Things To Do In 2017 -- That DON'T Include Dieting!

The beginning of a new year is a wonderful time to try new things. Here are some suggestions:

♥ Try a restaurant in your neighbourhood that you've never been to before.

♥ Follow more fat positive and body positive people on Instagram. I'd recommend Natalie Means Nice, The Militant Baker and Chubsterette. (I'm on Instagram too!).

♥ Try a new to you kind of exercise (for fun-- not because you feel like you have to). 

♥ Bake something from scratch. (Soft pretzels? Chocolate cheesecake?) And then eat some, without guilt.

♥ Figure out what you want to do more of & what you want to do less of.

♥ Read a book you've been meaning to, but haven't yet been able to finish.

♥ Message someone you haven't heard from in ages.

♥ Let go of a relationship that's no longer serving you.

♥ Have you been avoiding a medical appointment, like an ultrasound or a pap smear? Or have you just not gotten around to booking it? Get that shit done.

♥ Try practicing mindfulness.

♥ Pick up a magazine you've never read before. Maybe you'll find a new hobby or interest.

♥ Try a new hairstyle. Even if you hate it, it'll be good for a laugh.

♥ Get a new piercing or tattoo.

♥ Try a lip colour you've never worn before. Bright red? Lilac? Green?

Whatever you do, don't let the insidious "new year, new me" and "gotta lose weight!" bullshit get to you. This is your year. Do with it what you will. And have fun!

Image source: ElleBelleDesignShop on Etsy.

"All About That Bass": Empowering or Problematic?

On Monday I posted that I'm loving Megan Trainor's first single, All About That Bass. Since then, I've been reading what others in the body positive and feminist community think about it. So I thought maybe I'd throw my own hat into the ring and discuss what I find empowering about the song, and what I consider problematic.

Here goes.

Yeah, it’s pretty clear, I ain’t no size two

But just look at Megan in the video. She's not fat. She's within the realm of what society deems acceptable. She's probably a size 4 or 6, even. She has no idea how hard it is to be "unacceptable", to be told by strangers that she's going to die if she eats another cheeseburger, to sob in a department store dressing room because even the largest clothes there won't fit her. 

But... body shaming hurts skinny girls too.  

Then again... "Skinny shaming" is not the same as fat shaming. One results in a few minutes of hurt feelings; the other is a single aspect of the systematic oppression fat people face every single day.

So I agree with those who say 'Bass' isn't so much an anthem for fat girls as it is for what Jenny Trout has dubbed "the fatcepptable movement".

But... At least we're moving in the right direction. Excluding fat girls and putting down skinny girls is definitely not where I want society to be, but with catchy, somewhat empowering, somewhat problematic songs like 'Bass' and Nicki Minaj's 'Anaconda', at least we're getting closer to where we should be.

The other major problem I see with this song is the emphasis on how boys feel about curves. 

"Yeah, my mama she told me don’t worry about your size / She says boys like a little more booty to hold at night".

Part of me snarks, 'thank God! Boys like your booty! Then I guess your body is acceptable'. But is it wrong to care what others think of your body? No. Part of why I love my body is because I know it's fun to touch and others find me attractive. But that's just part of why I love my body. That's the key. So what's problematic isn't that Megan mentions that boys will appreciate her booty; it's that she seems focused on the male gaze, rather than what she loves about how she looks. 

But I can shake it, shake it
Like I’m supposed to do
Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase
And all the right junk in all the right places

The above line could go either way; she can 'shake it, shake it' like boys expect her to, or how she feels she's 'supposed to do'. And is she glad that boys feel she has 'all the right junk in all the right places'? Or is that how she feels about herself?

The main aspect of the video itself, that I find could be empowering or problematic (or both) is the dancers. There's one dancer who's fat. Is he highlighted because being fat is 'perfect from the bottom to the top'? Or are he, and the skinny girls in the video, too fat and too thin, respectively, and in the video to demonstrate that only Megan Trainor-sized people are acceptable?

All of that being said, the one lyric that really sticks with me is this one:

If you got beauty beauty, just raise ‘em up
Cause every inch of you is perfect
From the bottom to the top

Doesn't that say something?

To conclude: 'All About That Bass" is somewhat empowering, somewhat problematic, and catchy as fuck. I can't wait to hear Megan Trainor's future releases-- and I hope they'll be just as catchy, but far less problematic than this one.

