Body-positivity

Not even orchestrated hate can keep Grammy-winning singer Lizzo from loving the body she was blessed with. A video of the Detroit native lip-syncing in a bikini was removed from a popular social media platform, and now she’s calling the company out for body-shaming. The 31-year-old artist posted her lip-sync of Erin McMillen‘s cover of “Tonight You Belong to Me” on TikTok on Tuesday. Shortly after she noticed the video was removed, she created another post to put TikTok on notice that she has been paying attention to which videos they blocked.  “Tiktok keeps taking down my videos of me in my bathing suits,” she wrote. “But allows other videos with girls in bathing suits. I wonder why?”@lizzo YOU KNOW, SHE KNOWS, like look what followed her video about bikinis! I’m shook ! @tiktok_uk @tiktok_us SORT IT OUT #LIZZO #tiktokexposed pic.twitter.com/WjJeyVNthD— Amy (@Amy48151539) March 4, 2020 At the end of Lizzo’s video, a Twitter user showed a clip of popular TikToker Charli D’Amelio, driving home her point. D’Amelio created a clip of her dancing in a bikini that landed her on the app’s trending list.  What exactly is the threshold for governance on matters like this?According to TikTok’s community guidelines, it bans all sexually explicit or gratifying content. It deems sexually explicit content that commits, promotes, or glorifies sexual solicitation or sexual objectification. Users are prohibited from creating posts that show human genitalia, female nipples — male nipples are OK for some reason — or buttocks.  The community guidelines don't clearly state how Lizzo's video may have been determined offensive compared to D'Amelio's.In a recent interview with the Rolling Stone, Lizzo revealed in the past she's struggled with body dysmorphia, a mental health disorder in which a person obsesses over a perceived body flaw. She said she’s grown from the experience and is happy to join allies working toward the same thing in their lives.  “I’ve come to terms with body dysmorphia and evolved,” she said. “The body-positive movement is doing the same thing. We’re growing together, and it’s growing pains, but I’m just glad that I’m attached to something so organic and alive.”At the NAACP Image Awards last month, Lizzo thanked big Black girls for their support and highlighted them as major inspirations for her work. “I just wanna shout out all of the big Black girls that I bring on stage with me. I do that because I want them to know they are the trophies. And since this is the final award of the night I don’t even want to make it about me. Every last one of you, you are the award. We are so special, we are such a beautiful people, this is just a reminder of all the incredible things that we can do. God bless you, and keep on being an award! Let’s go! Let’s go!” she said. Hopefully, the haters won’t make Lizzo disappear completely from social media, again. Earlier this year, she quit Twitter due to severe bullying and online...

Taking some much-needed self-care time with family doesn't mean Lizzo won't hop on Instagram to brighten our day with her positivity.The singer posted a video on Instagram on Monday dancing alongside her mom, Shari Johnson-Jefferson, while enjoying what appears to be some good ol' mother and daughter bonding time.The "Truth Hurts" singer donned a white towel wrapped around herself while her mom opted for a comfy white robe. The two both looked to be fresh-faced, chilling with no makeup on while grooving with coffee cups in their hands."Been in Detroit w family. This makes me smile. Hope u smiling too," the singer captioned the video. View this post on Instagram Been in Detroit w family. This makes me smile. Hope u smiling too.A post shared by Lizzo (@lizzobeeating) on Mar 2, 2020 at 9:27am PST According to People, the two were jamming to Trey Taylor and Armon Warren's cover of Mac Miller's "Knock Knock."Just as she is on stage, Lizzo made sure her dance moves were in sync with her mom for the short video.While she appeared to be enjoying some downtime, Lizzo has remained active on her Instagram, posting herself working out and maintaining her "bad b***h" award.The 31-year-old has been vocal about her challenges with self-acceptance while promoting body image positivity. In 2019, Lizzo challenged society's perception of plus-size women and the backhanded compliments she often receives for embracing her beauty. "When people look at my body and be like, 'Oh my God, she's so brave,' it's like, 'No, I'm not,'" the singer told Glamour. "I'm just fine. I'm just me. I'm just sexy."