Author Virgie Tovar comes to CWU for National Eating Disorder Awareness Week

By Kiersten Kimminau

Who is Virgie Tovar?

Virgie Tovar is one of the nation’s leading experts and lecturers on weight-based discrimination and body image.

She is the author of the manifesto, “You Have the Right to Remain Fat.”

In an exclusive interview with Hype, Tovar shared that her book, “is ultimately about celebrating body diversity [and]… saying every single person has a valid body, no matter what size they are.” This message, which is also at the core of NEDA week, is one Tovar is excited to share with the CWU campus and community during NEDA week, on February 25. 

According to Tovar, the book makes the proposition, “What if all of us not only stopped worrying about how much we weighed, but we also stopped judging people on their body.”

Changing the Game

She also is a contributor to Forbes, where she covers the plus-size market and strives to shine a light on, and end weight-based discrimination in the workplace.

In addition to writing about these topics for Forbes, she also has an interview series called #XLBossLady. In this column, she talks to plus sized women who are in executive positions, founders, and CEO’s. Tovar says talking to these influential women has been fascinating, “because they are literally revolutionizing how fashion works.” She continues, “it’s also rad because a lot of CEO’s are like 22, 23, or 24 years old.”

#LOSEHATENOTWEIGHT

Tovar coined the hashtag, #losehatenotweight, to represent her mission to help individuals disregard the number on the scale and reject unhealthy beauty standards. This mantra encourages people to treat themselves and their bodies with kindness as well as embrace radical self love.

Not Your Average Podcast

Oh, and she also has her own body positive, podcast: Rebel Eaters Club

The first episode of Tovar’s new podcast comes out on Feb. 24! It consists of six total episodes that encourage listeners to join the club and actively engage with the content. There is a manifesto, merit badges, stationery for encouraged journaling and snack recommendations for each episode.

Tovar says, “I’m encouraging people to stop having an anxiety and terror driven relationship to food … essentially, [the podcast] is a body positive, food positive podcast that encourages people to break up with diet culture and reimagine their relationship to food.”

So, if you are wanting to break up with toxic diet culture and in need of an extra dose of motivation, this could be the podcast for you!

NEDA Week

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDA) is Feb. 25 – Mar. 3. In honor of this movement, Virgie Tovar will be hosting a lecture titled 9 Steps to Becoming Body Positive on Feb. 25 in the SURC Theatre from 5:30 – 7 p.m.