Still from 'All About That Bass' borrowed from here.

Fat Girl Takes On the Mall

Summer is the perfect time to rock a cute crop top or fun short shorts that show off your great legs. I always look forward to this season of barbecues and beach days and (fashionable) fun in the sun.

But this year has started out a little different.

"My shorts don't fit."
"Neither does this pair."
"All my skirts are too small,"

I complained to my mom, tossing item after item out of my closet. That's when I realized it: my endocrinologist had said PCOS can cause continued weight gain, even during treatment. I'm still gaining weight. Fuck!

Don't get me wrong: I love being fat. I love my body. And I consider myself a fat activist. Learning to love myself means accepting myself at any size, whether it's a 2 or a 32. But growing out of your clothes at a rate that feels unhealthy and puts a dent in your (already half-empty) wallet? It's hard to cope.

So off I go to the mall. The biggest mall in the biggest city in Canada. I have limited funds, since my disability means I can't work as much as I'd like to, but I'm sure I'll find something.

Wrong.

With multiple floors and hundreds of stores, you'd think there'd be at least a hundred that carry sizes over 16.

Nope. Not even 10.

Let's count them:
1 Forever 21
2 Reitmans
3 Sears

Three stores. In an entire mall. The scary thing is that I have more luck at the Eaton Centre than I do at other malls in Toronto.

I'm fortunate that I can sometimes fit into a 16 or XXL, the largest straight size available, so stores like Old Navy and the Disney Store are not entirely off limits. Still, who wants to squeeze into t-shirts and cotton dresses, crying "I'm so lucky this blouse is cut big!"? And as a fat woman, I'm already not taken seriously in the office, so do I really want Tinkerbell's face on everything I own?

I'm glad the three fatshion- friendly stores above exist. But... why aren't their plus sizes mixed in with their "normal" clothes? Why is the fabric quality superb in straight sizes and so-so at best, ghastly at worst in plus? Why should fat girls wear low quality clothes that cost more, just because they're bigger? And why are the few stores in Canada that specialize in plus sizes extravagantly priced and rarely in malls?

We're being punished for our size. We're being punished for eating 'too much', for having illnesses like PCOS, for our genetics, for happening to have double chins.

Do I begrudge my slenderer friends their fast fashion, their hundreds of stores, the breeze that shopping is for them? Not at all. I just want my experience to be as good as theirs.

Image source: Reitmans (one of the few stores at Eaton Centre which caters to plus size shoppers).

5 Reasons To Read "Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love & Fashion"

Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls On Life, Love & Fashion came out earlier this year and continues to receive a plethora of positive press from within the fat community. If you haven't already got a copy, I urge you to rush to Amazon or your local bookstore. It's worth it, I promise!

Edited by Virgie Tovar and published by Seal Press, Hot & Heavy features incredible writers/fat activists, including Tasha Fierce, Kitty Stryker, April Flores (pictured on the cover) & lots more listed here.

Here are 5 reasons why you should read this anthology today:

1 The stories are genuine, authentic and raw. Written by real fat women with a variety of experiences, from illness to dieting to dancing and learning to love their bodies, every chapter is unique and engaging.

2 Virgie's piece, "Pecan Pie, Sex & Other Revolutionary Things" is my favourite, possibly because I relate to much of it and adore Virgie's writing style, but every chapter spoke to me in some way. I think you'll feel the same.

3 The book advocates "shedding shame instead of shedding pounds" [page 51]. We are more than our size or shape, our gender or sex, our skin colour or background. This is a powerful message.

4 The epilogue is full of inspiring, actionable ideas for fierce fat girls who want to love their bodies. A perfect way to end an incredible book

5 Explore the "About the Contributors" section at the back for even more fatspiration, including links to fat positive websites run by the contributors. Consider it hours of extra reading for free.

A copy of Hot & Heavy was provided to me by Seal Press in exchange for this blog post. This in no way affects my opinion of the book.

Be Kind To Your Friends & Yourself: 10 Ways

My post just went live at Kind Over Matter! Check it out here: Be Kind To Your Friends & Yourself: 10 Ways.

"Why do we hate the overweight?"

The Gloss writer Jennifer Wright's recent article, "Why Do We Hate the Overweight?", is very insightful.

She confesses, "there is not a day of my life when I do not worry about my weight". From that line, I knew this article was not just another piece of 'fat people suck' drivel. This was personal.

