Hiya, Art Lovers Who Followed The QR Code At The West Chelsea Festival of Art And Ended Up Here! If you’d like to purchase a print of the image you saw there, you may do that here: https://theadipositivityproject.zenfolio.com/prints And thanks! If you missed my bio, I’m a photographer and Fat Liberationist who for 17 years has run a hooray-for-fatties photo-activism campaign called The Adipositivity Project. I’ve made over 800 images of unapologetically fat, defiantly naked humans, and damn near all of ‘em are right here: https://theadipositivityproject.zenfolio.com/all
Unlike the other artists whose work you’ve seen in the exhibition, I’m not on Instagram, as IG disabled my account in June, because art depicting naked fat people scares the quivering Patriarchy/Zuckerberg. Even with the naughty bits covered. So I’m especially grateful (and surprised!) you found me. You’re my best friend forever.
AND! If you’re a publisher of books of photography, shoot me an email and I’ll immodestly tell you about my grants, art awards, gallery shows, museum exhibitions, gobs of lectures, buttloads of international press, and reliably lovable nature.
~Substantia Jones
<><><>
Do you already know everything, and y'wanna just skip straight to your recommended daily visual diet of the 800+ photographs I've taken of unapologetically fat, defiantly nude (most of 'em) participants? I don't blame ya! Do that HERE.
<><><>
WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS HAVEN’T BANNED ME (YET)?
Facebook (shadow-banned and occasionally *banned* banned, but my white knuckles and I are still there)
BlueSky (NEW!)
Mastodon (NEW!)
<><><>
ME AND THE SOCHE, July 2023:
In June, I was permanently banned from Instagram. Sadly. They again said my account was being used for sexual solicitation. They'd accused me of that a number of times before. The difference this time is they gave no explanation. Not even a fuzzed out, non-violating image to blame it on. The automated system asked if I'd like to dispute the charge, and I ticked yes. But again, the difference this time is they didn't actually let me explain who I am and what I do. Is it a legit dispute if it can't use words? The system said I'd get an answer within 24 hours. I heard nothing from them. Ever. But they deleted my account, and my 23K IG followers went poof. 22.7K of those likely think I've blocked them.
I was never guilty of sexual solicitation, and I in fact hadn't violated any of their community standards in many years.
How far social media has devolved into bigoted Puritanism. I was an early adopter at Twitter (where I've been banned since 2020), but a late adopter at IG, due to some of their unsavory policies. But shortly after I joined, IG contacted me, saying they knew me as a community leader (f'realz?), and were impressed by the number of followers I had in a short amount of time. They offered me $150 for an interview, wherein they'd inquire about my opinions of the aforementioned policies. I agreed, and I unleashed upon them a mighty whine! Opinions, suggestions, maternal scolding, I straight-up handed it all to 'em. Graciously, natch. But firmly. And got paid for it.
I'm not sure about the what-nows. I'm down to Facebook, and I've been shadowbanned there for some time, rendering it all but pointless. I've have a mailing list I've not kept up with, for the same reasons. Personally, I'm in the middle of what Warren Zevon would call "My shit's fucked up." (No, I don't have cancer.) (I'll be explaining it all soon.) (If you can find me!) So I haven't time to think about any of it, really. But it sure would be nice to have access to social media again. Especially now. If, after 16 years of hard work, The Adipositivity Project vaporizes into obscurity, I'm not sure there's a thing I can do to stop it. So I'm focusing on survival and legacy. And a book! When/if I have time, I hope to sort out another means of staying in touch with you. Perhaps I'll try again to find a mailing list platform that allows the frank discussion, defiant nudity, and unapologetic fatness I purvey.
Right now, it's hard to see past the dishonesty and unfairness. Unfairness and dishonesty make me go all Billy Jack. But I hope someday I'll be able to thank Instagram for lighting a fire under my FAT ass. Until then, got an invitation to BlueSky you wanna send my way?
xoxo
Substantia
<><><>
It’s that time again. Prom and bridal shopping season. Time to cram your bag with Command Strips and print-outs of this. The Fitting Room Parent Translator. Help stop sartorial sizeism.
<><><>
Adipositivity shoots are always free to participants, but are you not quite ready to be an Adiposer? Would you like a Substantia Jones portrait you needn’t share with the world? Want an artful image for the soche, the apps, or the wall over your fireplace until a more prestigious spot opens up? I also make non-Adipositivity fine art photo portraiture (both clothed and un-) for a fee. Images which you then own the rights to. Some of these images have gone on to join the collection of 800+ Adipositivity photos, if the client so desires. And there’s a 50% discount on shoots for BIPOC clients. Email me to discuss a booking, why don’t ya?
<><><>
The 2023 Adipositivity Wall Calendar: Artists’ Edition (yes, ARTISTS’ EDITION) is still available. Read all about it, see biggerbadderbettermore preview images, purchase yours, and more HERE.
<><><>
Wanna throw a buck or two at The Adipositivity Project?
Make a recurring donation: http://patreon.com/adipositivity
Hang some prints on your wall: http://theadipositivityproject.zenfolio.com/prints
Have Substantia speak at your conference or university: adipositivity at gmail
Hire Substantia to help your business, institution, HR Department, or government agency with Body Politics: adipositivity at gmail
Hire Substantia for a client photoshoot (Adipositivity shoots are always free): adipositivity at gmail
Make a larger, tax-exempt donation: adipositivity at gmail
Buy Substantia doughnuts and/or world travel: https://www.paypal.me/adipositivity
Or if you prefer: www.venmo.com/Substantia-Jones
SIGN UP FOR THE FREE NEWSLETTER, EH?
