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Memphis, TN photographer and college professor Haley Morris-Cafiero is accustomed to fat-shamers and people mocking her in public — usually behind her back when they think she can’t see them. She’s also immune to the nasty looks she receives from people just for being in their paths. Like one-third of Americans , Morris-Cafiero is overweight. But when confronted with small-minded people and bigotry, she doesn’t react in anger as many people would. She creates art.

Haley Morris-Cafiero started “Wait Watchers” — a series of photographs of people mocking her behind her back — in 2010 because she was interested in capturing on film something she already knew:

“If the large women in historical art pieces were walking around today, they would be scorned and ridiculed.” (Salon)

“Wait Watchers” began when she was doing a series of photographs of herself in public places where overweight people are most uncomfortable – swimming pools, restaurants, etc…As she was going through the film later, she noticed an image in which a man was standing behind her smirking. An idea was born.

Everywhere she travels, she sets up her camera in plain sight with a tripod or has an assistant take hundreds of photos. She later goes through the images looking for reactions. She says that it seems that people feel anonymous even though there is a camera in plain sight. She explains her feelings about people’s reactions:

“I don’t get hurt when I look at the images. I feel like I am reversing the gaze back on to them to reveal their gaze. I’m fine with who I am and don’t need anyone’s approval to live my life. I only get angry when I hear someone comment about my weight and the image does not reflect the criticism. That’s frustrating: when I’didn’t?get the shot.”?(Salon)

Morris-Cafiero says “the camera gives me my voice.” She has struggled with her weight her entire life. An active soccer player in high school, she began to put on weight when she went to college and stopped playing soccer. Her weight problems don’t stem from overeating or inactivity, however; she was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

She reacted as many women would and began dieting and exercising, but she quickly came to the conclusion that berating herself with self-criticism was ineffective and she learned to love herself for who she is.

Active today with a demanding work schedule, Morris-Cafiero eats healthily and stays positive. Her self-love and acceptance doesn’t always transmit to other people, however. She recalls a 2011 incident in Barcelona.

“In my peripheral vision, I saw a teen girl waiting for the signal to cross the street. As I stood there, eating my ice cream, I heard a repetitive ?SLAP, SLAP, SLAP? of a hand on skin. I signaled to my assistant to shoot. It was only when I returned home to Memphis and got the film developed that I realized the sound was the girl hitting her belly as she watched me eat. She did this over and over.”?(Salon)

Since her project has begun to receive attention, she’s found gratification in the emails from fans who praise her work. As a 15-year-old girl from Belgium said in an email, the “Wait Watchers” images make her and other people “feel better and not care about what others think and live my life.?

Morris-Cafiero encourages people to interpret the images as they choose. In her words:

?”I’m just trying to start a conversation.”

She has a simple message to young women who are struggling with weight and body image issues:

Love yourself as you are. It’s okay to want to change yourself by losing weight or wearing make up, but only if you want to. And not because you are trying to cover up self-loathing.

We’re talking.

Below are some of the best images from the “Wait Watchers” project. Stay tuned for her book and an upcoming series of photographs addressing “self-improvement” situations suck as exercise, sporting goods, and makeovers. To follow Haley Morris-Cafiero’s projects, visit?her?website. You can also like her Facebook page. All images copyright Haley Morris-Cafiero and used with permission.

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Tiffany Willis is a fifth-generation Texan and the founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal America. An unapologetic member of the Christian Left, she has spent most of her career actively working with ?the least of these? and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. She’s passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics she discusses,?like her?Facebook page,?follow her on Twitter, or?connect with her via LinkedIn. She also has?a?grossly neglected personal blog?and a?literary quotes blog that is a labor of love. Find her somewhere and join the discussion.