welcome to FAQ

[Zoe]

hi folks,

we've had a bunch of folks join recently and so i wanted to extend a
welcome to you all.

FAQ is a group of radical, fat queers that was started a couple of
years ago by a couple fabulous nyc folks, Deb & Abby. after that, the
group kind of quieted down a bit and with their permission, a handful
of us resurrected it this past fall. we wanted to have an ongoing
group of folks who could come together around fat and queerness, build
community and organize social and political events.

currently, our main focus is a one day mini conference happening in
late Feb (see details below). the majority of listserve activity is
happening over on our organizers' list http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fat_and_Queer/
if you're interested in helping plan that conference, please also join
that list and jump right in. there's a lot of work to be done.

however, the conference need not be the only FAQ event happening right
now and our idea with FAQ was always that this could be a forum in
which folks could throw ideas out there and see if others were
interested in taking part. we're hoping that folks will use this list
as a place to announce their own events and suggest get together.
maybe you want to do a fattie queer brunch? fabulous! suggest a
date, time and location to the list and hopefully others can come. or
maybe you're taking a trip to torrid and you would love for others to
join you? post it here!

the point is, while the organizers will definitely be posting info
about big events here like the conference, we want this to be a place
where folks can network, share information & resources, suggest events/
outings and start building more nyc fattie queer community.

xoxo,
Zoe for FAQ


[about the conference from our call for workshop proposals]
FAQ is organizing a one day conference in February entitled " 'Fat is
Contagious:' Political Fat Queer Visibility and Action in the Era of
the 'Obesity Epidemic.' "

The event will occur in Manhattan on Saturday February 23, 2008 at the
University Settlement House, a wheel-chair accessible space in the
Lower East Side at Bowery/Houston.

The keynote address will be given by Marilyn Wann, author of Fat?So!:
Because You Don't Have to Apologize for Your Size.

Following that, we will have two sessions of workshops, with three
workshops in each session. In the evening we hope to have a cabaret
performance and dance party and are still negotiating space for that
event.