Fashion as a gateway to fat liberation? Yep, you read right - and we love Sam van Zweden's explanation of this just as much as we love her and her work.
Author, activist and organiser of A Plus Market, Sam is passionate about fostering safe spaces for fat folk to embrace fashion, self-expression and break systems of oppression together. Here to "change the minds of those who are ready for it" with an anti-diet approach Eat Love Live applaud, get to know all the ways in which Sam chooses to eat, love and live below.
Let's dive right in - what's your favourite meal?!
I like things that combine textures, flavours or sensations. This week I've been living on leftover chicken rice, rich with fat from the chicken skin, with a crispy salad with a zingy dressing. My favourite snack is blue cheese and slices of pear. I'm all about the contrasts for maximum satisfaction!
What is your favourite cuisine?
Middle Eastern (lots of sharing, lots of little bits) or Northern Chinese/Uyghur food (more wheaty than the rest of the country, and they're keen on lamb and cumin ... yum!)
What's your favourite memory involving food?
Like many Australian kids, being able to pick my birthday cake from the Australian Women's Weekly Birthday Cake book was always a highlight! However, I've also written a book about food and memory, called 'Eating with my Mouth Open'. Check it out if food and memory (and difficult embodiment) are your jam!
If you could share a meal with three guests, dead or alive, who would they be?
Oof, that's a tricky one. I've always felt like I would really get along with Joanna Newsom and Andy Samberg. Aubrey Gordon would be a pretty incredible third guest, I think.
Can I have four? We need Anthony Bourdain!
How do you quieten or remove the sting of toxic diet culture messages?
Whenever I know a situation might be confronting or difficult, I apply a bit of a filter and choose my battles. I've become able to recognise people that I like to think of as 'learners' who might be receptive to an anti-diet approach, and those who just aren't. I'm here to change the minds that are ready for it, because I think there are a lot of those who just aren't aware of their options.
What's something in your life you're loving at the moment?
Fashion!
It's funny, I've been running A Plus Market for about three years now (after acquiring it from its founder, Erin Cox) and I've only recently felt like I'm becoming more comfortable in my style and finding real joy in self-expression through clothing.
What is something you're passionate about?
Fashion as a gateway to fat liberation!
A Plus Market exists as a space for fat folks to buy and sell clothing, which is important, because everyone deserves to dress in a way that makes them feel comfortable and excellent. But really, it's a sneaky rebellion.
Folks come along to find clothes that fit but realise that in this space, surrounded by bodies that look like their own, they find community. And in that community they find safety - and in that safety, they realise what's been missing for so long. In connecting plus size people with one another, things we've been blaming ourselves for all our lives (clothes don't fit, the massage table might not take my weight, airplane travel is horrific) become plain as systemic issues. And we can fight them together, too.
Come for the 'fits, stay to break the systems that oppress people in larger bodies.
What part of your body do you love the most, and why?
My lungs! A big deep breath calms me down. I can fill my lungs to scream at rallies or sing at choir. They do so much for me. Thanks, lungs.
When do you feel the most positive or in love with your body?
When it's finding a balance between softness and power. Maybe that's in doing yoga. Maybe it's in belting out a song - again, at choir, singing in a group is transformative and deeply regulating! Maybe it's in giving a firm hug.
How do you practice self-care or self-love?
I feel like this one is a big old work in progress. Sunshine. Water. Regular eating. Community. Saying out loud when I don't feel okay.
What role does movement play in your life?
An uncomfortable one. I'm still figuring out what kind of movement I enjoy when it's separated from intentional weight loss.
What song can you rely on to instantly lift your mood?
'If I were a fish' by Corook and Olivia Barton
What values do you find important to live by?
Compassion (tempered with wisdom), empathy, honesty.
What do you do in life that makes you feel the most alive?
Connecting with the plus size community and realising our power.
If you could offer any advice to your ten year old self, what would it be
You're fine just as you are, babe.
If you self-identify as fat, or live in a larger body, and want to join the most fashionable community rooted in fat liberation, head to the next A Plus Market on 4 August (10:00am - 3:00pm) at Coburg Town Hall! Learn more about the fashion, designers and community runway on the day via A Plus Market's Facebook and Instagram feeds.