Tatjana Almuli was the interview guest of The Lighthouse/De Haagse Hogeschool and Writers Unlimited on Tuesday afternoon, 27 February 2024. The interview is Dutch-spoken.

Tatjana writes for the Dutch newspapers and magazines like Het Parool, ELLE, Vogue, VICE and Volkskrant Magazine. Her book Knap voor een dik meisje: het gewicht van gewicht (Pretty for a fat girl: the weight of weight) was published in 2019. In it, she takes the reins in the conversation about her body, candidly reporting on life as a fat woman in a society where being thin is the norm.

She is also editor and presenter of Dikke vette leugens, an honest, cheerful and critical podcast series by Dutch national broadcaster VPRO for and by fat people that can be seen on TikTok and NPO3.

The free admission (reservations recommended) talk with Heera Dijk, HBO-ICT lecturer, took place from 16:00 to 17:00 at the Speakers' Corner of De Haagse Hogeschool, Johanna Westerdijkplein in The Hague (next to Den Haag HS station).

(This programme was actually supposed to take place during the Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague on 18 January 2024 but then had to be postponed).

Tatjana has been fat all her life. And so has been getting unsolicited comments about her body for as long as she can remember. Close relatives, total strangers, specialists: everyone finds it necessary to tell her that being fat is a bad thing and that she should do something about it as soon as possible. As if it wasn't already clear to her how much her extra kilos have cost her. In her adolescence, there were no fledgling loves or first sexual experiences, no carefree exploration of the world. Instead, there were bullying classmates, sneaky binge eating and constant shame.


In her writings and in TikTok series Dikke vette leugens (Thick Fat Lies), she takes charge of the conversation about her body herself. Tatjana calls on fat people to make their voices heard, as openly and honestly as possible. She has already succeeded excellently in doing so. Down with shame!

Tatjana Almuli talks about breaking weight taboos; interviewer: Heera Dijk. in Dutch.
Tuesday 27th of Februari 2024, 16:00 - 17:00 uur
Speakers' Corner of De Haagse Hogeschool, Johanna Westerdijkplein in Den Haag (next to station Den Haag HS)