By Catherine McCormick

Does the image at right strike fear into your soul? You may be in luck, because this weekend local activists The Fat Femme Mafia host Dunk Your Chunk, a fat-positive swim event.
The duo, comprised of Chelsey Lichtman and Liz Brockest, have hosted other fat-related events, including dance performances, workshops, and a fat cabaret that featured only performers of size. They’ve also been known to do some tagging from time to time.
The event is possibly the first of its kind to be held in Toronto, and was inspired by similar events, called “Chunky Dunks,” which have been hosted by body-positive communities in Portland and San Francisco. The events were used as a way for people of size to come together as a community and share what could ordinarily be an uncomfortable or outright avoidable activity.
“Putting on a bathing suit in public can be a pretty humiliating thing for folks regardless of their size, but I think it can be especially hard if you’re fat,” explains Lichtman. “We do not live in a society that teaches us to love our bodies no matter what they look like…some fat folks haven’t gone swimming in years in order to avoid the publicness of it all.”
The organizers also note, “Dunk Your Chunk is a safer and fun environment to put on a bathing suit in public, a task that can sometimes be pretty daunting! We respectfully ask our allies to cheer us on from outside the pool space. We do plan on having a follow-up to this event that will include all of our very cherished non-fat friends! All genders, sexualities, abilities welcome!”
The event takes place on Saturday, December 8 at Scadding Court Community Centre (707 Dundas Street West). Dunking begins at 11:30 a.m. and costs $5 (to offset the rental fee). The pool is wheelchair accessible and the event is kid-friendly (if supervised). Email The Fat Femme Mafia for more information.
Photo by Scorchez from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.