Sonalee Rashatwar
Sonalee Rashatwar (she/they), MSW, LCSW, MEd is an award-winning social worker, sex therapist, adjunct lecturer, and grassroots organizer. Based in Philly, she is a fat queer nonbinary therapist working as a sexual violence crisis counselor, specializing in treating sexual trauma, body image issues, racial or immigrant identity issues, and South Asian family systems, while offering fat and body positive sexual healthcare.
Popularly known as TheFatSexTherapist on Instagram, their fame hit an all time high when they were featured on Breitbart in March 2018 for naming thinness as a white supremacist beauty ideal. Sonalee is a sought-after speaker who travels nationally to curate custom visual workshops that whisper to our changemaking spirit and nourish our vision for a more just future.
Sonalee is not paid for her labor as a community organizer, where she has fundraised and facilitated a free five-day political action summer camp for LGBT+ South Asian and Indo Caribbean youth. Sonalee received their Master of Social Work and Master of Education in Human Sexuality from Widener University in 2016 and have been working in the field of anti-violence for over seven years.
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Talk Topics
- Unlearning Fatphobia — Unpacking the way fatphobia and diet culture controls our lives and dehumanizes fat people.
- How Fat Queers the Body — Unpacking the ways fat intersects gender.
- South Asian Mental Health — Discussing how mental health should be prioritized in South Asian family systems and communities.
- Health is a Social Construct — A thorough discussion on the ways colonialism has created the gender and health norms we live by today.
- Healing from Fat Trauma — Understanding the many ways body image abuse and trauma should be considered in our healing journeys.
Other topics may be available on request.
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Testimonials
“[Sonalee is] an amazing trainer and advocate for justice. I really do think that that [they’ve] made me a better therapist.”
“[Sonalee] provided a relevant and revolutionary presentation that brought together the intertwined dreams of racial and social justice, sexual freedom, and self love. I appreciated that [Sonalee] used art, humor, and shared open-source resources throughout your workshop. What [Sonalee is] teaching should be required training for all therapists and sex educators!”
“I learned so much and feel so good about the information that [Sonalee] imparted. As a former presenter for many years I want to say that [Sonalee’s] poise, beauty, professionalism and intelligence are all exceptional.”
“I’m in recovery from atypical anorexia, and I know it’s been a while since I saw [Sonalee] speak, but… [her] beliefs about fat liberation and how thinness is a white supremacist, capitalist ideal has been without a doubt the most impactful thing in my recovery process. From that night on, when I would be confronted with the decision of whether or not to eat, it was [Sonalee’s] words that convinced me to choose eating. I’d never heard body image and eating disorders being discussed in the way [Sonalee] did. Fat liberation was never something I was taught or encountered in the media, but when [they] explained it I was wholeheartedly on [their] side. [She has] given me so much liberation.”
Past Talks
2018
- Unpacking Fatphobia and Diet Culture at Widener University in Chester, PA.
- Expanding the Sexological Understandings of Body Image at the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) in Denver, CO.
- Presented on National Eating Disorder Awareness Week at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.
- Presented on Taking a Trauma-informed Sex Hxstory at the National Association of Social Workers-NJ Conference in Atlantic City, NJ.
- Presented on Diet Culture and Body Image at University of Colorado in Boulder, CO.
- Presented on Race and Body Image at University of Vermont in Burlington, VT.
- Presented on National Eating Disorder Awareness Week at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.
- Presented on Expanding the #MeToo Movement at West Chester University in West Chester, PA.
2017
- Body Justice: Understanding the Intersection of Body Image and Race at National Renfrew Conference in Philadelphia, PA.
- Gender isn’t Real and Neither is Health at SEXx Interactive in Philadelphia, PA.
- The Revolution will be Potluck: 10 Steps to Building a Queer Femme Collective in the South Asian Diaspora at South Asian
2016
- Body Inclusive Sex Ed: Exploring the Connection Between Body Image and Sex Education at National Sex Education Conference in Atlantic City, NJ.
- How to Support Sexual Assault Survivors at Haverford College in Haverford, PA.
- Unlearning White Supremacist Sex Positivity at Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance in Alexandria, VA.
- Anti-Carceral Community Accountability & Substance Use at East Coast Solidarity Summer in Lanoka Harbor, NJ.
- Decolonizing Sexual Positivity: A Practical Guide at the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Selected to present Engaging Diversity Opening Plenary Keynote on The Colonization of Sex Positivity at the American Association of Sexuality
2015
- Presented on Disability Justice at East Coast Solidarity Summer in New Brunswick, NJ.
- Decolonizing Sex Positivity at SEXx Interactive in Philadelphia, PA.
- The Implications of the Fat Positivity Movement on Sexuality at SEXx Interactive in Philadelphia, PA.
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