Leaving Body Positivity Behind for Fat Acceptance
Cute fats, skin rolls, and why I’m not the right kind of fat to be body positive
This summer, I posted photos of myself on Instagram in my first-ever two piece swimsuit. In some of the photos, a blindingly white triangle of belly is visible, and for the first time in my life I am okay with that. I used hashtags like #takingupspace, #fatbodiesmatter, #fatgirllife and #fatpositive, but I did not tag it as a body positive post.
As I’ve gotten more familiar with what it means to accept the body I live in, and to advocate for people who look and feel the way I do, I’ve realized that I’m not the right kind of fat to be body positive. I don’t see myself reflected in the bodies society labels as “plus sized,” “curvy,” or “a little extra.” Being tall with a 40D bust, a size 14 waist, and a little extra junk in the trunk is a far cry from being a size 26 or 28 from head to toe.
This post was shared in one of my Facebook groups this week, and at first I chose not to comment. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, though. When I see a hashtag that says #normalizenormalbodies and then the body in the…
