The Weight Stigma Conference is an inter-disciplinary event that brings together scholars and practitioners from a range of backgrounds (e.g., public health, government and public policy, psychology, medicine, sociology, anthropology, allied health professions, education, sports and exercise science, social sciences, media studies, business, law, activism, and the lay public) to consider research, policy, rhetoric, and practice around the issue of weight stigma. For more information, visit: weightstigmaconference.com

We are honoured to present our keynote speakers for this year's Weight Stigma Conference:

• Lily O'Hara (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Public Health at Qatar University. Her research focuses on analyzing oppressive public health approaches to body weight and their inequitable impact on people with larger bodies, and developing ethical, evidence-based, salutogenic public health initiatives for body liberation using social justice oriented approaches. Lily’s research also focuses on developing the critical health promotion competencies of the community, workforce, and institutions. Lily has over 25 years’ experience as a public health and health promotion academic and practitioner in Australia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar and has worked on community, workplace, university, and school-based programs addressing a broad range of health and wellbeing issues. She has over 150 publications and presentations and is the co-author of the book Promoting Health: The Primary Health Care Approach. She is the co-author of the Red Lotus Critical Health Promotion Model and the Quality Assessment Tool for Critical Health Promotion Practice (QATCHEPP). Her advocacy qualifications include a life lived as a fat woman and the mother of three offspring. Lily currently lives in Qatar with a variety of fresh water fish and a lot of plants.

• Caleb Luna (they/them) is an artist, public scholar and theorist of the body. They are an award-winning educator and scholar, the bestselling author of REVENGE BODY (Nomadic Press, 2022; Black Lawrence Press, 2023), and co-host of the podcast Unsolicited: Fatties Talk Back. Publishing, performing and curating across genre and medium, Caleb's cultural work examines race, size, sexuality and disability in media and culture. Ultimately, they are interested in engaging embodied difference as a generative resource toward fatter understandings of collective freedom. Caleb holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies with a Designated Emphasis in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Luna is a former UC President’s and Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. They are currently an Assistant Professor of Feminist Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. You can follow Caleb on Instagram and Twitter at @dr_chairbreaker, or get in touch with them at caleb-luna.com

• Stacy Bias (she/her) is a social justice activist, artist and writer with over 20 years’ experience. She is founder of TechnoDyke.com, a pioneering online community providing support and resources to queer women, trans and non-binary individuals, and Portland, Oregon’s FatGirl Speaks conferences and Chunky Dunk Fat Swims. Stacy is also creator of the 12 Good Fatty Archetypes, a webcomic that provides a framework for understanding different ways in which fat people sometimes seek inclusion in society in ways that are subtly counter-productive. Working with academics, researchers, charities, NGOs and other mission-based organisations, she loves combining research with illustration and animation to create humanising narratives that amplify marginalised voices. In 2016, Stacy released the research-led Flying While Fat documentary animation, which highlights the challenges that fat people face when traveling by air. She also works frequently with academics in Health Communications, co-creating sensitive and effective educational resources for both practitioners and the communities they serve. Her practice is collaborative and guided by the principles of intersectional feminism. Stacy's favourite projects target empathy and the places where it’s absent, asking questions about social legitimacy, barriers to access (both physically and socially) and the psychic and material impacts of exclusion. She currently lives in Glasgow, Scotland. Website: https://stacybias.net Portfolio: https://yourstory.studio Instagram: https://instagram.com/_stacybias Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/stacybias LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacybias

Ticket Types

• Online
  • Standard registration: Early bird rate (until 16th May, 2024) is £100. From 17th May, standard rate will be £120.
  • Student/low income: Early bird rate (until 16th May, 2024) is £80. From 17th May, student/low income rate will be £100.
• In-person
  • Standard registration: Early bird rate (until 16th May, 2024) is £175. From 17th May, standard rate will be £200.
  • Student/low income: Early bird rate (until 16th May, 2024) is £150. From 17th May, student/low income rate will be £170.

As a reminder, and across all rates, further reductions or hardship requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please use the Bursary Application form on our website and/or email us at stigmaconf@gmail.com. Standard bursary applications will be accepted until the date of the conference, with awards depending on availability of funding. A single Dr Cat Pausé Travel Bursary will be awarded. The deadline for applications is 16th May, 2024. Application is via the same form.

NOTE: You do NOT have to bring a print-out of your ticket to the event.

Bursary Fund – Supporting Accessibility

The Weight Stigma Conference is a not-for-profit event. Although we try and keep prices down, we realise that the conference will nevertheless be beyond some people's means. Rather than raising the cost of tickets, we will make every effort to raise additional funding through donations and sponsorship to allow us to give bursaries to individuals who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend. A Donation option is available for both delegates and non-attendees who are in a position to contribute a little extra to help us provide financial assistance where needed. Donations can also be made through our Go Fund Me page - please share this page with your networks. To date, the WSC Bursary Fund has allowed us to provide 65 bursaries and 6 travel awards. Thank you so much for your generosity. If you are interested in formal sponsorship of the event, please email us: stigmaconf@gmail.com.

Accessibility Accommodations

The chairs used in the conference venue have no arms and a weight capacity of 275 pounds (125 kg). Online, we will provide automatic closed captioning via Zoom. For other accessibility requirements, please indicate on your registration questionnaire. If we are not able to accommodate your needs, we will reach out to discuss options with you. Note, we cannot guarantee requests made less than 14 days prior to the conference.

Terms and Conditions

Recorded Event

This event will be recorded (both audio and visual). By registering for this event, you consent to this recording. Recordings will be available to delegates for viewing after the live event has ended. Content will remain available until the 2025 WSC (approximately 1 year).

Cancellations and refunds

Cancellations before 1st June will be refunded in full. After that date, only partial refunds will be available. Please contact us at stigmaconf@gmail.com if you need to cancel your registration. If the event is cancelled by the organisers, a full refund will be given.