“If you saw Anne Hathaway in a bikini on a billboard, you wouldn't call her brave. I just think there's a double standard when it comes to women.”During her performances, the "Good As Hell" singer is known to sport a bodysuit along with her backup dancers who she recently applauded for being "trophies" during her NAACP Image Awards acceptance speech, as Blavity previously reported."I just wanna shout out all of the big Black girls that I bring on stage with me. I do that because I want them to know they are the trophies," she said.Despite pushing a narrative focused on body positivity, the Detroit native said she has struggled with critics' insults. “I don't like it when people think it's hard for me to see myself as beautiful. I don't like it when people are shocked that I'm doing it,” she said. At the beginning of the year, fitness guru Jillian Michaels thought it was her place to comment on the singer's health.“Why are we celebrating her body? Why does it matter? Why aren't we celebrating her music? ‘Cause it isn’t gonna be awesome if she gets diabetes,” Michaels said. “I’m just being honest. I love her music, my kid loves her music, but there’s never a moment when I’m like, ‘I’m so glad she’s overweight.’"Nevertheless, Lizzo continues to give us her a*s to kiss while living her best damn life in the face of adversity.In January, she gave us a bomb performance to "Watch Out For The Big Girls" during a show in Australia, proving that if there's ever a time to love yourself, it's...

Lizzo recently put the world on notice about society’s beauty double standards and fatphobia, and we honestly couldn’t agree more.In Glamour’s feature, the “Truth Hurts” songstress explained why she’s not so quick to accept the accolade of being “brave” for embracing her full figure. "When people look at my body and be like, 'Oh my God, she's so brave,' it's like, 'No, I'm not,'" the singer said. "I'm just fine. I'm just me. I'm just sexy."“If you saw Anne Hathaway in a bikini on a billboard, you wouldn't call her brave,” the Detroit native told Glamour. “I just think there's a double standard when it comes to women.”Breaking all the politics of respectability, Lizzo blew our minds Monday night during her MTV VMA performance. She performed her two singles, “Truth Hurts” and “Good as Hell,” as she flaunted in a shimmery yellow bodysuit with a big inflatable booty bouncing in the background.She admits that she hasn’t always been effortlessly confident. During an interview with The Breakfast Club, Lizzo shared that it was a “long process” to move past her insecurities and to love herself. While acknowledging that her aesthetic isn’t for everybody, the 31-year-old singer admits it’s not easy when critics challenge her self-acceptance. “I don't like it when people think it's hard for me to see myself as beautiful. I don't like it when people are shocked that I'm doing it,” she said.  View this post on Instagram 5 LEWKS IN ONE NIGHT!! Which ones ur favorite? Mines was 2 tbh sheeeeeesh 🥵😍A post shared by Lizzo (@lizzobeeating) on Aug 27, 2019 at 7:32pm PDTLizzo has been making music for the past nine years, including two hip-hop albums in 2013 and 2015. She said she still struggles to make a name for herself outside of the Pop/R&B realm.In early August, she ruffled some Twitter users' feathers after tweeting that she is often left out of conversations around rap and lyricism.“Sometimes I get pissed that there are people who call Future & Swae Lee rappers and still question whether or not I belong in the rap conversation…,” Lizzo wrote in a tweet on August 8 that has since been deleted due to fierce backlash. “But then I remember I have the #4 song in the country, laugh, go back to my dream job and log off.” Despite its tendency to ferociously drag people for opinions, Lizzo said that social media has opened doors for plus size women to be more visible and autonomous over their narratives in a way that has never been done before. “Let’s just make space for these women. Make space for me. Make space for this generation of artists who are really fearless in self-love. They're out here. They want to be free,” Lizzo said. The singer's ascent is just getting started. "Truth Hurts" reached the No.1 spot on Rolling Stone's Top 100 Charts. Congratulations,...

