Author calls for end to cyber bullying and fat shaming

Lindy West doesn’t need anyone to tell her she is fat.

She knows, and she is quite happy with that, thank you very much.

Her weight, and others opinions of it, is one of the topics the American writer, comedian and social activist, wrote about in her debut book Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman.

Lindy’s first job writing on a national scale not only brought her fame, but also “a whole new world of garbage.”

That garbage was cyber bullying from online trolls.

Although there were many controversial topics covered in her book and her social postings, such as abortion and her dislike for US president Donald Trump, it is her weight that has been a constant focus for her trolls.

“Fat people are discriminated against,” Lindy said, while on tour in Australia.

It is the discrimination on this, and her other passion topics, that drives Lindy to speak her mind.

“What kind of person do I want to be?” Lindy said.

“Do I want to be someone who stands up and defends people who need it?”

That answer is a definite yes as she campaigns for an end to cyber bullying and body shaming that she fears has become part of normal culture.

 “Body image affects everyone, not just fat people and not just women.”

It’s certainly a topic that rings true for many people as their bodies go through various changes as they age.  

Lindy’s attitude to her own body image and the confidence she has found in the last few years has made some difference, and she now feels totally comfortable with herself.

“My attitude changing has changed the way people respond to me.”

Lindy West appeared in Brisbane last night during her Australian tour, and was introduced to the audience as a contemporary female voice for whom no topic was off limits.

Lindy was joined on stage by ABC Radio National’s Walkley Award winning journalist and broadcaster Paul Barclay who described her book as more than a memoir.

Lindy’s book, published by Hachette Australia, has been described as a raucous and highly original memoir in her trademark and unapologetic style.

How has your own body image changed over the years?