Graduating as Dr Fat

That orangey dot in the middle of the picture is me onstage being given my Doctorate at the University of Limerick in Ireland. The photo was taken yesterday. I am about to be 'capped,' that is, to have a fancy velvet hat put on my head, which marks my formal entry into the upper ranks of academia.

At the point that this picture is being taken, the Vice President is reading out the title of my thesis: 'Fat Activism: A Queer Autoethnography.' What you can't see is me beaming with delight that the words 'fat,' 'queer' and 'activism' are being treated with extreme gravitas to a large auditorium packed with people. I'm glad that these magic words were spoken and acknowledged in this really formal setting. Fat queer activism – not a joke!