Julie and I sat in front of our plates of eggs sardou and cups of Café Du Monde coffee cataloging the ever-complicated details of our purgatorial relationship. Tucked away in a quiet corner table of the quaint 1900’s house turned New Orleans style breakfast and lunch eatery Lucille’s, in Boulder, CO, we paused our processing long enough to be taken with how little everything in the restaurant was.  The tablecloths, teacups, saucers… all of it, tiny. Except for us. We were big. Likely the biggest women in the restaurant of 80 or so diners. We might have been discussing this observation when I overheard the conversation of a table full of young university girls seated across from us. It is difficult for me to filter out the conversations of others. I am always catching snippets of the cousin that died last week or the doctor’s appointment that was slept through, the shopping plans for later in the day. I hear everything even when I am trying not to which means I am unfortunately often privy to an endless stream of body shaming commentary. I am far enough along in my radical self-love journey to know that diet talk is a toxic sludge folks seemed committed to wading in on a regular basis and even though I have managed to ex-communicate such dialogue from my own conversations I am constantly reminded that this topic is par for the course in the larger world. Body shame is on surround sound all the time. I have gotten pretty adept at filtering out the noise but today I could not.  And so, it was that I got to hear the full details of this table full of thin young white girls, discussing their attempts to lose weight. Julie and I raised our own voices in conversation, hoping we might suffocate the sound of the girl’s body shame banter until one of the girls declared loudly, “I would kill myself if my kids were fat.” Sandy Hook had not yet happened, but Columbine had. Trayvon Martin was still a small alive boy but Amadou Diallo had long ago been filled with 41 bullets and buried beneath six feet of sod.  “Me Too” had already sprouted from the mouth of Tarana Burke but had not yet become a Hollywood rallying cry for sexual assault but Sandra Fluke, a then law student had been called a slut and a prostitute by major television and radio personality Rush Limbaugh. A distinction which landed her on the receiving end of a presidential phone call wherein a black president apologized for the vicious and cruel things a white man said about her.  Rush Limbaugh, Eric Klebold, and the four officers that killed Amadou Diallo were all within popular consciousness. They were terrifying avatars for what one’s child might become if left to the wiles of this world and yet this young women’s biggest fear was not that her child might grow up and murder an innocent man or become a raging sexist or unleash a torrent of bullets on their unsuspecting classmates. No, this girl would kill herself if her children were fat. And this fact was so clarion and acceptable to her that she said it aloud in a crowded restaurant with not a single impulse to censor herself. In my new book, The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love I ask the reader “Who in your life is most impacted by your body shame?” I ask this question because we treat our bodies and our ideas about them like an island only inhabited by us, acting as if the waves of self-loathing don’t lap onto the shores of all we neighbor. Not only was this young girl preparing to despise the potential bodies of her not yet conceived children, she was simultaneously here in a breakfast café sharing with me all the ways that she would rather be dead than to even be related to someone with a body like mine. This is the contagion of body shame. It is transferred over dinner tables, dressing room stalls, employee breakroom conversations. We tell people how much we hate their bodies simply by sharing how much we hate our own. I wrestled with my own discomfort. What was I to do about the vitriol that had been inadvertently lobbed toward me, without any consideration of me? Today, my sense of dignity dictates my tongue, demands I speak up on behalf of my own humanity no matter how uncomfortable. And with that as the girls prepared to exit the restaurant I stopped them. “Hey, I overheard your conversation about how you would kill yourself if your kids were fat. I am fat and hearing that statement was deeply hurtful. It felt no different in my body than had you said you’d kill yourself if your kids brought home a black person. All of it says you would prefer death than any proximity to my body. I just needed you to know how painful that was.” She stammered and stuttered and apologized. I briefly shared about my work and invited her to spend some time at our website where we practice making a world for everybody and everybody. Who knows if she ever visited our site. All I know is that each of us is infected with the virus of body shame and hatred. The most powerful act you can take up to halt its spread, is to heal it inside yourself. The only known antidote is radical...

