About Fatgrrlz

Bee | Mid-20's | Any Pronouns | |

I'm Bee, some fat girl-thing. I like drawing fat girls and listening to Youtube videos back to back and imaginging AMV's with my funny blorbos. I have a Bachelors in IT for Cybersecurity that I used to learn I actually, really fucking hate working in IT and wasn't interested in the hellscape the field's going into.

I grew up at the tail end of the era of personal websites and into web blogs and social media sites, so my only knowledge of HTML prior to college was the brief little bit of markdown I knew from the Minecraft Forums and whatever forums I roamed around as a kid-to-teen (I didn't use Tumblr until.. what, 2015? LOL). Much of my life was spent on the Internet, and a lot of those times being a miserable asshole, but that's kind of just what happens when you're an undiagnosed autistic teenager coping with your parents' very messy divorce and also living in Ohio and all that entails. I have a lot of fondness for the experiences I had with the friend cliques I fell into, but I sure don't miss who I was and who I had surrounded myself with at the time.

Nowadays, I'm living with my girlfriend for over a year now. I think we're doing okay.

The previous "manifesto" was some cringe ass loser redditor shit that I wasn't a fan of, so here's a new one:

I've been working on sites at Neocities since sometime last year, first making a website for a little Destiny project where I drew a bunch of canon and fanon characters all dressed up fancy for VanguardVogue. After my departure from Destiny, I was in a rut for months trying to figure out what I'd do. I then revisited the idea of having my own website - my own little space to fuck around and express my interests. Over the course of the next however long, this website was born. I hope you enjoy exploring this site and all it has to offer.

I have thoughts on the Indie Web and it's parasocial relationship with nostalgia - see my blog page for posts on that. For a brief summary:

I've always been discomforted by the idea of making websites out of nostalgia as I often see webdevs forgo important web design practices for the sake of "authenticity". Said practices aren't just established for the sake of making the bog standard Corporate Website type of design (and BTW - most corporate websites suck at following them anyway because they're cheap assholes who value profit as a god, so they pay for some shitty overlay that makes the accessibility of the site worse than it already was instead of professionals to do it right!) - they're for accomodating how users in the modern world interact with the web. This includes ensuring that disabled users can use your site. There's some great articles by fellow Netizens that discuss the topic further if you are interested in reading about them:

• PinkVampyr - On lack of accessibility in “web revival” spaces
• KaleChips - Your Website Needs to Work on Phones
• PunkWasp - On Accessibility, Mobile Responsiveness, and the Personal Web
• Whiona - On mobile phones, the small web, and able-bodied privilege

It can be a daunting task, especially for those who have already have established personal sites, but you don't gotta be a master at WCAG to make your site more user-friendly. The easiest things I can suggest are:

• semantic HTML for using specific tags for specific items - main for the main content, aside for content related to the main content, nav for navigation, table for literal tables of data, etc - and div's and span's only for stylistic purposes.
• flexboxes for dynamically managing sets of items in a row. This is done by having some form of a wrapper or container tag around the set of items with display: flex. You can change the sequence, direction, and more with simple CSS settings. My site is a great example, as it is formatted using flexboxes!
• Alt Text for, well, providing an alternate text description for images. It's fairly simple - adding alt="[description here]" in your img tags.
  While artwork may need more verbose descriptions, images with functionality should have the functionality described - "search function" for example. And any decorative images that doesn't have a use should have alt="" to ensure screen readers skip over them.

At the very least, it's important to warn users before visiting your site of potential issues that may affect them (not just in the accessibility department - it's important to warn users about flashing imagery or NSFW / mature content!), whether it's on a landing page, somewhere on the main part of your site, or a pop-up box. And please, please don't be a dick about it. A "mobile unfriendly" site is not the flex some think it is.

It's what's on the tin. I draw fat girls, among other things. I've made a few blog posts on the topic, mainly in regards to my experiences as a fat person and as a fat artist. I like to think that it's one of the few things I have somewhat nuanced opinions of. But to keep it brief - I am a fat girl, have been all my life. I spent much of that life struggling with what I am being at-odds with society at large and under the belief that I wasn't worthy of love and respect because of my size. Fact of the matter is, fat people exist in everyday life as living, breathing individuals with their own worth and purpose, are not just one-dimensional objects made to be sympathetic uwu cuddly huggable softies at best and disgusting villainous pigs at worst - and regardless of intent, both are equally dehumanizing.

