Virgie Tovar
 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (January 2024) |
Virgie Tovar | |
|---|---|
 Tovar at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival | |
| Born | May 19, 1982 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Author and podcaster |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Website | www |
Virgie Tovar, (born May 19, 1982) is an American author, lecturer and weight-based discrimination speaker. She writes about fat acceptance, anti-fat bias, and diet culture.[1] She was the host of The Virgie Show (produced by CBS Radio) and the podcast, Rebel Eaters Club (produced by Transmitter Media).[2] Tovar has received Yale's Poynter Fellowship in Journalism.[3] At about 250 pounds, Tovar is obese.[4]
Early life and education
[edit]Tovar is of Mexican descent.[5] She has struggled with weight issues since childhood.[6][7][8] In middle school she struggled with an eating disorder.[6][8]
Career
[edit]Activism
[edit]In 2013 Tovar criticized the American Medical Association for classifying obesity as a disease.[9] Tovar began the #LoseHateNotWeight campaign to highlight the impacts of diet culture and educate people about the importance of ending weight-based discrimination [6] even though she herself had been morbidly obese since she was a child, as she herself states. Tovar has advocated for legal protection against weight discrimination.[10]
Virgie Tovar has been downplaying the negative effects of obesity.[11][12][13]
Writing
[edit]Tovar is an ongoing contributor for Forbes.[14] In 2012 Seal Press released her anthology Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love, and Fashion,[15] in 2018 The Feminist Press released her book You Have the Right to Remain Fat,[16][7] in 2021 New Harbinger Publications released her book The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color[17] and in 2022 Chronicle Books released her book The Body Positive Journal.
Podcasts
[edit]Tovar was the host of the Webby-nominated podcast, Rebel Eaters Club, produced by Transmitter Media for three seasons.[18][19]
San Francisco Department of Public Health
[edit]In December 2024, Tovar was hired as a consultant on "weight stigma and weight neutrality" by the San Francisco Department of Public Health.[1] Her contract ends on June 20, 2025 and totals $12,000.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Ho, Catherine (December 19, 2024). "S.F. taps 'body positivity' expert to work with public health department on reducing weight stigma". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ "Rebel Eaters Club". Transmitter Media. May 17, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ St, Silliman Head of College House See map 71 Wall (January 11, 2018). "Poynter Fellowship: Virgie Tovar". Office of Public Affairs & Communications. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ https://www.virgietovar.com/abundia.html
- ^ "The 'Thin Is In' Narrative Is Especially Harmful to People of Color". SELF. May 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c Garfield, Leanna (April 4, 2016). "These Instagrams by fat activists are changing how we think about dieting". Business Insider.
- ^ a b Tovar, Virgie (August 13, 2018). "In the Future, I'm Fat". Vice. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ^ a b Tovar, Virgie. "As the Fat Daughter of Immigrants, Dieting was a Toxic Component of Assimilation". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ^ Brown, Kristen V. (June 26, 2013). "Debate grows over whether obesity is a disease". SFGATE.
- ^ "NYC could outlaw weight discrimination in housing, workplace: Activist explains what it could mean". www.wbur.org. April 24, 2023.
- ^ "No need for fat-shaming, but the UK must get a grip on its obesity crisis". The Guardian. September 5, 2018.
- ^ "Weight loss isn't genocide: Fat Activism risks lives". The Critic Magazine. November 28, 2019.
- ^ "Beverley Turner's Fiery Row With Activist For Staying Fat". LBC.
- ^ "Virgie Tovar". Forbes. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ^ Winterfeldt, Maggie (November 2, 2012). "Virgie Tovar gets beyond fat phobia". SFGATE. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ^ Winegarner, Beth (July 24, 2019). "How Dieting Culture Is Making Women Less Healthy". Pacific Standard.
- ^ "The Self-Love Revolution". New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ Phillips, Soleil Ho, Justin (November 16, 2020). "Podcast: Virgie Tovar, host of the Rebel Eater Podcast, breaks up with diet culture". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
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