Plus-Size, and why I don't subscribe to the word

Shirt: My next broken heart

https://www.mynextbrokenheart.com/

Words have power.

We have been giving words power since I have been alive (let’s be real well before that). A lot of the time a word will have a preconceived notion attached to it that triggers some sort of emotional reaction (obviously the good or bad feeling) and that may be a different reaction for everyone. Insert the word plus-size. This is a word that society has taught me to associate with my body. When someone asks me how I would describe myself there is this overarching gut reaction to respond with “plus-size”, allowing people to make an assumption about not only my appearance but my health, activity level and probably confidence in all of one second.

Now don’t get me wrong, the plus-size community has had a lot more positive attention over the past 5 years with people like Ashley Graham, Melissa McCarthy, and Hunter McGrady fighting the good fight. But for the average plus-size woman who isn’t on the cover of Sports Illustrated our wiggly bits aren’t met with as much enthusiasm.

I am incredibly grateful for the these women who have started to normalize body types that you don’t see on a Victoria Secret runway, but I truly believe that deep down we should have never had to work this hard, defend ourselves, or scream from the mountain tops that not only do we matter but we are sexy as hell too! This movement its self has indeed helped women (and men) feel more comfortable in their bodies, but I also believe that it has placed more unattainable requirements on what it means to be the right kind of plus-size. When I hear people talking about how curves are sexy its typically because someone has banging boobs, and a butt that just don’t quit, when in fact, not every plus-sized body lives up to those standards either. For me, using the term plus-size is just pushing these stereotypes further. I just want to live in a world where it is okay to show up every damn day in whatever body you have and feel worthy, loved and good as hell.

Let me tell you about this time I was at my doctor in the not so recent past. The BMI conversation comes up, my doctor starts off by saying “well Sarah, you are obviously a plus-sized woman, which means your BMI is outside of the range of normal and we are going to need to work on losing some weight. Have you ever thought about introducing some activity into your life, or maybe a meal plan?” I kindly respond with “Oh I do workout 6 days a week, and have been for the last 3 years, I actually do CrossFit”. “Oh wow that surprises me, usually CrossFit athletes don’t have this body type - you must eat a lot, let me set you up with a dietician”

HOLD UP, PAUSE DOCTOR! Do you see what you just did?! Based on a body type that society has normalized as unhealthy because of how my body stores fat you have made some seriously wrong assumptions about me. You assumed I don’t move, you assumed that I want to lose weight, and you assumed that I have an unhealthy relationship with food! All three things that aren’t true! This is the exact moment in my life when I decided I didn’t want to be branded as plus size any more. This is the moment that I decided that I just wanted to be a person that has a body that looks the way it looks.

I don’t want to be told which stores I can shop at based on their offerings of sizes, or be met by surprise and shock from people when I say I got something at a “straight” sized store. I don’t want people to be able to assume they know anything about me based on my body type. I don’t want to be told “oh, but your’e really pretty for a plus-size girl” or even worse, “well from the shoulders up you don’t look plus-sized”.

The next part gets tricky, but it is another reason why I have unsubscribed to being referred to as plus size. I have been told on multiple occasions that I am not “plus-sized enough” by other plus-size woman. So, society is telling me I need go join this group of woman with similar body types, but they are telling me they don’t want me? So who do I belong to? Do I start to refer to myself as sort of plus-sized, or do I say screw it, and do my own thing. I hope you know me well enough by now to know that it’s obviously the second option.

So, I refer to myself as Sarah. I am someone that fits into no mould. I am someone who is completely and utterly in love with every inch of themselves. I am someone who doesn’t need to be categorized so the fashion industry can charge me extra for a t-shirt. I am me, and I am perfectly happy being me.

So hit that unsubscribe button and start living life for you, not to fit into a category.