‘Decolonise your body’, ‘decolonise your beauty standards’. These are key ideas in a truly intersectional fat liberation movement, but what do they actually mean? Hear from wāhine/ tāngata Māori as they unpack these ideas through a discussion of their lived experiences at the intersection of fatness and indigeneity.
This panel is chaired by Emma Parangi, with panel guests Renee Chadwick and Cameron Taylor.
Meet Emma
He uri ahau nō NgāPuhi, i tau mai ōku tupuna i te whenua nei mai i Koterana me Aerana. Ko Emma Parangi ahau.
I am a descendant of NgāPuhi, my ancestors came from Scotland and Ireland to settle in Aotearoa. My name is Emma Parangi (ia/ she).
This will be my first time attending Camp Boom! I have found infinite joy in finding some fat community in real life, as well as online!
I am an educator, and most of my time and energy is dedicated to being of the most service I can to my communities, particularly whānau and tamariki Māori! I am currently a PhD candidate and I provide kaupapa Māori professional learning and development for kaiako (teachers).
I love music and can often be found at a fireside with a guitar! I am so looking forward to making new connections and finding space for joy and fun in fat community with all you rad humans!
Ngā mihi o te wā o Matariki
Meet Renee
Renee Chadwick (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga) lives in Wellington with her partner and two pet pugs. She balances a busy work week with a chronic pain condition. Renee has come to understand colonisation, decolonisation & working on decolonized thinking through a like-minded community she has found on social media and has recently started attending wananga hosted by whānau. Being immersed in these environments have helped her attain a sense of peace in the lifelong battle with her body along with becoming more secure in her identity as wahine toa.
Meet Cameron
Ko Cameron tōku ingoa.
Ko Putauaki tōku maunga.
Ko Whakatāne tōku awa.
Ko Mātaatua tōku waka.
Ko Motiti tōku moutere.
Ko Pupuaruhe tōku marae.
Ko Te Patuwai tōku hapū.
Ko Ngāti Awa ratau ko Ngāpuhi, ko Te Arawa, ko Waitaha ōku iwi.
My name is Cameron McCausland-Taylor. I am a 22 year old, queer Māori-Pākeha/Dutch wahine, working as a Māori affairs reporter for the Whakatāne Beacon on my Ngāti Awa whenua.
Alongside my reporting mahi, I also run my own Substack called ‘Culture Clique w/ Cam’, where I talk about a range of topics such as body image, sexual assault, mental health, and more. It’s basically just whatever I feel like writing, such as articles, poetry, short stories etc, all collected on one beautiful platform.
I have been an active part of the fat, body-positive community online since I was a teen. I truly owe it all the people I’ve connected with in this community who have shared their kaupapa & their knowledge, as they have made me the confident, happily fat wahine I am today.
I’m so so honoured to have been selected to sit on this panel and attend Camp Boom, and I am deeply looking forward to connecting with all of you, sharing each other’s stories, and celebrating one another’s fat glory.
Camp Boom 