Body-positive advocate, blogger and mental health professional Jes Baker will speak at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 in the Nebraska Union auditorium.
Baker is internationally recognized for her writing on her blog “The Militant Baker,” the “Attractive and Fat” campaign and her dedication to shifting social paradigms into a place where all people are offered the opportunity to love themselves just as they are. She is also the voice behind the “Bodies Aren’t Ugly; Bullying Is,” “Smash the Scale”and “Lustworthy” campaigns. In the “Attractive and Fat” campaign, Baker took on Abercrombie and Fitch’s exclusionary tactics. It drew coverage from “CNN,” “The Today Show” and the “BBC.”
The event is part of Eating Disorders Awareness Week and is sponsored by HOPE, CAPS, the Women’s Center and the UNL Eating Disorders Treatment Team.
In her presentation, Baker explores the historical evolution behind our current idyllic body type, the stigma surrounding mental illness and 10 ways that we can individually reframe the way we perceive ourselves and others. She encourages each person to “change your world, not your body,” and she uses empirical data to explore the correlation between weight and health.
Baker shows that by learning to love oneself as they are, people can join a revolution that directly improves our societal structure on a global level. She talks about “Body Love” as a 21st century civil rights movement.