In an open letter to her mother and newborn daughter shared on Reddit, Serena Williams wrote heartfelt words about body positivity, and how she overcame people saying her body is too masculine.  "I've been called man because I appeared outwardly strong. It has been said that that I use drugs (No, I have always had far too much integrity to behave dishonestly in order to gain an advantage)," Williams wrote. "It has been said I don't belong in women's sports — that I belong in men's — because I look stronger than many other women do. (No, I just work hard and I was born with this badass body and proud of it)." The tennis superstar also wrote that she is proud that her daughter, Alexis Olympia, shares a few of her mother's features, including her "strong, muscular, powerful, sensational arms and body." Dear Mom, You are one of the strongest women I know. I was looking at my daughter (OMG, yes, I have a daughter 😳) and she has my arms and legs! My exact same strong, muscular, powerful, sensational arms and body. I don't know how I would react if she has to go through what I've gone through since I was a 15 year old and even to this day.... Read the rest on my @Reddit profile. Link in bio.A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Sep 19, 2017 at 11:20am PDT In the letter, Williams thanked her mother for demonstrating that beautiful women come in all shapes and sizes."I am proud we were able to show them what some women look like. We don't all look the same. We are curvy, strong, muscular, tall, small, just to name a few, and all the same: we are women and proud!"Now that she herself is a mother, Williams also wondered how her mother kept calm amidst members of the public calling her daughters harsh things. "Mom, I'm not sure how you did not go off on every single reporter, person, announcer and quite frankly, hater, who was too ignorant to understand the power of a black woman," she wrote. And she said that she hopes to be able to do the same. "Thank you for being the role model I needed to endure all the hardships that I now regard as a challenges — ones that I enjoy. I hope to teach my baby Alexis Olympia the same, and have the same fortitude you have had." Meet Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. You have to check out link in bio for her amazing journey. Also check out my IG stories 😍😍❤️❤️A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Sep 13, 2017 at 6:39am PDT You can read Williams' letter in full...

I love women. Every woman ever. On Earth and in the galaxy. We are the sustainers and creators of life. All of us are phenomenal in our own unique, special, magical way. So please believe me when I say that it is not my intent with this piece to express preference or priority of one type of woman over another, but rather raise awareness and appreciation of the “types” of women who are not as often identified as being the beautiful beings that they are: The Fluffy Girls. The Box-Shaped Girls. The Fluffy AND Box-Shaped Girls.We are teased with half-hearted exclamations of body positivity that encourage us to “love yourself just the way you are” and then, fourteen and a half minutes later, we are body-shamed. Likened to SpongeBob and busted cans of biscuits. Fatally diagnosed with Noassatall as we walk past a cohort of Shape Judges, and then forgotten about as the last few chuckles fade in our ears. We didn’t have enough hip-to-waist ratio for the hip cliques’ criteria. We are invisible in music video vixen world. We see our distant fluffy cousins strategically displayed like rare, courageous aliens in magazines, but only if the proportions are hourglass. We are left hanging by Casper the Vain Ghost after Tinder date meet-ups and stood-up on holidays. Texted at the midnight hour. Advised that we should love ourselves more than our weight implies. Frowned upon for not “covering up” when we do love ourselves. Told to calm down as we boldly strut while wearing our stretch mark stripes on stunning, smiling at the haters. We have to actually be qualified for jobs and promotions received. Wishing we had the privilege of being championed everywhere simply for achieving “ideal genetics” that we did not contribute to, earn, or work for at all. Compensating for our disadvantage with accomplishments and/or personality, if we’re lucky. This is not every Fluffy and/or Box-Shaped Girl’s experiences, but the experiences of many.As a result, it always surprises me when people tell me they admire my confidence. Probably because it’s an act most of the time, an ego defense mechanism, a protest. A shedding of years of ingrained self-hatred from the outside, insecurity. But, what I “lacked” in “conventional beauty standards, ” I had a purpose surplus in when it came to intelligence, passion, wit, and creativity (my confidence in those qualities is real).