On a recent Tuesday at Bake Me Happy, four women order lattes and scones before settling into zigzag-patterned bean bags and couches.

鈥淏ake Me Happy is fat-friendly,鈥� Chinn explains, as her three co-founders pull out their laptops and cellphones. 鈥�(Fat is) a word that describes adipose tissue, which is fat tissue, which we all have in abundance.鈥�

The women are the founders of , and they鈥檝e come to this Merion Village caf茅 to plan a pool party for fat women.

Founded just a few months ago, Fat Babes Club Of Columbus is already making a big splash in the Midwest and around the country 鈥� they even appeared on this month.

Krystal Orr, Hannah Godown, Jeannette Burchfield and Elizabeth Chinn met on the internet. Chinn says they鈥檙e all fat women who blog about fashion on Instagram.

鈥淲e all just really organically met for coffee, and it was just like, 鈥榃e鈥檙e all obsessed with each other,鈥欌€� Chinn says. 鈥淲e realized there鈥檚 a big deficit in our community here in Columbus that we don鈥檛 really have anything that represents people of size.鈥�

Fat Babes Club Of Columbus wants to fill that gap, and summer is the perfect time: It鈥檚 swimsuit season, which can be especially difficult for plus-sized people. Magazine headlines and Instagram posts promote ab workouts and diets for a 鈥渂ikini ready鈥� body.

But at their pool party, every body is bikini ready.

鈥淐all Me Fat鈥�

Godown says that, though forming the club itself was a no-brainer, they debated over whether to use the term 鈥渇at鈥� to describe the club. 

鈥淚 thought people would get, like, scared and not want to be a part of it,鈥� Godown says. 鈥淪o I was like, maybe 鈥榩lus-sized鈥� babes because that鈥檚 a softer term.鈥� 

Godown says she was bullied growing up for being fat. 

鈥淓ven when we were little, our moms said, 鈥楧on鈥檛 say fat. That鈥檚 a bad word,鈥欌€� Godown says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a bad word anymore. We鈥檙e identifying as fat. We鈥檙e taking the word back.鈥�

Orr now hopes people will use 鈥渇at鈥� positively.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 put that fear behind the word, if you don鈥檛 put that hurt behind the word, it鈥檚 not gonna hurt me,鈥� Orr says. 鈥淐all me fat.鈥�

Hosting a pool party, they felt, was in the spirit of that up-front attitude. Chinn says the pool environment can prove challenging when they鈥檝e grown up hearing that fatness is something to fix.

鈥淏odies like ours are sad images and 鈥榖efore鈥� images and weight loss images,鈥� Chinn says. 

She says they want to replace that with a more carefree image.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 see bodies that look like ours moving and being active and frolicking at pools and hanging out with babes and flirting,鈥� Chinn laments. 

A New Signature Event 

More than 150 people frolicked and flirted at the first-ever 鈥淏ody Positive Pool Party鈥� on June 22. They came from around Ohio, West Virginia and Indiana.

Alysse Dalessandro drove down for the event from Cleveland.

鈥淚 have traveled all over the country to go to plus-sized and size-inclusive events,鈥� Dalessandro says. 鈥淪o to know that there was one finally being organized only two hours away, honestly was nothing.鈥�

Kelly Nicholas came from Rootstown near Kent State University. 

鈥淚鈥檝e been wanting something like that local to our community for a while in Ohio,鈥� Nicholas says. 鈥淲ell, there is no community where I live. It鈥檚 basically me, I鈥檓 all by myself, in my bikini everywhere I go. In crop tops, and needless to say, I get a lot of stares.鈥�

Burchfield says the overwhelming positive response means the Fat Babes plan to make the pool party a signature event.

鈥淭hey just want something else,鈥� Burchfield says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e like, 鈥榃hen鈥檚 the next event? What can I do to help?鈥欌€�

A More Serious Turn 

Chinn says while the fun vibe of the pool party is important, Fat Babes Club Of Columbus hope to address some more serious issues. 

鈥淲hether it鈥檚 because of accessibility issues, not having access to a vehicle that can transport you safely,鈥� Chinn says. 鈥淣ot having access to spaces that can literally hold your body safely, having physical complications in conjunction to being a person of size.鈥�

For now, the Fat Babes are loud and proud, posting images of fat bodies on Instagram and Facebook. They鈥檙e currently working on a website with a resource list of fat-friendly providers for things like health care and salons.

鈥淥ur vision is all about building community resources and visibility right here in Columbus for people of size,鈥� Chinn says.

Fat Babes Club Of Columbus will be back at the pool soon, with another party scheduled for Saturday, August 10.