…”FAT!” I say. Just as my Aunt shooshes me with an, “at ta tah da.” As her hand slides up to separate these words from her two young daughters sitting next to me, she whispers, “we don’t say that word.” As if I had just made a slur, or deemed someone “mentally challenged,” in less favorable words.
So in a very matter of fact way, I make note that I was indeed, fat. I am fat.
Well…I prefer squishy. Regardless, I find it more offensive to tie an anvil to the 60% of the population that is overweight, and just throw them to the sea. Pretending that this group doesn’t exist, by removing the word from our mouths, and them from our thoughts.
That is, until one of these plus-size beauties pops up in the media to represent the whole of us. Reminding humanity that this is what we look like. Not who we are.
The fashion industry is opening their door, more and more lately. Big time magazines are featuring “larger” models, and even shocking the world with spots on the cover. Yet, they are of course, flawless, thanks to over re-touching. They are more voluptuous than your typical straight size model, but still fit, and still photographed at their most flattering angle, to appear slender.
In many ways, this saddens me. Gives me hope at the same time, but breaks my heart for young girls and women, like myself. Women who still do not fit the mold that we see plastered over billboards, televisions, and magazines. Even if it is now including some plus-size ladies.
I have a difficult time as a plus-size model for this reason. I aspire to be out there, working. To be such a good model, that I’m constantly shooting, and showing other women that this body…this body is beautiful. This body is not fit, is not proportioned, does not include typical long hair, and seductive lips. This body is just as imperfect, and perfect as any other woman’s body, because that is what other females need to see in the media. To know that their bodies are ever changing, but in this moment, they are gorgeous! Maybe not as physically healthy as they are told to be, but sane, at the very least. That even after years of being saturated with weight-loss commercials, criticism, and a constant desire to be something that we are not…we can finally get a message of acceptance. So that we may accept ourselves, as we are, in this moment. Beautiful in our flaws, and loving in our every thought.
To Beth Ditto & Tess Munster….for living outside the box, and being damn good at it!
~ You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Enjoy every moment that comes, dear ladies. :]
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Tags: Beth Ditto, fashion, fat, plus size, plus size modeling, tess munster, Vogue, vogue italy
Most importantly…have fun!
