Excuse my fat, please

     A business woman should dress professional, an astronaut must dress for outerspace, and a firefighter must dress for the heat. But a fat person? What do they dress for? Misery? Disguise? Or do they simply dress for very same reason that any other human being would--fashion, presentation, personality, etc? I think we can all agree as human beings that we dress in order to 1.) not be running around bucked naked 2.) in order to reflect our personality and 3.) in order to look good and feel good about ourselves.  Should fat people be excluded from any of the above reasons for wearing clothing? I think not.  However, I have found this growing trend pop-up in the plethora of plus-size fashion blogs that are out there in which bloggers are writing "disclaimers"  that indicate that although they are plus size people who love fashion, they are not trying to encourage others to be/stay fat.

       Society has conditioned us to view fat people in a very particular way--lumpy, unattractive, low self-esteem, and often times funny.  Moreover, we have been conditioned to believe that being fat or overweight in any way destines one to have life-threatening health issues.  None of the above is either completely or always true.  Frankly, I'm very irritated with the fact that my fellow curvy and/or plus-size ladies cannot write a blog post, put on a pair of shorts, or whatever else they feel like doing without being bashed for promoting an "unhealthy lifestyle." A healthy lifestyle means eating healthy foods and getting regular exercise. That has NOTHING to do with how a person decides to dress their body. Furthermore, there are plenty of people fat or not who DO NOT do this. In fact, at well 5'9" 1/2 inches and weighing in well over 200 lbs., I was, at one point, running the mile in under 11 minutes, playing basketball, and making pretty damn good attempts at the flex arm hang.  As a matter of fact, I've NEVER been skinny a day in my life, but I always participated in sports and I loved my fruits, vegetables, and yogurt.  So why hate on fat people? Because society perpetuates a very strong stigma about weight, which makes all people at any size insecure about their weight. Those insecure people find consolation in picking at those who are bigger than them. With a social environment like the one we live in, who would want to see a dude or chick twice your size picking up a guy/girl whose never even looked your way?

      As a fat girl who grew up with weight of my weight looming over my head, I realized that all of the efforts (some being very negative and hurtful) my family and peers used to get me to lose weight were more harmful than helpful.  When people say, "you need to lose weight because you're unhealthy," I never believe them. You don't know a damn thing about my health. And I highly doubt that you're actually concerned about it.  What you're really trying to tell me is "you'd look better if you weren't fat" or "you would be a better person if you were skinny." Well, the next time someone feigns concerns about my weight, they will more than likely get a very polite telling-off.  I'm not going to sit around and apologize or feel bad about my weight. God made all of us in different shapes and sizes for a reason that I cannot explain.  Just like YOU may have been born with flat abs and did nothing to warrant having them, some others were born naturally with extra weight on them.  Nobody is perfect. No one ever will be.  The important thing is that we ALL focus on what is best for our bodies--eating healthy foods and exercising regularly.

       And I'm going to tell you all a little secret about myself--I feel better about myself now than I did 60 lbs smaller ago.  Why? Because I couldn't wait on losing weight in order to be happy or feel good about myself.  As a matter of fact, I do MORE things that are good for me when I feel good about myself. Fat or not, I'm beautiful and i'm going to say what I want to say, wear what I want to wear, and do whatever the hell it is I  want to do.  I am working everyday to FREE myself from the vicious stereotypes and myths, which have made my weight a debilitating focal point in my life.  I will free myself from the thoughts and feelings that have held me in devastating insecurity for so long. I am beautiful, and I love myself--I tell myself this every time some fleeting negative thought about my looks enters my mind.  So to all of the haters and all of the narrow-minded people out there who are trying to condemn  plus-size fashionistas, focus your efforts on being SECURE within yourself. Being healthy not includes your diet and activity, but it also hinges on having a positive outlook on one's self no matter where you are in your life. For those of you who truly are concerned about the health and well-being of human beings, educate yourself thoroughly and realize that weight  may not be the biggest battle (how about we talk about the limited availability of fresh and wholesome food choices to poor people? Or the fact that our readily available food choices are bogged down with artificial fillers and flavorings?)

       Welp, until next time, XOXOXO!!