Tag: curvy girls

+Size Matters: Phat Girlz

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Growing up in the United States made me accustomed to the Westernized standard of feminine beauty: thin, tall, of fair skin and straight hair. It never once occurred to me that my body type, skin tone and even hair could be considered the epitome of beauty someplace else. That surprise came when I traveled to Jamaica, W.I. back in 2013 for a conference.

Ironically, my workshop dealt with being single and I had started by telling the women stories of my unsuccessful dating life. One of the mature ladies at one point asked why my last relationship didn’t work out and I responded by saying that the young man had a particular type and I didn’t fit it due to my weight. I followed that by explaining that the unfortunate reality is that most of the men I am/have been attracted to just aren’t interested in women that look like me. At saying that the entire group of 60 women fell silent.

Once the workshop was over I was approached by two of the ladies (who were thin, curvy and model-status beautiful) said that I should not be so hung out for not being “the perfect size 8” because on the island men preferred women that looked like me over them. I was stunned. Of course the idea that beauty standards were not the same around the world was something that had been suggested to me prior to this trip when I was  a teenager back in 2006, via a film, but I figured it was just a fantasy created for the sole purpose of giving the story of a plus size protagonist a happy ending. That film of course was Phat Girlz.
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Summer Lights

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There is nothing better than unplanned and spontaneous time with friends, especially in the summer. This week the weather in NYC has been very forgiving, so a friend and I took advantage by taking a nice stroll through Astoria, Queens. It felt great to spend some time catching up after spending so much time away from each other with our hectic work schedules. It was doubly special because the casual outing gave me an excuse to wear a piece I got from the first Fashion to Figure sample sale I attended back in February.front 111880982_10207432904128586_829425772_n Continue reading →

My Two Cents: “Curvy” or “Plus Size”?

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The hashtag droptheplus has bought widespread attention as to whether or not women larger than a size 10 should be called/considered plus size as well as whether or not the term “plus size” should be dropped entirely. Personally, I have made my peace with being considered “plus- size” and really the only negative stigma I associate with the term are some of the fashions that are reminiscent of animal print, bedazzled maternity-inspired wear pushed to plus-size consumers with the lie, “Look we tried and you didn’t bite.”

Though created to simply describe clothing bigger than the acceptable straight size ideals, the term still holds incredibly negative associations regardless of how far the body positive movement has gone in the past decade. Our culture vilifies fat and fatness due to being linked to allusions of laziness, and ugliness. It leads to assumptions of one’s personality and behaviors as such a woman with fat* is one who clearly does not care about their appearance or attracting potential partners. They are the ones that have (supposedly) given up, and are responsible for making obesity an epidemic. Thus, plus-size is not a celebratory term, but rather a derogatory one that has lead to an increased fear of being recognized as such. Continue reading →