“Beauty is entertaining, depth is impressive.” I cherished and worked with what I knew I had, preferred being soul food rather than eye candy. With this fiery heart, wicked brain, and dope soul, I had much more substantial things to do than to be weighed down by a longing to be something as basic and shallow as “sexy,” anyways. Objectification has always appalled me. Not only because I had never fit the praised mold, but also because I preferred the appreciation of more elegant, deeper qualities.So, when bae was supposed to be taking a picture of me as I modeled on a big, brown, stone by the isolated beach shore, (crystal clear turquoise blue-green ocean waves softly slapping and clapping and frothing against the rocks as my installed Marley-textured curls sashayed and swayed and bounced in a dream-like wind-trance dance with the breeze), but captured a slow-motion video instead, I was horrified. After all, I was “supposed to” have lost 30lbs by this trip to the Bahamas. Had partaken in months of one-day or one-week diet consistency and working out. Yet here I was, the same. Disappointed. Ashamed. “Slow motion is for girls shaped like video vixens and ‘good big’ thick chicks,” I thought, embarrassed. So, in the spirit of rebellion and committing to doing the things that low-key scare the crap out of me and feel uncomfortable, I decided I had to post the video on Instagram for the whole "My Followers World" to see.And it felt AMAZING. I was free. It was as if I was seeing myself with a whole new set of eyes. I wasn't hiding anymore. I couldn't. The girl in the video was just being her candid, untainted, liberated, beautiful self. She had not seen the video or pics yet to overanalyze, crop, and criticize herself. And just like that, it was as if some spell that had been cast years ago was immediately lifted. I looked GOOD! I looked, dare I say…SEXY! I didn’t feel the need to take away from, negate, or tarnish this beauty in any way. I had posted the video and not been arrested for it. What had I been afraid of!? I envisioned my insecurities being swept away with the ocean waves, and they were. Because greatness is on the other side of our comfort zones. Because of desensitization therapy. Because sometimes the camera of someone else’s patiently admiring pupils, or someone else’s reluctant display of vulnerability guide us in recognizing our own beauty. Because there’s a subtle, different kind of “sexy” in being intellectual, sultry, and sensual that I want to have the courage to wear with pride more often. Because I have to love me, even when I’m a work in progress, and I want it to be real. You deserve your real love, too.So, this piece is for every girl who has ever felt overlooked, who has ever been made to feel that her body is not worth worshipping, who has had to work twice as hard for recognition and appreciation because her body does not fit the mold of promoted beauty standards, and who has had men and women try to steal her magic because they felt like she wasn’t deserving of acknowledgement and respect. I encourage you to take another look in the mirror next time. I encourage you to compliment yourself the next time you even THINK about possibly subconsciously whispering some negative self-talk while looking at a picture or video of yourself. This piece is for every girl learning to love herself, unconditionally. And this piece is, particularly for the Fluffy Box-Shaped Girls. Everybody knows that boxes are for carrying gifts! You are the light. You are the inspiration. You are magic in its most solid, untampered form. Shake that spine proudly, girl! You are...

Summer’s always an interesting time of year for me.For months, my timeline and my group chats have been inundated with conversations about folks getting their bodies in shape for the warmer seasons. Everyone’s discussing their personal desire to be snatched, remarking on how they shouldn't have indulged in dessert at brunch or knocked back so many shots of Crown. Deadlines are set. Gym memberships are created. #BodyGoals become the topic of conversation at any given moment.Around this same time, I see women who are literally half my size speak about how “fat” they are. The amount of disgust in their voice vibrates at a high frequency as they equate the visual descriptor to something negative. It then becomes a punishment; certain clothes can't be worn, pictures can't be taken and moves can't be made because of their physical form.On one end, I’m so supportive. Get your glo on. Whatever has you feeling like your best self and has your energy on a magnetic level, I’m totally here for it. I get that everyone doesn't necessarily embrace the idea of having a bit more flesh. I understand it completely. So, if I’m staying in my lane and letting that rock, one would think I’d get some reciprocation. Honey...You see, I’m a proud size 18 (16 on a chill day, 20 when I’ve overdone it on Postmates). I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know this body of mine for 26 years, starting the process of loving it for the last five. I’ve become acquainted with every nook, cranny, crease and