Jennifer shares this anecdote: "I just spent ten minutes debating whether or not to eat a piece of ice cream cake... [but I can't, because] if my weight goes over a certain amount I feel a real and true fury at myself [because] I realize that the skinnier I am, the nicer people are to me".

After 3 pages discussing why society hates fat people (and how irrational this is), she finishes, "Incidentally, I ate the ice cream cake... I ate it and it tasted as good as skinny feels".

Brilliant!

Photo Source

Duchess of Alba Wears a Bikini; Internet Freaks Out

The Duchess of Alba & her husband

Body shaming continues to run rampant, especially online.

I've written before about fatphobia, why bashing skinny girls is bad too, general body shaming & the importance of being body positive... the list goes on.

I haven't tackled ageism yet, though... So here goes!

What prompted this post was the flurry of discussion concerning the (gorgeous) Duchess of Alba, who flaunted a floral bikini on a recent vacation.

Usually 'bikini bodies' aren't much of a news item, other than on tabloid covers or celebrity gossip websites, but the Duchess garnered a lot of attention. Because she's 86.

Countless horrifying comments litter the web, such as, "she's flabby", "she looks like death", and "if I ever get that old and gross I hope someone shoots me". I haven't even included the worst of them.

Our society believes there's a very slim window, between 18 and 28 or so, when a woman 'can' wear a bikini-- and that's if she's tall and thin, with curves 'in all the right places'. Otherwise, she should be hidden beneath a too-big cover-up, if she's allowed by the pool at all.

Looks like the Duchess gave society a royal fuck you, in the classiest way possible. You go, girl!

Image Source

"I've worked really hard for this body"

I ran into an old friend at Starbucks.

After the usual warm greetings and hugs, I said, "you look amazing!"

She smiled, "thanks, I lost 15 pounds".

"Oh, I didn't mean that you look like you've lost weight--"

She looked pained. "What? It doesn't show?"

"I just meant you look beautiful and that shade of yellow really complements your skin tone. And those shoes are ador--"

She pursed her lips, playing with the straw in her fat-free tall mocha. "I've worked really hard for this body. You should be happy for me".

That phrase. I loathe that phrase: "I've worked really hard for this body".

Sure, some people do work hard to be thin. Tirelessly planning low-fat meals, spending hours at the gym, poring over calorie-counters. But why is that something to be proud of?

Then people like me, more zaftig than svelte? If we're not seen exercising or dieting, we're assumed to be lazy slobs. We haven't "worked for our bodies". We've just sort of fallen into being fat. And we should be ashamed of ourselves.

But the ones society really wants to fill with shame? Those of us who have larger bodies because of equally large illnesses-- diabetes, PCOS, you name it-- all correlated with fatness, but not caused by it (though many would disagree with that statement, fat is not a proven cause)? We work hard to stay healthy, to battle the illness itself, but unless we concede to losing weight to 'cure' it, we're a lost cause.

What I've learned from this, is that all of us work for the bodies we have. God or nature (or both) gave us our body, but we toil to feed it, wash it, love it. And that takes a lot of effort, no matter your size.

Next time someone tells me she worked hard for her body, I'll put my pudgy hand on my curvy hip, look her straight in the eye and say, "I know. So have I".

Image: Jennifer Lawrence for GQ

What is Health At Every Size (HAES)?

Health At Every Size is a system which focuses on intuitive eating and pleasurable physical activity as a replacement for dieting. HAES states that weight does not cause health issues.

There’s nothing more empowering than realizing you don’t have to be part of society’s War On Obesity or maintain the “perfect weight”!

5 Ways to Adopt the HAES Lifestyle:

1 Enjoy your food because you’re hungry and because it tastes good.
2 Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full.
3 Exercise because it’s good for you.
4 Don’t exercise simply for the sake losing weight.
5 Love your body.

Read more about Health At Every Size here.

Image Source

Related Links:

| 7 Easy Body Image Boosters | Body Shaming Hurts Skinny Girls Too |
| 5 Reasons To Be Body Positive |

7 Easy Body Image Boosters

I wrote this article last summer for Love Twenty Magazine, and am reposting it today because boosting your body image never goes out of style.

If you've been a reader for a while, I hope you find it just as helpful as you did the first time around.
If you're a new reader, this is a great article to start out with. Thanks for joining us!

