidaNo Gravatar said:

    you are beautiful

    posted on June 28th, 2008 at 5:16 pm

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