Bare Ass 2008! How I raised $2715 for Feeding America while learning to love my fat ass.

[Kelly Jean]

This is a post from my blog White Girl With a Fat Ass. I started campaign last year called Bare Ass 2008! with the goal of raising money for hunger relief as motivation to get in shape. I even vowed to post my bare heiney on my blog if I reached my goal of $5231 raised. Over the year, I didn't reach my goal amount raised or my goal weight but in the journey I achieved something I'd never experienced before. Peace with myself and how I look.

I wanted to share this entry with the B-Fab society.

This Martin Luther King Day, the day before a new administration captured the attention of not only America but the world, I found myself embarking on the final steps of momentous journey. Or to say it straight, I trekked through the snow to the East Village to have a photo of my ass taken. For the next month, the Bare Ass 2008! Results will appear under the PAGES sidebar as a password protected page on White Girl With a Fat Ass.

Since then I found myself completely unable to write about the experience. It wasn't so much fear, but once the time arrived and I wasn't sure how to proceed. It is a quite a lot to sit with, to have a CD full of naked pictures of yourself in your bag and to know that after all that has happened this year I had to post one of them here.


The week going into the ‘Ass Shot’ as my photographer Francine nicknamed it, I started to freak out. First about the obvious things:
A. Everyone was going to see my bare ass.

B. Anybody that I meet from this point on in my life may Google me, find this site, and think I’m insane. Which isn’t too far from the truth.

C. Even though I said that this blog was all about letting go of body issues, and loving myself as I am, I am way to fat to do this.

Then came the more random thoughts, which somehow freaked me out more:

A. The mark from where I burned my ass on the heat pipe is still visible.

B. In the winter my skin breaks out from dryness… everywhere.

C. I was going to have to see my bare ass.


I then spent the next few days performing more ass grooming than I ever have in my life. Don’t get dirty on me now kids, by that I mean exfoliating scrubs, vitamin E for my heat pipe scar, lotions for the dry skin on my back, butt, legs. I also have a lot of freckles all over my back from years of reckless frolicking in the summer sun that make me look like a speckled mackerel. And it is January so I am white as a ghost. But I decided to keep my priorities straight and focus my wigging out on my ass. Taking a naked picture of the part of the body that you have always been the most self-conscious about should include the side benefit of being able to let all the twenty million other things you hate about your body go.


On the way over, walking through the snowy East Village I suddenly became very serene about the whole thing. I am what I am. This is what I look like and there is nothing wrong with that. I will continue to strive towards a healthier body and making better lifestyle choices but there is no ideal version of myself that I have to smoosh my figure into before I can be happy. This picture is happening today, now, and that is good. Because one way or another life is now. I spoke to a friend on the way over and when we ended the conversation she said,

“Happy Ass Photo!”

And it was. Francine was a total doll and the whole afternoon felt like a professional shoot in her home studio. We picked out fabrics and talked about various poses and practiced before starting the real session. Then came the real deal. Did I want to get down to my undies and try a few then first to ease into it? I decided No. I got straight down to my birthday suit, but clung to the fabric we were using like a lifejacket. However, about an hour later I was totally over any feelings of shame that I had. It was a wild experience to just be there, exposed, and have to ease into my own body. But what really struck me was reviewing all the photos to pick out what I might want to use. For lack of a more eloquent phrase, it was the weirdest thing ever. There was a time when I never could have imagined scrolling through countless photos of my naked self without dropping dead from shame. Although, I then became obsessed about this pooch of back fat by my upper arm. Apparently my brain does not know how to fully function without something negative to focus in on.

One of my favorite moments is when Francine got upset after we finished because she forgot the joke she had planned to say while we were taking pictures.

What was the joke?

When we were shooting I was going to say… “SAY CHEESE!”

So that is it. Bare Ass 2008! has come to a close. You can check out the results of the year, including the tasteful heiney shot on the Bare Ass 2008! Results password protected page on White Girl With a Fat Ass.

THE PASSWORD IS: bareass All one word. All lowercase.

It is there for you to see but only if you want. I did this in consideration of my good friend Jason. One of the first people to donate to Bare Ass 2008! his donation came with the rider 'But I don't want to see your ass!'

I’m not sure exactly what 2009 is going to bring, but if you are inspired by my journey, please still Donate to my Charity Badge

[Terry Preuss]

I LOVE THE WHOLE EMBRACE WHAT YOU ARE DEAL. KEEP AT IT. SLOWLY WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD!

[Nature]

I'm realizing that it's important to feel good about who you are. Feeling good about yourself just because, is reason enough. I had dinner at this place that had a security camera, and I saw myself from the back on the screen. Even though I was wearing loose jeans my butt was VERY prominent. I think I'll be pround of it!

[Kelly Jean]

Actually, that is something I've noticed since doing my blog. I've had a lot of guys comment and express their fears. It made me really see that a lot of people feel insecure about being too thing, both men and women. A concept that seemed incredible to me at first.

[Nature]

I'm a straight dude hanging out here and I really feel sympathetic with your body issues. It's not okay for a lot of people to say this but I will. I think that straight guys have a HUGE taboo with their own bodies, and go to great lengths to hide it unless your a really ripped body builder. How many males do you see these days wearing 3 layers of clothes that are 3 sizes too big? That's the norm unless you're playing football or riding a bike.