___

Healthy eating, exercise and sense of style are all essential, but if a girl doesn’t feel good about herself, what’s it all for? Feeling good about yourself isn’t as difficult as it seems (especially on bad days) and I want to help you get in the habit of feeling confident and beautiful. Try out these tips!

1. Practice makes perfect, right? The more you compliment yourself, the easier it will get.

2. Write out a list of all the little things you like about your appearance. For example: I have fabulous legs. My arms look awesome when I wear sleeveless tops. I love how my eyes pop when I wear bright liner. On ugly days, go over your list for a boost!

3. Find a go-to clothing item that you always feel great in — be it a perfectly tailored pair of pants, sky-high heels, or a little black dress.

4. Spend as much time as possible around people who make you feel good about yourself and as little time as possible with the ones who bring you down.

5. Check out the Health At Every Size (HAES) movement. HAES embraces the fact that we all have different sizes and shapes and health is more important than fitting society’s beauty ideals.

6. Cover your walls with photos and magazine clippings of your body image role models. Think of women who are comfortable with their figures, no matter what they look like. Emulate their confidence. Ideas to start your collection: Lizzie Miller (plus size model), your best friends, Christina Hendricks, Beth Ditto, Lady Gaga.

7. Remember to eat healthy and exercise, at least most of the time. Work in lots of fruit and vegetables, water, and long walks or time at the gym — along with a slice of chocolate cake, glass of wine or lazy day in. Health is about feeling good, just like healthy body image is about feeling good about your body, regardless of what society says it should look like.

So, beautiful, which tip is your favorite? What would you add to the list?

Link Love 4.5.2012

It's Friday!

These DIY scrubs look scrumptious, especially the lemon sugar one!

Be a badass, not an intern. Really amazing advice from Jen Dziura

Jim Parsons and Kristin Chenoweth announced the Tony Nominees this week.

Demi Lovato is coming to Toronto this July!

Toronto's Revue Cinema just turned 100. Check out the vintage photo at the link.

Photos of cats plus anticipating spring's arrival is smile-inducing!

I really enjoyed last week's Mad Men Likeability Index.

Though I wish it were more in-depth, MediaBistro's interview with Dan Savage is a good read.

Like Pinterest and Tumblr, Instagram has decided to ban "thinspo". This article does a great job of explaining that getting rid of the tight-knit pro-ED community online won't make the people in them healthier; they'll just feel displaced and isolated. Instead, a more positive alternative should be (but hasn't been) put in place. "People who are struggling need to feel like they’re not alone... When you eliminate a community for people, you have to provide a positive alternative. We’re saying thinspo is dangerous, but we recognize [these groups are] providing a sense of community, and we want to fill that void." 

I just adore Hillary Clinton, don't you? I mean, these photos!

Fashionable Ducks... Because apparently in Australia, this is a thing?!

Gretchen Rubin (The Happiness Project) interviewed Jenny Lawson aka The Blogess. 

Good tips for thrift shopping.

This DIY Flower Crown is just darling!

Image Source

Blame Barbie?

I was a happy, chubby little girl in a bright yellow polka dot dress.

I'd chosen the dress myself, just like I chose the rest of my wardrobe-- I insisted upon it. And my mom, always in favour of supporting my creative endeavours, allowed me to, even when I ended up in a rather unfortunate (in retrospect) all-pink ensemble, complete with magenta hair scrunchies on my arms (I called them "arm-loads" and explained that they'd be a great new trend).

Of course, my love of clothes translated to a love of Barbies. I had a few, which I played with frequently-- in my room, outdoors, in the bath-- but my cousin and closest confidante, Danielle, had a far superior collection.

Three shelves in her bedroom were dedicated to the dolls. Her mother took great care in lining them up neatly and organizing their clothes and accessories in drawers under Danielle's bed. Those drawers of Barbie clothes were, to me, like the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, a treasure trove thousands of times better than the Little Mermaid's, and definitely more exciting than my own drawers of toys (even though my parents treated me very well!).

We spent hours in that room, dressing the dolls, combing their hair, making up storylines for them.

It took me years to notice our beloved dolls didn't look like us.

I was probably about eight when I realized my body was different.