You likely know of some. You might even be a fat person yourself. I figure, if we're everywhere, why is there so little art of us - and more frustratingly, why are people so fucking weird towards fat people, both in fiction and reality?

That's why I went with this handle, fatgrrlz. It's blunt as a baseball bat. Yeah, some people are going to look at it and go "oh jeez, this is some weird gross deviantART fetish shit, isn't it?" and find out that no, it's not. It's literally just art of fat girls?

Here is a section for buttons. If you would like to share my website via button, you can use any of the below:

<a href="https://neocities.org/site/fatgrrlz"><img alt="an 88x31 button for fatgrrlz.neocities.org." src="[INSERT GIF HERE]"></a>

<a href="https://neocities.org/site/fatgrrlz"><img alt="an 88x31 button for fatgrrlz.neocities.org." src="[INSERT GIF HERE]"></a>

<a href="https://neocities.org/site/fatgrrlz"><img alt="an 88x31 button for fatgrrlz.neocities.org." src="[INSERT GIF HERE]"></a>

See below for a list of sites I find cool and want to share. Please note that some may not be suited for all visitors - if applicable, please refer the site's landing page to determine if it's okay for you. Also, all buttons have been resized via CSS to be slightly larger. You may need to refresh the page if they do not load.

Kozel

Here are the webrings and cliques that I am a part of!

I wanted to dedicate a section to various non-Neocities websites that I want to share.

Website Resources

Accessible Net Directory - A directory and website dedicated to accessibility on the Indie Web.

Responsive Web Directory - another directory dedicated to accessibility with additional resources including website templates.

Solaria's Web Accessibility Guide - A guide with some great breakdowns on semantic HTML and other accessibility features. Also includes links on the bottom to additional tools and guides.

You Should Care About Accessibility - another guide/directory for accessibility. Also by the same person that made Inaccessible, a page that provides examples of practices to avoid with your website.

Hobbyist Resources

Antique Pattern Library - a HUGE collection of historical patterns and guides. Great for hobbyists (I like purusing their beadwork articles), but also great for those simply interested in what their favorite hobbies were like in the 1900's. They come in multiple languages, denoted to the right.

Libby - So you know that app where you can get access to a ton of e-books? It works on desktop. YMMV though as I've had some books bug out hard. Regardless, perform your civic duty (assuming you're American or wherever else has libraries that use Libby) and use that library card.

BreezeWiki - Unfucks Wikia wikis. Also works by replacing "fandom.com" with "breezewiki.com" in your URL.

OneLook Thesaurus - Are you a writer? Use this. Oh my god, use this. You can search for words and phrases based on a word, phrase, description or pattern.

Little-Details on DreamWidth - Previously Little Details on LiveJournal. A community dedicated to fact checking and research for fiction. A great resource for writers.

TGCG's Handy Randy Tips for a MS Painless Experience Listen yes I know the blog is a Homestuck blog but ignore that for five minutes. It's various small but incredibly world-shattering tips and tricks for use in drawing in MS Paint. I don't really use MS Paint much but by god if you do, read up this shit.

Manga-and-Stuff's Arbook Collection Masterpost - Scans of various anime, manga, and video game artbooks.

Lolita

Pokemon Lolita Project - A cool blog dedicated to making Lolita coords inspired by Pokemon. Some coords do approach ita territory if that matters to you (it doesn't for me in the slightest), but regardless, it's super cool seeing coords inspired by your favorite 'mons.

Lolibrary - A database containing tons of articles of Lolita fashion and accessories. You can search by brands, colorways, and even specific details. A great resource whether you're a Lolita or simply an artist or admirer wanting some references.

This is where I'll put all the results for any funny personality tests or "What X Are You?" type tests I take :3

What Pokemon are You?
Togetic

Cheese Test
Chevres

You are a cheese of different shapes, sizes, and textures. You are dependable, generous, and modest. You want to please everyone, but sometimes you have trouble remembering yourself.

Which Project Voltage Miku are you?
bug type miku

You got bug miku! you're reserved and quiet, and you enjoy the company of others from afar. your friends are comfortable just being in the same room as you, even if you dont have any set plans! youre very artistic and you're also like, the funniest person ever once someone gets to know you.

answer some questions and I'll tell you what type of flower you are
Peonies - White on White by Gregory Packard