crevice that I possess in an attempt to own it and truly care about it unconditionally. I’ve bucked the system, opting to flaunt my shape and size. I wanted to change the language I used towards myself and it's finally working. I join millions of people who look like me. I become “revolutionary” in my choices to wear what I want, project loving energy toward my body and not see myself as a scourge of the Earth.But that's where the problem lies. It shouldn't be considered brave to wear bodycons, two pieces, crop-tops and shorts in the summer. I’m simply dressing it up to make it real for you. I shouldn't be applauded for my confidence, instantly told that “you would never.” That's a bit backhanded to me. I also shouldn't instantly become the catalyst of an argument about promoting an unhealthy lifestyle.For some reason, my size leaves me and countless others open for a mountain of unwarranted criticism from outsiders. This time of year can bring out the worst in people, especially as it relates to body positivity. Imagine posting a bomb ass image on Instagram in an outfit that you knew you killed the game in, only to be told in the comments that you look nasty, you're glorifying obesity or that the image should be banned. Imagine going to a party, being your true unabashed and carefree self, only to be recorded against your will and joked about on social media. It's happening, folks. I have receipts (check Fashion Nova’s Instagram when they post a curvy beauty and get back to me). And, Bee’s had it up to here!So, since we’re on the wave of unsolicited advice, I figured I’d share mine. The message is clear: keep that same energy. Don't dish what you can't take. Don't come for us unless we send for you (which we never will). Live your truth and let us live ours.Unless you’re paying this deductible or matching what comes out of my paycheck for health insurance every week, I’d advise you to keep your “health concerns” to yourself.It always amazes me when people becomes health advisors and medical experts when a plus-sized man or woman is simply slaying the scene. I’m not going to be the subject of your debate on why obesity is such a global epidemic. I’m not going to go back-and-forth trying to prove to you that I’m a healthy individual. Quite frankly, it's none of your damn business. The loving language and energy I put forward when it comes to my body shouldn't be turned into a discussion about the lifestyle I’m promoting. Save yourself an epic drag and just stay in your lane.I will get these flicks and ‘fits off this summer and you will deal.I’ve heard it all. We’ve heard it all. “Dress for your type,” they say. “No one wants to see all that,” they claim. But, that's kind of where you have us fat folk wrong. See, we’re not going to compromise our comfort to appease you. Nor will we not bless your timelines with some fire because you feel some type of way. Our bodies are bodies. We love them. We’ll flaunt them—belly, back rolls, double-chin and all. The double taps will pour in and you'll most likely #StayMad.Fat is not, nor will it ever be, anything other than an adjective on this side of town.Just like lanky, curvy, tall and stout, the word “fat” is simply used to describe a noun. Being fat doesn't negate your beauty, your mission or your worth. It also doesn't have to define your narrative if you don't want it to. It's not the end of the world to have a little more of you to love. Trust me.Body positivity has been my wave and will most likely stay that way 365 days a year. I’m loving this movement of folks embracing what society deems as flaws, finding the beauty in what they see and in all they do. It's inspiring. On a personal level, it makes this journey that much sweeter. I throw my middle finger up to those moments that I was made to feel less because I’m bigger, as I feel every person like me should. I’m stronger for it, amazed at how far I’ve come into loving me for me.My fat ass is here to stay and slay. K? And that's just...

It is safe to say that social media has created a platform that allows people to obsess over the physical appearance of others.  Whether it is a casual OOTD post or a swimsuit selfie, one must have thick skin to endure the public shaming that comes along with being active on social media.  Just ask reality TV star and plus size model, Sabrina Servance. Sabrina starred in Lifetime TV’s, “Big Women, Big Love,” a reality show about five plus size women on a quest to find a partner.  Since the wrap of the show, Sabrina found love in Addison, a hospitality specialist from Melbourne, Florida. For their six month anniversary, Sabrina posted a photo of her and Addison in their swimsuits followed by a lengthy caption expressing her gratitude for him loving her, despite her size.  She wrote,“Any guy I’ve ever gone on a date with or was interested in said something about my weight.  From questioning what I ate to telling me they’d be more attracted to me if I lost weight. I’ve heard it all.  