Danielle and I were in ballet class. We had to line up in order of size, with both height and weight taken in to consideration. Madame was frustrated with me, because, thought I was one of the shortest in the class, I weighed the most. She never said it explicitly, but it was made very clear that ballerinas were not supposed to be fat. Therefore, despite my perfect plies and stunning arabesques, I was not supposed to be a ballerina.

I remember crying in Danielle's bed one night, having a sleepover after dance class. "I don't look like the other girls. I don't look like you. I don't look like our dolls. Am I fat?" She snuggled close to me and said, "I don't care, Becca, I love you".

I forgot about my size (and what society seemed to think of it) after that, and didn't think of it again until junior high. Switching to drama, not dance classes, definitely helped. But we still played with dolls.

"This one should be you, because it has long brown hair like you, Becca," Danielle said, handing me a Barbie.

"Okay," I agreed. I sorted through the dolls, mainly blonde and white, an Indian one (she was a Pocahontas Barbie, of course), a couple with black hair and dark skin, and I noticed... "None of them have hair like yours".

Danielle's hair was an unruly chocolate brown mass of curls that added at least a couple inches to her already generous height. Kids bullied her for it, but I always thought she was beautiful.

Apparently Mattel didn't think so: There weren't any tall, curly-haired Barbies. There also weren't any short, pale Barbies with round tummies like mine.

I've read numerous articles recently, about the bald Barbie that's possibly in the works. Fellow journalists are speculating that maybe a body-positive Barbie isn't far behind. "Will there be a fat Barbie next? One with acne? One that's short? How about a lesbian Barbie?" they ponder.

Even if these dolls are released, how soon will that happen? Barbie debuted in 1959 [source], but a black Barbie wasn't introduced until 1980 and the first Indian (Native) doll wasn't introduced until 1993 [source]!

At this rate, it will be decades until we see a fat Barbie-- and by the time that comes, kids will have other influences (like pro-ana websites, Strong4Life, the American government's "war on obesity", the tiny selection of sizes in most clothing stores, shadeism within cultures) to destroy their self-esteem, so it won't make much impact, anyway.

Mattel's exclusively skinny, usually white dolls are ill-advised, but not entirely to blame. Society is. Instead of projecting our own insecurities and sizist ideas on to a doll, let's take responsibility, step up and do something about the damaging impact society has on children's body image.

Image: Tess Munster as a gorgeous plus size Barbie doll! Source.

5 Reasons to be Body Positive

Being beautiful, desirable and successful has nothing to do with your size. Here are 5 more reasons to start focusing less on weight and more on being Body Positive.

1 It's good for your health. Dieting is bad for you. 95-98% of diets fail. Most people gain back all the weight they lost (sometimes more than that!) within 5 years. [Source] Diets also take a huge toll on your self-esteem. Dieting is not worth it.

2 The Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Don't shame others' bodies. Instead, focus on the beauty you see in them-- and yourself. Make the world a more positive place.

3 No more guilt about what you eat. Have you ever thought "I need to lose weight, so I'll skip dessert"? Forget that. If you love your body, you'll stop thinking like that and start paying attention to your body's wants and needs. You'll be emotionally and physically healthier that way. Plus, you'll actually enjoy your food.

4 The (fashion) world is your oyster. You know those magazine articles about "dressing for your shape"? Forget them. Fuck flattering. Wear what you like. Wear what makes you feel fabulous.

5 You can tell absolutely nothing about a person from their size (well, other than their size, and who cares about that?!). Ragen Chastain puts it best: "Weight is not a barometer by which to judge someone’s health, intelligence, employment worthiness, or anything else". Source. Don't waste your energy searching for secrets held by their size-- you won't find any.

Image: Gorgeous Body Positive Burlesque Dancer, Miss Dirty Martini [Source].

Body Shaming Hurts Skinny Girls Too

Angelina Jolie looking gorgeous at the Oscars. Look at all the fucks she gives about the haters who say she needs a sandwich! Image Source.

I'm curvy. But that doesn't mean I won't stick up for my slenderer sisters. On the contrary: I know what it's like to have my body viewed with disgust, to be belittled and bullied over my appearance, so I'll do everything I can to save other women the pain.

On the rare occasion that I'm complimented for my size, it usually goes like this:

Person: Wow, you're pretty/have nice hips/big boobs/whatever.

Me: Thank you.

Person: It's true, real women have curves.

I'm left wondering: What the fuck? My friends who are skinny aren't real? Does that mean they're figments of my imagination? They can't find jeans that fit their tiny hips, so they don't exist?

