OUR STORY
OUR STORY
BLOC’S ORIGIN
It’s early spring of 2021. Imagine a dark living room and the only beam of light is streaming from a television. An episode of “Shrill” on HULU is playing on the screen while our founder, Alexa, watches in tears. The protagonist, played by Aidy Bryant, experiences fatphobia in almost every facet of her life, but experienced redemption when surrounded by others who look like her and support her at a plus size pool party. Alexa, having been told that her “morbidly obese” body was “wrong” and “limiting,” and has gone through life-altering measures to try and “rectify” herself, she finally felt that enough was enough. She wanted to experience the same feeling that Aidy’s character felt in those moments at the pool party, but in a place that she loves dearly but has never felt welcomed in…
NATURE.
NEXT STEPS…
After discussing the episode with her therapist, she came to realize how often she would spend time outdoors as a kid. Whether it was exploring the woods behind her house in Upstate New York, camping with her school community, fishing with her dad, or hiking around the Hudson Valley, little Alexa did not shy away from nature. It was only until she was made to feel like she didn’t “fit” because of her body size that she began to retreat from something she so dearly loved. In the session, her therapist helped her come to the decision that creating space and guiding others in the outdoors could be something that she’d find enjoyable. So, the next day she created the Facebook group “Plus Sized Hikers of the Hudson Valley,” a place where folks could go to find and attend hiking events structured around body visibility and liberation. She didn’t expect it to grow so quickly, or to be featured in local news…but alas, people in her Hudson Valley community felt seen and heard.
One year after the group launched, Alexa made the decision to change the name of the group to Body Liberation Hiking Club (Outdoor Club as of recent), so that folks across the gender spectrum could feel welcome to attend outdoor events that aren’t always associated with hiking. Since the re-launch, BLOC has hosted body liberation beach days, camping trips, and is always looking to expand the mission of creating safe zones for folks in fat and marginalized body sizes to take up space in nature.
Join us in one of our 17 chapters throughout North America!