Hey everyone,
There are some exciting tidbits to share in terms of our plans for GUFAB next year, or as I have dramatically titled this newsletter *.*The Future of GUFAB*.* Basically, we’re looking for new committee members for the year 2021/22, and are considering some changes in everything from GUFAB’s regular outputs to the name of the society itself! Super exciting!
Thanks to everyone who has engaged with GUFAB this year - it’s been a weird one! The food we eat and the bodies we’re in, and all the things that go along with that, are what we especially care about at GUFAB and so we hope that everyone is doing as well as possible in that regard. Our relationship with food and our bodies is inevitably complex and individual so there isn’t one solution that we can peddle (or as I may have said in previous newsletters before I realised it was a different word: pedal). Ultimately, at GUFAB we hope to problematise negative attitudes towards food and our bodies so that we can recognise that these things shouldn’t be so prevalent. If you’re interested in working with us to do this, consider joining the committee - it’s super flexible.
In order to reaffiliate with the SRC for the academic year 2021/22, we need to submit a list of our members. If you’d like to support GUFAB and be included on this list, sign up here.
If you’re interested in getting involved in GUFAB read on, and come along to our AGM on Monday the 31st May at 5pm. To get the zoom link, register your interest in being part of the team on this google form and we’ll email it to you! If you want to be involved but can’t make it along - just let us know!
AGM Agenda
Glasgow University Food And Body Positivity Society becomes Glasgow University Food And Body Society
Spot the difference! We’re dropping the Positivity! Or at least, that’s what I’m proposing. Not because I want to start perpetuating negative attitudes, but because I think we can go beyond positivity. When we named the society, we wanted to tie into the broad movement of body positivity and communicate our purpose. After chatting around, I think the positivity label might put people off and limit the remit of GUFAB. We don’t want to say we have to feel amazing about ourselves all the time, we just want to question why we might be made to feel shit. We are interested in the structural issues that influence how we feel about our bodies and what we eat, not just feeling good on an individual level (though this is important too).
As well as this, lots of activists in the fat liberation movement or the Black femmes who began the current wave of body discourses (for more on this check out our Black Lives Matter, Black Bodies Matter newsletter) feel that body positivity no longer represents them. At GUFAB we want to engage with these discussions and we don’t want to exclude anyone.
I’m writing this as if it’s decided, but we’ll be discussing this change (and voting on it) at our AGM on the 31st May. Sign up above to come along and have your say.
Committee Positions
We’re doing things flexibly this year to give people a chance to contribute and participate to the degree that they have time to, and in a role that suits them. There are a few positions which we are definitely trying to fill: President, Social Media Coordinator, and Events Manager (read to the bottom for more information on these positions). If you’re interested in filling any of these roles, fill in the google form on our linktree.
Aside from those roles - it’s up to you! In past years we’ve opened applications for Disability Officer, POC Officer, LGBTQ+ Officer, and Plus Size Officer. On reflection, we don’t want to limit the contributions of marginalised groups to these roles, and want to make clear that GUFAB are aiming for a structure that recognises the intersectionality of all of these factors. That said, we’re still really keen to include as many voices and perspectives as possible, so if you’d like to hold a specific role which focuses on how a certain group is affected by food and body injustice or structural inequality, we’d love to have you on board. Other positions could focus on the politics of food and our bodies, be in charge of the newsletter, or focus on campaigns. The possibilities are really quite endless - if you’re interested in being involved in a particular way then please let us know, and as always General Member positions are available if you’d like to be on the committee without a specific role. You’ll notice on the google form (on our linktree) that there is an ‘Other…’ section in the question about roles - feel free to put in any role you think would contribute well to GUFAB - and send us an email describing your idea at gufabpositivitysoc@gmail.com if it’s something we haven’t mentioned here already.
We’re planning to host a short meeting on Zoom on the 31st May at 5pm to discuss committee positions. Our vision for this year is that if multiple people apply for the same role, they can form a team to complete it, lessening the workload on everyone and leading to a more collaborative committee. You can let us know on the google form if this date works for you. If it doesn’t, don’t worry - you can still apply, just make sure to answer the final question on the google form which asks why you’d like to be involved.
Here is a brief summary of what you can expect from the designated roles as given above:
President: as the president of a small society, the everyday running of the society, as well as deciding the general direction of GUFAB and it’s projects, fall to the president. It is also the job of the president to organise the rest of the committee.
Social Media Coordinator: the responsibilities of the social media coordinator are to create the graphics the committee will use to publicise events or projects and to post in an accessible way that aligns with the GUFAB ethos. The role is flexible, and the manager can choose to run campaigns. Regular posting on Stories is desirable.
Events Manager: the events manager should work with the president to come up with events, as well as support the committee as a whole in running these events.
If you have any questions about any of this feel free to get in touch at gufabpositivitysoc@gmail.com and we’ll get back to you!
Bye folks!
It’s been lots of fun writing for this newsletter this year and editing submissions from others. Selfishly, it’s given me a reason to engage with food and body positivity in a different way and certainly wouldn’t have if I wasn’t holding myself to that Friday morning (which often became afternoon) deadline!
I’m just a random person chatting shit about food and our bodies so… you can be too!
Good vibes,
Thalia xx