Plus Size Privilege

I assume this title is very confusing, but it is something I have wanted to write about for a long time, so bare with me as I try to stumble through it.

In societies eyes there is a right kind of plus size, and a wrong. The “right” kind being more voluptuous and curvy. An hour glass figure with big boobs and a big ass, some meat to grab onto, but not too much. The “right” kind of plus size being highly sexualized (which is a whole other topic) but also accepted by most.

Then there is the “wrong” kind of plus size. The people that are told they are too fat, that they are unhealthy and need a change no matter what they’re every day lives look like. No matter what they eat, or how they move their body. They are judged from a glance and it is next to impossible to change someones opinion on them,

This is what I refer to as plus size privilege.

I also would like to get rid of the elephant in the room, this is something I know I have. I acknowledge it, and falling into this category has made it easier for me to move through everyday without as much judgement. While my body isn’t “societies” idea of perfect it does fall into that box of hourglass, or curvy “in the right way”. I also acknowledge that I can shop straight size, and extended sizing, and that in itself does give me privilege.

Privilege is something that we need to take very seriously when we have it (and that goes for any privilege). We need to use to to help breakdown walls, change the way that people think and remove barriers that impede others from feeling safe to live. We need to do our best to lift others up and remove stereotypes and norms.

When it comes to plus size privilege and breaking down the norms so much of this starts with the fashion industry. Women that are represented in plus size fashion typically toe the line of straight and plus sized, they wear a 8-12 and can honestly go buy a pair of jeans at urban outfitters no problem, but can also shop the plus stores but these are the woman that have been chosen as the faces of a industry making them a norm. We need to move away from this type of model. We need to have a true representation of every body type that shops plus to make every body normalized and take away the stigma and negativity that is associated with wearing more than a 14 or a XL.. I was once asked on a tiktok live if I would ever consider being a plus size model if the opportunity came up, and while it would be fun, the ultimate answer is no. We dont need more women like me that are already so highly represented in the plus size world to take up more space. We need woman that are wearing a 22 or 28 to be celebrated, put on a pedestal and the world told that there is nothing wrong with them!!

We need to challenge an industry and our world by standing tall and proud and saying that everyone is beautiful. And that all bodies matter. We need to change our standards and push back so every little girl out there grows up with confidence, loving themselves from the inside out and doesn’t associate their worth with the number on a scale, or get bullied because she doesn’t look like the girl on the front of a magazine. We need to push back so our children dont grow up plagued with diet culture and spend 30 years of their lives just trying to take up less mass so they feel like they belong. We need to do better! Plain and simple. We need to change.

I think it’s fair to say that once something is normalized in media the world become more accepting of it. And that is exactly what we need to happen here. We need to normalize all bodies! All of them! We need to show people that beauty exists in every size. That every body needs to be celebrated. There there are no right and wrong when it comes to a human. That we can all share the spotlight and lift each other up.

I have had this really amazing opportunity of having a platform over the last few months, and it is something I feel blessed for. I get to share my thoughts on things, I get to help lift others up and I get to help show that just because I do fall into extended sizing doesn’t mean that I have to dress myself in a certain way. But most of all for me what excites me the most is that I get to help (even in the smallest way) change what we see as acceptable and normal. I get to shout from the mountain tops that we just need to add some more love to this world. That we need to see everyone as equal no matter their size. Every body is a good body. Screw that! Every body is a perfect body!

I dont know if I even scraped the surface of my feelings towards plus size privilege, but I do think its important that I acknowledge it, call myself out for having it, and promise that I will continue to fight and try my best to normalize every body out there. We are all in this together, and we can only see change if we link arms and make noise.