Appetite for Change Project, by clinical psychologist Lumen Gorrie, works to centre and uplift the voices, needs, and experiences of those so often overlooked, dismissed, or harmed by the mainstream — and to challenge the systems, assumptions, and silences that shape how we understand, talk about, and respond to eating, feeding, body, and care.
Grounded in lived, living, and professional experience, this project exists because the so-called “gold standards” aren’t good enough. This project centres the realities and perspectives of those routinely excluded, pathologised, or erased — including neurodivergent, queer, trans and gender diverse, chronically ill, disabled, and otherwise marginalised people — and they’re working toward care that is truly inclusive, affirming, intersectional, and just.
Appetite for Change is developing and organising “Often Overlooked”, an online conference focussed on eating disorders/body image concerns amongst LGBTQIA+ and other marginalised communities. Eating/body image concerns are significantly higher amongst LGBTQIA+ populations, yet their needs are often dismissed/excluded in research, healthcare, education, and support due to cisheteronormativity, ableism, bias, and systemic barriers.
They have received a Pride Foundation Australia small grant towards the development of this conference.
The conference will explore intersections with gender, queerness, disability, chronic illness, race, body size, trauma, poverty, and systemic harm. It aims to address urgent gaps, create more inclusive, affirming understandings/care, foster connection visibility, and encourage systemic change. It will run in late Oct/early Nov 2025.
