This article was originally published on elephantjournal.com. Read the complete here
Up until recently, I used Pinterest the same way most women do: to collect craft ideas I will never make and delectable recipes I don’t have the skill to cook. It was a total, mind-numbing time-waster that somehow seemed more productive than playing random games.
That was until I saw among all the frivolous pins an article written by a woman named Jes, better known as “The Militant Baker.” Before she became internationally known for her “Attractive and Fat” photo shoot and open letter to the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch, she wrote this amazing blog entry called “Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls… So I Will.” Right there, in print, were all the things I have ever wanted to hear.
“You’re allowed to fall in love with yourself. I promise.”
That statement hit me the hardest. Even though I had recently found love with a man who loved my curves, I had yet to fall in love with myself. I have spent 30 years in this body, 30 years of ups and downs (mostly ups) with my weight, 30 years of on and off teasing and tormenting and self-hate.
That kind of thing doesn’t just disappear overnight; no blog could make it go away instantly. But there was Jes, looking hot in her pencil skirt, leopard print blouse, purple hair and bright red high heels at size 22, telling me I was gorgeous, and I knew she wouldn’t lie to me.
The first pin led me to read another article, and another, and eventually an entire book about positive body image. I now follow a half dozen or so like-minded women on Pinterest who focus on the beauty of bigger ladies, and I have a board of my own called “Embrace Yourself, You’re Beautiful.” I started the board as a way to remind myself my body was not flawed, but I do hope others follow it and take it to heart as well.
There are an amazing amount of “body positive” websites and blogs with the mission of reminding women that their size does not equal their worth. My Pinterest activity is my (small) way of contributing.
This article was originally published on www.elephantjournal.com read the complete article here
Image of beautiful woman via Shutterstock
