147: Fat - Foe, Fact and Fetish with Angela Corry
Friends welcome to another episode of Thrive Beyond Size. Today’s topic is so big that you’ll hear from my guest twice. We’re doing a two-parter, part one this week and part two next week. My guest is Angela Corry and she’s a clinical and sexual health educator from right here in my hometown of Edmonton, Alberta. Angela and I are going to talk about pleasure at every size. Sex? Yes. Intimacy? Yes. But also just pleasure in general. Enjoying pleasure. For this conversation, we are really focusing on why women often don’t feel deserving of pleasure which often stems from the fat-phobic society we live in. Men suffer from this too, of course, but women do more so and we’re focusing on women in this episode. But why is fat our foe? And how can we see fat as just a fact of who we are and not what we deserve?
Friends welcome to another episode of Thrive Beyond Size. Today’s topic is so big that you’ll hear from my guest twice. We’re doing a two-parter, part one this week and part two next week. My guest is Angela Corry and she’s a clinical and sexual health educator from right here in my hometown of Edmonton, Alberta. Angela and I are going to talk about pleasure at every size. Sex? Yes. Intimacy? Yes. But also just pleasure in general. Enjoying pleasure. For this conversation, we are really focusing on why women often don’t feel deserving of pleasure which often stems from the fat-phobic society we live in. Men suffer from this too, of course, but women do more so and we’re focusing on women in this episode. But why is fat our foe? And how can we see fat as just a fact of who we are and not what we deserve?
Angela shares a bit about her personal journey and how she came to understand that her preconceived notions about sexuality and body image were entwined with mainstream society’s views on “normal” health and size. That brought about a change in her and she has devoted herself to helping empower individuals to live authentically, accept size, and enhance sexual well-being ever since. Angela and I talk through the history of body image, tracing through changing eras from when fat was preferred in culture to where it shifted and thin became the overriding aesthetic focus. Angela shares a very personal and powerful story that illustrates how much work we each have to do to step out of society’s viewpoint. When did we collectively stop viewing fat as just a body size and start seeing it as disgusting or something to avoid? And why do we allow our size to dictate our right to pleasure? These are questions we explore in this episode and Angela is so amazing, so insightful, that I can’t wait for you to hear this episode and the next one with her.
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About Angela Corry:
Angela Corry, RN, BScN, ACCN, is a clinical educator and sexual health educator for Loving Choices in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Alberta, her Advanced Critical Care Nursing (ACCN) specialty from Mount Royal University and her certification in Holistic Sexual Health Education from the Institute of Sexuality Education and Enlightenment (ISEE). Angela has over 20 years of nursing experience in emergency and intensive care as a bedside and clinical nurse educator. During this time, she has contributed to several medical journals, including the Emergency Medical Journal.
For the past two years, while focusing on health promotion and wellness, Angela realized that her pre-conceived notions about sexuality and body image were enmeshed with mainstream society’s views on what is “normal,” “healthy,” or “feasible.” She believes it is necessary to reflect on the nature of sexuality and size diversity and how they fit and are used in our social, economic, and political structures.
Angela wants to help empower individuals to live authentically by helping clients and professionals make choices that cultivate body positivity, accept size diversity and personal empowerment, enhance sexual well-being, celebrate the diversity of sexual expression, and promote equity for all within the current structures of our fat-phobic society.
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Resources mentioned in this episode:
- “Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia” by Sabrina Strings
- NAAFA: National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance
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Learn more about Angela Corry:
- Website: LovingChoicePsychology.ca
Learn more about Dr. Michelle Tubman and Wayza Health:
- Website: www.wayzahealth.com
- Follow me on Facebook and Instagram
Angela Corry
Registered Nurse/Certified Holistic Sex Educator
Angela Corry, RN, BScN, ACCN, is a clinical educator and sexual health educator for Loving Choices in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Alberta, her Advanced Critical Care Nursing (ACCN) specialty from Mount Royal University and her certification in Holistic Sexual Health Education from the Institute of Sexuality Education and Enlightenment (ISEE). Angela has over 20 years of nursing experience in emergency and intensive care as a bedside and clinical nurse educator. During this time, she has contributed to several medical journals, including the Emergency Medical Journal.
For the past two years, while focusing on health promotion and wellness, Angela realized that her pre-conceived notions about sexuality and body image were enmeshed with mainstream society’s views on what is “normal,” “healthy,” or “feasible.” She believes it is necessary to reflect on the nature of sexuality and size diversity and how they fit and are used in our social, economic, and political structures.
Angela wants to help empower individuals to live authentically by helping clients and professionals to make choices that cultivate body positivity, accept size diversity and personal empowerment, enhance sexual well-being, celebrate diversity of sexual expression, and promote equity for all within the current structures of our fat phobic society.
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