Here we realize that the messages that are being sent every day create a whole lot of Size Issues. And other issues. Editorials, articles, commercials and even our own communities tell us things about acceptable body diversity every day. We like to celebrate when these things are broken down, and the way we can celebrate ourselves.
And of course, people are welcome to submit!
My name is Rose/Daskaea, age 24, US Size 18, festively plump and fucking fabulous! You can find out more about me at daskaea.tumblr.com. Thanks for loving us beautiful ladies!
30th May 2012
Reblogged From chubby-bunnies
Notes: 52
I felt so beautiful, and for once, I wasn’t self-conscious. I’m slowly accepting my body type, and am learning to love myself. :)
(Source: iridessence)
Vagina Monologues 2012, Dress Rehearsal Action Shot.
I was self-conscious about that photo at first honestly.
But then when my friends said that they loved it, I took a second look.
I realize that I like it.
FAT IS BEAUTIFUL.
RECLAIMING FAT.
yes! and that’s a rad dress! :)
what a goddamn awesome photo in so many ways.
- Camera: SONY DSC-HX100V
- Aperture: f/4.5
- Exposure: 1/80th
- Focal Length: 16mm
So I was super excited when I saw that Tess Munster had styled an editorial and been interviewed by SWAK, not just because she’s super present on Tumblr, but also because I’ve loved her style in lots of other shoots, primarily for Domino Dollhouse. She’s a model in the larger ranges, rather than the 10s and 12s that are more commonly seen, and that’s cool to have out there.
However, I was seriously disappointed when I read the article. First of all, the headline — advertising her “big ‘n sassy personality” — smacked a little bit of the ‘sassy’ stereotype that fat women are far too often subjected to. We take up space! That means we’re loud and opinionated! If negative, bitches: if positive, sassy friend, which graduates into no-nonsense maternal types. (This is even MORE prevalent as a stereotype among women of color.) But I handwaved and kept reading.
Although on the first page she espouses living a “happy, full and fashionable life” whether you are a “size 22, or larger”, once she starts describing the styles, this positivity fades into something really problematic. The first dress has a lot of positive traits - however Munster moves right into “it fits snug around my waist to hide my stomach - which isn’t flat and I like to camouflage.”
YOU MEAN A SIZE 22 DOESN’T HAVE A FLAT STOMACH? HEAVEN FORBID!
Also, if a reasonably well known plus size model has to “camouflage” her stomach to be beautiful - what the hell is this article suggesting that we NON model types are supposed to do?
If it were just one outfit, as well, it would be one thing, but several times in the copy mentions are made of “hiding midsection” (as well as “creating curves” and “elongating”). The overall impression is that only an hourglass shape is appropriate or beautiful, shortness is bad and nothing but a flat stomach will do.
And while I see how a plus size clothes company might write this kind of copy themselves, not realizing that a good handful of their customers are working on loving themselves the way they are, the fact is that most people are smart enough to know that an “A-line” or a “flowy fabric” will hide or enhance their curves - if they want to - but this article tells you that’s what you should be doing.
Sorry, Tess, but this is NOT body positivity. This is subscribing to the same old body standard - just several sizes up. Not only that, but it could be triggering for those trying to accept their body proportions. I’m disappointed in her, and I’m disappointed in SWAK for publishing it.
Little peak at my lace bodysuit. Of course it looks just like a lace top here but there will more to show later!
Oooh.
- Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
- Aperture: f/4
- Exposure: 1/40th
- Focal Length: 45mm
Don’t delete because I look Young!. Many kids call me fatass, but I’m one fatass that loves herself, and is determined to move on.
United states : Size 20/22 and proud ♥
Good for you!
(via PocketsandBows)
Brittany of PocketsandBows showing off some trends. Love the mint green jeans!
I’ve always avoided white because of my size but today I decided to try on a white sun dress at TJ Maxx. I ended up loving it, and I bought it! So here is a photo of me in my first white sun dress! It’s super flowy and soft and can’t wait for the weather to be warm enough to wear it!
I am a USA size 20/22.
You are super pretty and I love your dress! I always thought that white rule was stupid.
- Camera: SONY DSC-HX100V
- Aperture: f/2.8
- Exposure: 1/60th
- Focal Length: 4mm
What I’m Wearing: Dress- ASOS, Jean Jacket- Old Navy, Boots- Not Rated via Zappos, Handbag- Betsey Johnson, Watch- Betsey Johnson, Sunglasses- Delias, Flower clip- Forever 21
One of my favorite spring looks so far!
Bright and springy and adorable!
- Camera: Nikon D3x
- Aperture: f/6.3
- Exposure: 1/160th
- Focal Length: 85mm
Hi all, I’m Kate. Long time lurker on this wonderful blog. It’s so inspirational. I love to see everyone’s posts and how everyone is unique in their own skin and all absolutely beautiful.
