When I logged onto the first Rebel Eaters Club meeting on a Friday afternoon, I was unsure of what to expect. The meeting began with an upbeat Keke Palmer song as attendees virtually trickled in; each student shared their name, class year, reason for joining the meeting, and snack of choice (mine being a cheese stick). One of the leaders asked me whether I peeled my cheese stick or bit it, a very important question. Of course, I replied that I peeled my cheese stick. From this moment, I knew it was going to be a good meeting. 

The Rebel Eaters Club, a new student club at the University, defines itself as an inclusive space to discuss diet culture, fat activism, and food peace. Led by Becca Baron ’23, Stephanie Corrales ’22, Kate Ciolkowski-Winters ’23, and Jackie Garcia ’22, the club is focused on dismantling diet culture at the University and beyond. The club meets every Friday at 4 p.m. on Zoom and provides an affinity space for anyone who has been impacted by diet culture or fatphobia. 

“I think what makes [the Rebel Eaters Club] really special is that it can be a space for all these different people from all these different communities and identities to come together and bring their experiences to the table to help everyone work through their own shit,” said Corrales.  

Baron, the founder of the club, said she took inspiration from writer and activist Virgie Tovar and her podcast, the “Rebel Eaters Club.” Tovar’s podcast examines how diet culture intersects with fatphobia, gender, race, capitalism, and xenophobia, among other cultural factors. 

“I listened to the podcast, loved it, fell in love with it,” said Baron. “It totally shifted the way I thought about food and my body and really helped me in my own personal recovery. I got onto campus and felt really empowered to do this and felt like this is a space that people really needed, especially in times of Corona when people are feeling especially alone and stressed out.” 

After talking with some friends about her idea, Baron decided to speak with Corrales, who had been planning an event for fat women of color last spring.

“I slid into Steph’s Facebook DMS/PMs, and was like ‘Hi I know this is crazy, but I have this idea. Would you want to do this with me?’” explained Becca. 

Corrales enthusiastically agreed to join. 

“Coming into this white institution, because in my [high] school it was just Mexican, 1% Central Americans, it had a big effect on my image,” said Corrales. “And my friends…we were really struggling the way we felt here. So when Becca reached out to me, I immediately wanted to join.”

Soon after Corrales and Baron joined forces, the two brought in Ciolkowski-Winters and Garcia to lead the club with them. 

Despite the leaders’ optimism and excitement about the Rebel Eaters Club, the COVID-19 pandemic posed many challenges, including with arranging in-person meetings. 

“I think when talking about really sensitive topics, like what we talk about in the club, it can feel really nice to be in a space together to hug and to lean on someone’s shoulder and hold hands and feel each other’s presence,” said Baron. 

Despite this challenge, the four were able to recruit upwards of 25 attendees and successfully begin holding meetings over Zoom. 

Each meeting will have a theme, for example diet culture’s racist history, and will be led by a club leader or attendee. The meetings will include a discussion and/or presentation and journal prompt on the week’s topic. The meetings will be guided by the group’s interests and feedback, submitted by members via google forms. 

The club will be guided by Tovar’s Rebel Eaters Club manifesto: 1) Diets suck. 2) All food is good food. 3) Corn dogs, donuts, and nutella aren’t off limits. 4) Veggies are great but they don’t have superpowers. 5) We do not use food to change body size. 6) Eat and move for pleasure. 

The club will also adhere to a series of group norms: everyone is at different points in our journeys towards food peace and self love; what is said here, stays here; censor language that echoes diet culture, it can trigger people; everyone is free to log off or leave whenever; say hi to each other outside of meetings; white supremacy, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia are all at the heart of diet culture; keep marginalized bodies in mind; be okay having setbacks.

Baron and Corrales also have some exciting ideas on the future of the club. Baron discussed the possibility of creating a program house, potentially based in the Womanist House. 

“If we had like an actual space, a themed space to really manifest the ideals of the club, that would be really cool,” said Baron. “I don’t even know how to do that or if that’s possible, but in the future, I just see it being like a really warm family where you feel relieved and you exhale like all your hardships.”

Corrales elaborated on the future of the club, explaining that she hopes the club’s influence extends beyond Wesleyan. 

“I hope it inspires other schools and other communities to build this cause I think it would be very, very powerful,” said Corrales. “And also for people to start having these conversations with their parents…. And so something like teaching yourself, like re-parenting yourself, but also your parents and your community.”

Baron enthusiastically agreed with Corrales’ sentiment.

“You made me think of a tree, you know, like planting the seeds of the ideas and then having it spread and people bring it to their home friends,” said Baron. “Their home friends will bring it to their school friends. Those people would bring it to their moms and we’ll create a better world. How cheesy, but it’s real.”

In the meantime, the Rebel Eaters Club is open to new members.

“All bodies are welcome,” said Corrales. “You don’t have to be an expert in body positivity or anything. You can come at any point in your, your journey…. If you just want to talk, have friends, you can also come and join we’re pretty cool. I like to think.”

 

Hannah Docter-Loeb contributed reporting. 

Grace Kuth can be reached at gkuth@wesleyan.edu.