FOLLOW
www.facebook.com/adipositivity
www.facebook.com/SubstantiaJones
www.instagram.com/adipositivity
www.adipositivityproject.tumblr.com
Adipose: Of or relating to fat.
Positivity: Characterized by or displaying acceptance or affirmation.
MISSION
The Adipositivity Project aims to promote the acceptance of benign human size variation and encourage discussion of body politics, not by listing the merits of big people, or detailing examples of excellence (these things are easily seen all around us), but rather through a visual display of fat physicality. The sort that's normally unseen.
The hope is to broaden definitions of physical beauty. Literally.
The folks you see in these images are educators, executives, mothers, musicians, professionals, performers, artists, activists, clerks, and writers. They are perhaps even the women you've clucked at on the subway, rolled your eyes at in the market, or joked about with your friends.
This is what they look like with their clothes off.
Some are showing you their bodies proudly. Others timidly. And some quite reluctantly. But they all share a determination in altering commonly accepted notions of a narrow and specific beauty ideal.
Bookmark adipositivity.com and check back often, as new photographs are added weekly. And please help spread the word about The Adipositivity Project. Part fat, part feminism, part "fuck you."
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Substantia Jones is the founder of and photographer for the photo-activism campaign, The Adipositivity Project, and runs both FatPeopleFlippingYouOff.com and UppityFatty.com. She has spoken about body politics on NPR, Sirius/XM, and The Pacifica Radio Network, as well as a number of podcasts and on radio stations in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. She's also the producer and host of the four-part radio series PolitiSIZE on WBAI-FM in New York City. She’s contributed to books by Random House, Seal Press, Ten Speed Press, and Vignette, and lectures annually on her photography at Parsons School of Design, The New School in New York City.
Her award-winning photography has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the globe, most recently in group art exhibitions at the Tate Modern in London, the Steiischer Herbst Arts Festival in Graz, Austria, Lesbiche in Sardinia, Italy, and in 2016 there was a two-month solo exhibition of her photographs at Te Manawa Museum in Palmerston North, New Zealand.. Her work has been featured internationally in and on such news outlets as CNN, Telemundo, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, VICE News, Glamour Magazine, US News & World Report, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Jezebel, The Feminist Press, Bustle, The Daily Mail, Feministing, Columbia Spectator, AOL News, Yahoo News, Time Out New York, The Utne Reader, Volup2 Magazine, Sociological Images, Viz, Alila Magazine, iVillage, Diva Magazine (UK), The Huffington Post, Refinery29, BUST Magazine, UOL (Brazil), MIC, Mashable, The Establishment, and in 2015 TIME Magazine produced a video profile of Substantia and her work.
In 2006, she was biographied in Who’s Who in America, though under the name her momma gave her. She lives in Manhattan where she hosts a weekly music radio show, wedges Monty Python quotes into inappropriate places, and spends an alarming amount of time gazing at clouds.
Substantia's available to throw money at, whether for speaking engagements, photo gigs, or simply to help keep the parade of unapologetic naked fat people marching on.
You may reach her at [email protected].
CLICK HERE FOR THE NAKED FAT LADIES! And dudes. And transpeople. And couples.
ADIPOSITIVITY PRINTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE!
Kindly read this before buying prints...
Not all images are available in all sizes. (This’ll be clearer when you start poking around the site.) And some images, mostly older ones, are not good candidates for print, usually due to resolution. So to maintain quality, I’ve chosen not to offer those as prints. I know. Sadface. But there are hundreds of others available.
No, there will be no text or watermark on your finished print.
There are a handful of images available as prints which haven’t been seen before, and some alternate takes of others you have seen. Don’t be alarmed.
Just as beauty comes in all sizes and shapes, my images also refuse to conform to the cookie cutter. Rather than allow the print technicians to re-crop these photos to more fully fit standard print sizes, I’ve selected the “fit” option, meaning the entire image will appear in the print. In many cases, this will result in white borders on two sides. To get more bang for your buck, I recommend clicking on “view all products” in the lower right corner of the chosen image’s page, then select one of the “best fit” options offered on the following page. You’ll see a list of the wisest size offerings for your print. Select one and add the print to your cart. Then hit “view cart,” and when you click on the image, you’ll be shown exactly what the finished print will look like, borderwise. If you’d then like to try on other sizes, hit “change” in the upper left, and see how the image fits in different size prints. Yes, this is a bit more time consuming, but I think it’s worth it. In the words of Erykah Badu, I’m an artist and I’m sensitive about my shit.
Once the print is yours, you may crop it any way you like. Shred it and line the cat box with it, even. The print is yours to do with as you will. But not the image. Standard copyright laws apply, and reproduction or publishing without first obtaining licensing is considered yoinking. Don’t Tosh me, man.
I’m offering a variety of photo papers from which you may choose, several mounting options and a few non-hideous frames. If I may further Badu you, I highly recommend a simple frame with glass and wide white or off-white matting, cut to fit the image, not the paper. Custom framing can be spendy, but you’ll likely be happier with the result, particularly if the image is a non-standard size.
Assorted currencies are accepted, and we’re rockin’ the global shipping. Know anyone whose walls need fattening up? Give 'em a heads-up, why don't ya?
So go! Have at it! Eat them up yum! This'll take you straight to the print sale gallery: http://theadipositivityproject.zenfolio.com/prints