I have suffered from body image issues ever since I could remember. It’s been hard for me to accept who I am, what I look like and my flaws. It came to a point where I told myself enough is enough.
This blog made me realize that imperfections make you perfect and I shouldn’t be ashamed of anything. Not of my cellulite on my legs, not of my body hair on my stomach, not of my small breasts.
I have always disliked the bottom half of my body. I’ve called it terrible things, including wobbly, big, jiggly and fat as have others. But now, I appreciate my wobbly parts, accept my flaws and ignore the hateful comments.
I’ve grown to like my thighs, I call them juicy! I’ve come to learn how to appreciate and love my body by seeing others do the same.
Love the skin you’re in, you deserve to feel great about yourself.
- Camera: Nikon COOLPIX L120
- Aperture: f/3.1
- Exposure: 1/1th
- Focal Length: 4mm
<3
I desperately want to know where this dress is from. I would totally layer it with a big petticoat or a lolita skirt all Tim Burtony…or maybe a leather jacket and boots.
(Source: rethickulous)
I’m published at RoleReboot!
I go to one of the most prestigious universities in the world in one of the greatest cities in the world, and I spend a good chunk of every day worrying about where I sit in class.
You see, I’m too fat for most desks. I mean, I fit in them, but it’s not comfortable. I try to show up to physical chemistry a few minutes early, hoping to get a seat in the back row where there are a few chairs that aren’t attached to the tables. With stadium seating in lecture halls, I try to get a left-handed desk next to a right-handed desk. I put my bag on the chair next to me, mostly as a ruse for claiming an extra inch or two for my shoulders and ass to hang over. The desks are clearly not made to fit my body. I feel like a foot jammed into a stripy sandal one size too small. It fits, but there is skin and fat and flesh oozing out; I look like bread rising. It’s not stopping me from showing up to class and participating, but it’s a constant reminder that the space around me is not meant for my body.
It’s more than just sitting in class; it’s trying to maneuver in small spaces. Walking to the front of the room is a maze. I try to turn and contort my body to fit between the desks scattered about the room, but it’s not meant to be. My hips will nudge something and a classmate’s papers end up on the floor. I smile, apologize, and continue to shuffle my way to the front. If I finish an exam before the requisite time, I spend the rest of the class period looking around plotting my exit strategy. Can I find a clear path to turn in the exam without disturbing those around me?
It gets worse in winter. Like my classmates, I show up with coats and scarves and gloves and a bag with books and papers and who knows what else. I get to my seat and try to gracefully settle in. I look around to see how my peers manage. Somehow, I don’t see them struggling with coats and jackets and papers. It’s just me. I am reminded of the years I’ve spent crying in dressing rooms. I get a garment most of the way on—and then get stuck. It won’t zip, or it pinches and tugs. I can’t stop loathing myself for taking up too much space.
I don’t fit in in non-literal ways wither. I can get used to asking people to move and finding a larger seat. What’s more frustrating and disheartening is to tell people that I’m into radical body politics and fat liberation, and get a blank stare or a well-intended “but you’re not fat” in response. Yes, I am fat. It’s important that I use my own words to describe my body, so I’m using the word fat as a political statement. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with being fat, and I’m not interested in being slim. My government has classified my body as “morbidly obese,” I wear plus-sized clothing, and I get unsolicited diet advice from strangers. I have to look far and wide (ha!) for an image of my body that is not intended to cause shame and fear. I am fat. This is quite the spiel, and it’s only the introduction. (Just wait until I start talking about intersections with race and gender, or the diet industrial complex, or the conflation of health and beauty. That’s a lot for my classmates to handle.)
It’s not my job to explain my fat. And there’s no end to unlearning body shame and fat hate. These issues are complicated. Health, social stigma, fashion, desk chairs: It’s all political, and it’s all connected in really complicated ways.
Let me be clear, this is not abstract theory. I have to live this. Each and every day I am utterly outraged. The low-cal, low-fat ice cream at the grocery store, the “slimming” jeans at Torrid, the casual dismissal of certain foods as “unhealthy.” Even some of my closest friends doubt some of my tenets. I cannot sit idly back and let it all continue on. I want to stand up in the middle of a lecture on the “dangers” of the “obesity epidemic” and scream “Riots, not Diets!” with all my fury. I want to bring a whistle to class and interrupt every moment that’s racist, sexist, body-phobic, and hateful. I want a revolution in the streets where fatties will gather wearing sexy clothes to burn diet books and create a new world order where all bodies are valid. I want a world where it’s not my body that is too big; it’s the world that’s not big enough.
For starters, I just want a desk that fits.
Photo by Gary Barnes.
- Camera: SONY SLT-A65V
- Aperture: f/3.5
- Exposure: 1/15th
- Focal Length: 27mm