Bettye Travis -- fought to gain more respect for fat population
Steve Rubenstein, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Bettye Travis, a nationally known advocate to end discrimination against fat people and a woman who often proclaimed that "being fat is fabulous,'' has died.
Ms. Travis, 55, of Berkeley, died May 7 in an Oakland hospital of complications from cancer.
"We were all taught to be ashamed of being fat, but we aren't buying that anymore," said Ms. Travis, the former president of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. "No matter what your size, you deserve respect. Being fat is not a crime."
In the line of duty, she battled radio shock jocks, led workshops, counseled members and fought prejudice with good humor -- once, when fellow visitors at Disneyland were pointing at and photographing her, she smiled and grabbed her own camera and began snapping pictures of the people who were snapping pictures of her, until they got the message.
Ms. Travis was a native of Cheyenne, Wyo., and a graduate of Monmouth College in Illinois. She came to Berkeley in 1978 and received a master's degree from JFK University in Orinda. She was a founder and proprietor of Spun Sugar, a Berkeley store and school for candy makers and bakers.
Like fellow members of the association that she headed in the 1990s, she called herself "fat" with pride.
"It's what we are, and we're proud of it,'' she said.
She was the former client services director for the AIDS Project of the East Bay and a longtime activist in the civil rights and anti-war movements. She enjoyed collecting snow globes and toy moose, attending San Francisco Giants games and reading mysteries set in the Scottish moors.
Surviving are her partner of 17 years, Linda Moreno, and her daughters, Bianca and Cinaida Moreno-Travis, all of Berkeley.
A memorial gathering will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Salvation Army Church, 4600 Appian Way, El Sobrante.