Bradford native Greg Carruthers is a professional actor and choreographer who has been working on a visibility project for the past two years to help promote body positivity in the performing arts.
While working in the industry, Carruthers said he started to hate himself and his image, noting the pressures to conform to a certain body image.
“It’s a pillar of our society, it’s the last acceptable prejudice," he said.
This discovery was not something Carruthers experienced secondhand, having roles promised to him on physical conditions – like losing weight – which did not benefit his personal or professional life.
“I was told I would get the role if I was able to lose some weight. And that was something that I accepted and understood to be fact because that’s what the language is in our industry," he said. "If I was working any other job, if my boss had told me to lose weight that’s a human rights issue, right?”
Carruthers recognized the lack of diversity in performing arts and made it his mission to break down prejudices by developing the visibility project EveryBODY On Stage. The project which launched at the end of 2020 aims to “reduce the harm done by body dysmorphia and disordered eating on the long-term health of artists to encourage the positive representation of all body types on stage.”
Every week, he will showcase performers over social media in an 'Artist Spotlight', with a video of their performance as well as an interview sharing their experiences with fat phobias and body dysmorphia in an effort to start a dialogue around the lack of positive plus-sized representation in the arts.
After the launch of the project in 2020, Carruthers started noticing positive changes in himself. He stopped comparing himself to the other dancers in the mirrors at rehearsals, which inspired him to inspire and empower others.
“It’s really empowering for me, to empower myself and others. This is who I am, this is what I do. And there’s work for me in this space if people would just look a little deeper," he said.
His mission has inspired several people, like Charlene Lauren who attended some of the EveryBODY on Stage shows last year. She says they left a lasting impact on the way she thinks and understands representation in the arts.
“It has been an incredible resource for me in helping to unlearn anti-fat bias and fat-phobia. It has been a stepping stone for me to better understand individual and community experiences in this area so that I can think critically and do better for my friends, family, and others in my life," she said.
Katy Fudge, a hometown friend of Carruthers, has been following the project and has also been attending both live and virtual shows. She feels inspired by his work, and how it will benefit viewers – regardless of their age. One show in particular that stuck with her, was a recent comedy show by EveryBODY on Stage, that sparked a chain of important topics for viewers to consider.
"This is such an incredible way to encourage a conversation about fat-phobia and discrimination in the arts. I thought about the impact the EveryBODY on stage mission can have on the mental health of young kids in the arts who don't feel like they belong because of their body, skin and gender identity," said Fudge.
And while Carruthers' mission impacts many people within art communities and beyond, there has been a positive impact even closer to home – with his own family.
Carruthers says his mission has only just begun. He wants to tell aspiring performers not to dim their light, and that “representation matters. You can be that representation for someone you didn’t see when you were a kid."
Carruthers, who studied music theatre performance at St. Lawrence College and has been working in the performing arts industry for 10 years, vows to continue to let inspiring others, inspire him.
His sister, Andrea Carruthers, says: “I am so proud of the work Greg is doing with EveryBODY on Stage. Being able to sit in the crowd of a show and relate to the character on stage, the way they look, who they represent, different races, genders, cultural experiences – You can relate in several different ways. It is so important.”
To learn more about the EveryBODY project, visit their website here.