But with Addison, it’s so different.  He has never ever said anything about my weight,” she gushed.  “He never says anything other than, ’You’re beautiful!’ It’s sad but it’s something I had to get used to.  In the beginning of our relationship, I waited for the comments but they never came.  One day I finally asked him why he never said anything and he said, ‘Why would I ever say anything about your body?  It’s YOUR body.’ I’m a lucky girl.  He makes me feel safe.  He gets it. Any man that tries to strip you of your confidence isn’t worth your time.  It’s nice to be with someone who I can wear a swimsuit in front of and not feel judged.  #FindYourAddison” she concluded.                                             Photo:InstagramThe post attracted an overwhelming number of positive comments that praised Sabrina on her infectious confidence. Some people exclaimed that her caption brought tears to their eyes, while others fat-shamed her and accused Addison of being a "chubby chaser" and an enabler.                                                        Photo:Instagram“I don’t understand why people write that her body is perfect.  Ok, she is confident in her own skin and it’s her body.  But her body is not perfect.  We can’t justify being fat.  Being fat is not healthy.  Being too think also.  We need to find a way between.  And stop with the praising fat or too thin bodies,” stated @sofii7339                                       The fat shaming comments continued, some harsher than others.                                                               Photo: InstagramSabrina’s post suggested nothing other than her extreme thankfulness for her boyfriend accepting her the way she is.  No mention of her workout regimen or diet was discussed in the post, but the assumption that she doesn’t take care of herself was made clear. Unfortunately, the nature of these comments are not foreign to the plus size model. In a discussion with Sabrina, she stated, “Honestly, it’s been going on for so long, it doesn’t upset me, it’s just annoying. Everyone has this obsession with telling a fat person when they’re confident that they’re trying to push being fat on other people.  If you look at other influencers, they get the same comment, ‘you’re glorifying obesity you’re glorifying being unhealthy,’ but all I did was post a photo of my outfit. Am I not supposed to leave the house?  Am I supposed to not post a photo until I’m thin?  I’m going to portray the real me online.  No filters.  So if you meet me in person you’re going to meet the same person you see online.”Sabrina has used her time in the spotlight to educate others on what it means to be body positive. She states, "I post a lot about confidence and what I go through.  For mainstream plus size models, confidence equals sexy.  I’m not the traditional definition of plus size sexy.  I’m a nerd.  This is who I am. And you can be happy and you don’t have to be with someone pressuring you to be someone you’re not.”That's why following her initial post, she responded to the naysayers with this message,"I'm fat and my boyfriend is white. Get over it. There are far worse things happening on this planet. This constant conversation about health is absurd. What does that have to do with my swimsuit? What does it have to do with how my boyfriend loves me? Absolutely nothing. You look at pictures of me and assume that sit around eating and doing nothing. That's untrue. But what if I did? It is none of your business. The thought of a happy fat person bothers so many people. And it's stupid. I had an eating disorder for many years. I ruined my stomach trying to lose weight. And I lost weight. I was still plus size. People still called me fat. And the people who DID say I "looked amazing" had no idea that I was fainting from being hungry. That I would go home and cry myself to sleep because I couldn't take it anymore. That I wanted to die because I was so depressed. But I "looked amazing". Yet inside I felt like trash. I was doing what people wanted. I lost weight and lost myself. I will NEVER go back to that. I love myself so much now. I fought really hard to become the Sabrina you see today. I'm not the ideal standard of beauty. And I will never be. And I don't ever want to be. I'm my own kind of beautiful. And screw you if you have an issue with my happiness. I lost a lot of time living for others. That I can't get back. But I can keep living for ME. Please live. Please fight. DO YOU!!! #findyouraddison #confidencetakestime"Sabrina remains unfazed by the backlash but emphasizes the importance of recognizing that words hurt. Instagram trolling has become a popular form of cyberbullying and unfortunately, anyone can become a victim.  The truth is, everyone has a story and a struggle.  Beyond it being rude, body shaming can fuel low self-esteem, eating disorders and depression.  It takes a strong person to stand up against the haters and say, “this is me, take it or leave it, but I love...

