I usually try to keep this blog focused on discussion of size-acceptance-related topics, inspired by what happens to me but applicable to everyone.

However, today I want to share something totally personal, and I promise it relates.

I think I’ve mentioned on here before that I am an aspiring bellydancer. I grew up in a very Catholic family, and because of views encouraged by that religion about one’s body and sexuality (in general, I mean, I’m sure there are some very body-happy Catholics out there), my whole family seems to think that bellydance is a) just a slutty dance and b) just for thin girls. Despite this, bellydance still managed to fascinate me, and for years I watched clips, looked at pictures, and eventually drew my own pictures of bellydancers.

Then, one day, my girlfriend and I attended a bellydance performance put on by a local troupe at our school. The leader of said troupe was even bigger than me, and that got me thinking – WHY did I believe that bellydance was only for thin girls? Thanks to that, and much encouragement from my girlfriend, I looked into what bellydance really is – yes, its sexy, but that’s just an added bonus. It was originally intended to help women in childbirth, very much for-women-by-women. I realized then that I didn’t need to limit myself to just admiring it; if I wanted, I could do it too.

My girlfriend bought me an instructional video, a gorgeous hip scarf with coins, and finger cymbals (see here) soon afterward, and I started buying bellydance-related jewelry. I tried the video, but it wasn’t helping as much as I wanted it to. I thought briefly of contacting the troupe I had seen to see if they gave lessons, but I didn’t think I could afford it, and I wasn’t confident enough to seek help outside of my living room yet.

Now, a couple of years later, it has finally happened. Two weekends ago I ran into a couple of women from a different troupe that is still pretty local, and they told me that through the month of July, their group gives free lessons once a week. It was the PERFECT opportunity, dropped right into my lap. I was still really nervous about going, but I decided to suck it up and give it a try.

My first class was last night, and it went AWESOMELY.

I’ll be posting more on it as I continue learning, and I’ll probably make a page here about bellydance and how it relates to and is good for fat girls and fat pride. After all, the best way to convince the world that being fat doesn’t mean we’re inactive is to prove them wrong.

So, look out for more on this, and wish me luck!