I thought of the analyst Winnicott's observation: 'It is a joy to be hidden but disaster not to be found'.

Fat is a way of saying no to powerlessness and self-denial.

I've always felt very sympathetic from the first days of writing about women that, whatever the woman, whether she is trying to be a woman in the conventional sense or breaking the boundaries, those struggles are quite difficult.

Fat people are so rarely included in visual culture that fat is perceived as a blot on the landscape of sleek and slim.

Fat is a social disease, and fat is a feminist issue.

Mothers unconsciously allow more latitude to sons, and open encouragement, and with daughters they treat them as they would treat themselves.

I'd like to see much more understanding of emotional issues around hurt, abandonment, disappointment, longing, failure and shame, where they stem from and how they drive people and policies brought into public discourse.