Don't Eff with Tess

Being a plus size woman is no easy feat.  However, I realize that being a plus size woman in the spotlight is even more challenging.  For some your too big, for others your not big enough.  As a BBB woman, you already have enough to worry about but to decide to put yourself in a public position to represent the millions of plus size woman around the world takes courage.  That person should be treated with a certain level of respect and gratitude.  So, when I saw the below message and photo by Tess Holiday, one of my favorite plus size models, I knew I had to share. To all of my BBB ladies, let's remember to be thankful for those like Tess and proud of the strides that we've made.  We don't want to go back to our days of department store shopping, and shirts that look like furniture. :)




Photo by Catherine Harbour

"I've heard that I don't "represent" plus bodies a lot recently & it makes me sad. Unfortunately, I'm literally the ONLY visibly FAT plus size mainstream model. Do I have a small face? Yes! Blame it on genetics 💁🏻 But the rest of me is big, fat & all of that.
I don't have toned arms, stomach, butt, belly or thighs.. Far from it- my body jiggles when I walk, PROUDLY. In photos yes, things are smoothed, I'm under good lighting with a talented team like this photo. However I con...stantly post photos without all of that & at the end of the day I'm still the shortest (5'5) & biggest (US 22) working plus size model doing the best I can. I have always used my career as a way to being awareness to the lack of diversity in the modeling industry & in mainstream media. Our focus should be on seeing different races, body types & genders when we flip through magazines or turn on our TV's instead of picking apart those who are trying to make a difference. I know one day there will be people of all sizes standing next to me, changing the world. 🙌🏼 🌎🙌🏽 🌍🙌🏾 🌏🙌🏿 ‪#‎effyourbeautystandards‬" - Tess Holiday