It's meant as a compliment, but sizist catchphrases like "real women have curves" or "she should eat a sandwich" are just as hurtful to thin girls as "but you have such a pretty face, it's a shame you're so fat" or "she should stop eating" are to fat girls.

The only way we'll beat body-shaming, once and for all, is if we all stop bashing each other's size and start realizing that all bodies are good bodies, regardless of how large or small.

Related Links:
I Stopped Reading Health Mags and You Should Too | Full-Fat Frappuccinos | Stop Telling Angelina Jolie To Eat a Cheeseburger

Not Very "Smart", Huh?

Smart Ones "Lasagna" via Jezebel

Today Jezebel shared some horrible-looking diet 'food'. The pictures were enough to make me lose my appetite-- and enough to reassure me that going for yummy food regardless of my weight & having a healthy body image is far more appealing than eating what companies, dieticians and society tells me is healthy & maintaining a size that's not natural to me.

Go ahead. Gaze in the mirror & admire your gorgeous body- and then take a trip to the fridge for something delicious, like an apple or some lox on a bagel or an ice cream cone.

Related Links:

| I Stopped Reading Health Magazines and You Should Too | Health At Every Size (HAES) | Full-Fat Frappuccinos | Body Image |

Link Love 27.5.2012

Lego man in space, slap bracelets, a very smart cat & more!!

It's Friday! Time for some Link Love:

I really like these t-shirts... And if you're fat & fabulous like me, you will, too!

Why I Don't Own a Scale from Lovelyish is great. The way your body feels is more an indicator of health than the number on the scale, so I agree with this article. Do you?

You should follow CatFoodBreath on twitter. He's one smart feline. Check out the conversation we had the other day:

Ooh, these slap bracelets are nifty!

Two Toronto 17-year-olds sent a Lego man into space. How incredible is that?! (The Canadian flag was a nice touch).

Have a great weekend, gorgeous!

You ARE beautiful NOW!!

Becca, age 14

Sometimes, when I see old pictures of myself, I say "wow, I was so beautiful!" ...with the implication that I'm not beautiful now. And that needs to stop.

We look at ourselves in the mirror & only see flaws. 10 years from now, looking at photos from today, we'll think, I was so pretty/perfect/flawless, why didn't I see it then?!

So let's stop that. Today, look at yourself in the mirror. Look at how stunning you are! Don't wait.

What To Eat for Christmas Dinner

Image source.

Food is a hot topic year-round, but when the holidays approach, women begin to feel especially guilty about their food intake.

The delicious aroma of Christmas Dinner, the mouthwatering desserts on the table... It can be hard to resist. So here's my advice: Don't.

If you're calculating calories or banning dessert, how can you enjoy yourself? The holidays are supoosed to be festive and fun, not fraught with guilt and anxiety over what you eat & how you look.

Enjoy what you eat. Eat when you're hungry. Stop when you're full. And most importantly, have a wonderful time!

Starve yourself, then you'll be pretty (?!)

Victoria's Secret "Angel" Adriana Lima is all over the news this week, in celebration of malnutrition and conforming to society's absurd body ideals.

The model is preparing for the Victoria's Secret fashion show with an insane regimen: she "drinks a gallon of water a day. For nine days before the show, she will drink only protein shakes - "no solids". The concoctions include powdered egg. Two days before the show, she will abstain from the daily gallon of water, and "just drink normally". Then, 12 hours before the show, she will stop drinking entirely" (source).

The worst part of the extensive media coverage surrounding her is the exultation of starving oneself to achieve a 'perfect' body, one worth showing off in expensive lingerie. A woman who isn't dehydrated and malnourished is not worthy of praise and admiration?!

Victoria's Secret already has had their say in what body sizes are acceptable-- the ones their stores cater to, from extra small to large (or, on occasion, (a very small) extra large). The diet Angels are forced to adhere to just drives the point home, ten-fold. Not only are very thin women the only beautiful women, but they must be constantly starving, parched + exercising.

I used to excitedly watch the fashion show every year, drooling over the dainty lingerie and angel wings, but the glitz isn't enough for me this year. I'm boycotting Victoria's Secret until they wise up and feature models of all sizes (or, at the very least, naturally slender women who don't have to stave themselves to be considered pretty). Please join me.