On Tuesday night the UQ Women’s Collective hosted a Diversity Week event called ‘Embracing Our Bodies‘, an information and discussion session about eating disorders and body image issues. Below are links to our amazing speakers’ organisations or blogs, along with some resources we made. You can find business cards and flyers from all the organisations featured at our seminar, along with Butterfly Foundation brochures, in the Wom*n’s Room on campus (Building 21A).
Speaking of the Butterfly Foundation…they shared our event on facebook!!
Kath from Fatheffalump // (Read her amazing speech here!)
Headspace
Eating Disorders Association (EDA)
Support Services at UQ – Contacts List
Suggestions on ways UQ could improve it’s support, representation and awareness of disordered eating and body image issues:
- Better representation of diverse bodies in UQ advertising (there are no bodies above a size 12 or 14 in the 2013 Guides and Prospectuses…Yes, we did check!!)
- Having a low-key support group in the women’s room or in a neutral area out of the way for meal times, to support others in eating, regardless of eating issue
- More easily accessible services
- Another SHOC counsellor specifically for EDs
- Student-based support groups (even just to talk to people in the same boat as you) on campus – this is a big problem on campus that a lot of people have noticed
- Reinforced seating of different sizing and spacing in lecture theatres to cater for diverse bodies
- More awareness and available info on UQ Psychology Clinic and Academic Adjustments
- UQ campaigns or statements: light up the Forgan Smith purple for the Butterfly Foundation?
- Body image awareness on campus: campaigns, workshops, seminars, zines headed by the UQWC (possibly the student union too??)
Next Semester the UQWC will be trying to get a few of these ideas kick-started – hopefully the university will take some of them on board, too!
Thanks once again to the Office of Undergrad Education for providing us with funding for our event. Happy Diversity Week!
