Rachel Wiley is a poet and published author whose spoken word performance of her original piece, “The Fat Joke”, gained instant Internet fame after going viral and jumping to one million views on Facebook in less than 24 hours.
During the honest and raw clip, Wiley addresses her own experience of existing as a fat girl in a world that shames, bullies, intimidates, ignores and ultimately excludes fat people from enjoying and participating in life in the same way everyone else does.
It’s commanding stuff and Wiley is entirely in control of her story, her performance, and the audience.
I could barely look away. Wiley’s conviction and perfectly aggressive pace left me short of breath. I was hooked on every word.
Wow! Just saw that over a million people have watched this in less than 24 hours. Thank you Button Poetry for posting! Get my new book with them here: http://bit.ly/nothingisokay
Posted by Rachel Wiley on Saturday, 14 April 2018
Throughout the three minutes she’s on stage, Wiley presents herself as an intelligent, insightful, and strong woman while perfectly encapsulating and describing the crippling experience for those of us who find ourselves isolated and judged by fat-shamers on a daily basis.
She also allows the viewer to gain insight into how that shaming infiltrates every part of her day – every conversation she has.
Wiley takes an incredibly complex and difficult issue, and makes it clear and simple by commenting on what can only be interpreted as her own experiences.
She details the struggles with simple doctor visits, noting that if a skinny person goes to the doctor for a spider bite, they’re treated for a spider bite. If a fat person goes to the doctor for a spider bite, they’re given a lecture about exercise and healthy eating, while the actual problem of the day remains untreated.
While this is just one example of how hellish a common doctors visit can be for many overweight individuals (which ultimately discourages them from visiting the doctor because they’re tired of being shamed), Wiley’s scenarios can be translated across all facets of every day life.
As the power behind her prose grows and erupts like a volcano as she crescendo’s toward the end of her performance, Wiley owns the moment entirely, leaving us speechless, breathless and hungry for more.
Like what you see? Wiley’s book, Nothing Is Ok is available here.