Swimsuit season just rolled up on us like...It's the unofficial start to summer and everyone is flaunting their pecs and midsection. You're ready to flex as well.But there's one slight hang-up. You left our old body with last summer.Those late night binge sessions have caught up to you. It didn't occur to you that you had a summer beach trip planned, or that maybe your friends would invite you to a pool party in the next 12 months. Now you're stuck with excess baggage around your waistline.How did you get here?Logic and reason aren't helpful. You're full of excuses.The only thing left to do is get to work preparing to unveil your summertime fine.Here are 11 familiar phases of body shaming we're guilty of during the summer months.1. How You Look In The Mirror Trying On Your Old SwimsuitYou've lived so much life since you last put on your bathing suit, and didn't account for the Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, birthday—and any other reason to stuff your face—feasts. How you thought you'd look:How you really look:Okay, so there's a little more effort to put forward.2. Less Than A Week Into Your New DietNothing seems to add up anymore, even the calories. You just want to eat what you want, when you want, without having to compromise your fitness goals. You're ready to quit, however, deep down you know the reward will outweigh the mental defeat.3. You Inside The GymYou leaving the gym.4. How Your Friends Responded When You Told Them You Considered Tummy TeaYou got desperate to shed some pounds, yet and still, they're not going to let you go out like that.5. You Vs. Your Will-PowerYou tried to stick to a strict nutrition routine and solid workout plan, but somewhere along the line, the inner gluttony refuses to let you be great.6. Time Hop Photos And Facebook MemoriesYou're starting to notice some progress. Three pounds down here and there, an inch or two faded in the wind.You're celebrating every small win. That is until you come across #tbt photos when you once thought you were fat, but you were actually super snatched, and now you're questioning your overall body image and wish you could've appreciated your old body when you lived in it.7. Your Confidence Is Slowly ImprovingEvery day you give yourself a pep talk to fill your space with body positivity.8.The Workouts And Dieting Are Becoming ALifestyleSuddenly, the stress of having the perfect beach body is diminishing. You just want to feel good about yourself.9. But Your Old Habits Keep Trying To Catch Up With You10. The Moment of Truth: The Final Swimsuit TestHow you look in the mirror when you see your weeks of hard work culminate in the dressing room.11. The end result?You've stressed 50 percent of the year about how you'll look in your swimsuit, and now you're adding incredulous amounts of pressure to really impress everyone else. At this point, you don't give a damn and will give the middle finger to anyone who thinks they have a right to shame your body type.How you plan to walk past the haters at the beach.The only acceptance that matters is...

Amber Rose and Blac Chyna have been the faces of anti-respectability and slut-walks. Black feminism allows women of color to be intersectional and most importantly gives them the ability to be comfortable with themselves to define their own label. Some feminists have reclaimed the words slut, ho and even b*tch as a gender-fluid term calling out the sexist hypocrisy of men or offensive language.20 years ago, black feminists had a different attitude on "ho culture". It was not feminist under the sexual pleasure of men. Many rappers were called out to stop degrading black women in their music videos. 20 years to the present, black women took control of the camera to empower their sexuality.Yet what worries me is not respectability politics, but young black feminists being rejected from the movement. Mixed/biracial feminists are more noticeable than dark-skinned women who are just as newsworthy. Dark skinned girls need better and more promotion highlighting not just their beauty, but also their intelligence. Men's rights organizations, right-wing conservatives, and even black men are getting paid to destroy the image of dark-skinned women to reinforce the stereotype of their inferiority and ratchet behavior. I admire mixed feminist celebrities starring in pro-black televisions shows, but the platform has to properly denounce colorism and privilege.Even in the body positive community, there are complaints that even "BBWs" are experiencing fat-phobia from their own feminist sisters. Also, celebrity feminists (such as Amber Rose) have to acknowledge their privilege that being thin and sexually positive puts pressure on young girls to live up to womanhood. Sex positivity is giving acknowledgment that all girls deserve sexual freedom and acceptance. The positive body movement needs love and adoration that their bodies are not flawed or less valuable because they are not thin. Gabby Sidibe only grabs mainstream media attention when she is losing weight, while her personal traumas of suicide were used as a joke to spam fake news. When Sidibe revealed her past life as a sex-operator and even debuted her sex scene on Empire, they were again catalysts for jokes in perspective that plus-size women do not deserve a sex life or that they do not have the anatomy to choose the men whom they want to be with.The celebration of feminism has had its benefits, but privileged celebrities miss the point that feminism isn't about who already fit in with patriarchy, but the genders and individuals who are invisible and...