Why #BOPO is about more than just fat bodies

Body Positivity, or BOPO is big news all of a sudden. All the celebrities seem to be joining the bandwagon and that’s great!

But they seem to be attracting the usual negativity of anyone that raises their head above the parapet for something they believe in. There seems to be a misconception that body positivity should only be for the fat and obese, that a straight sized attractive person has no business identifying with messages of self-love and body confidence.

We at Positively Perfect vehemently oppose that idea.

Firstly, being fat doesn’t prohibit beauty.
Secondly, we have never met anyone, of any size that doesn’t have at least one insecurity about the way they look. Be that a supermodel or a shop worker, we all have at least one thing that given a magic wand, we would change about how we look.

Now this makes body positivity sound frivolous and shallow. And I suppose compared to many subjects it is.  But there are deeper issues that evolve from our self-deprecation of our bodies.

It is no shock that depression amongst teens is at an all-time high. Self-mutilation, body dysmorphia and eating disorders are all on the rise too. We don’t have to make too big a leap to connect these rises to the 24/7 social media lifestyle we now all enjoy. But do we?

Do we actually enjoy having perfectly toned and sculpted models paraded in front of us to aspire to? Is it healthy that these models themselves have been edited and photoshopped until they no longer resemble their true selves?

We follow these social media stars and watch in awe at their tanned bodies on enviable holidays, having fun with their friends and living a lifestyle we less fortunate mortals can only dream of.

But is that healthy?

The BOPO movement, or certainly the one that Positively Perfect are contributing to, is about learning to love who you are. Not just focusing on how you look. We promote that you are more than your body, and hopefully help to shine a light on the falsity of those feeds. We want people to enjoy those photos, but also understand they aren’t the reality.

We want people to realise that body issues effect everyone, tall short, fat or thin, every colour, every religion, every gender and every age group.

We are about size inclusivity. And whilst that idea is out of favour with the original body positivity crusaders who prefer to be plus positive only, for reasons we understand but don’t necessarily agree with.

Our fight is for everyone.

When someone learns to love themselves completely they feel better equipped to stand up to bullies.

They go for that new promotion.
They don’t accept the doctor fobbing them off.
They won’t allow their partner to insult or abuse them.

Loving yourself is about more than just being brave enough to wear a bikini or show your bingo wings, it is about life and death in many cases.

We are passionate about our cause, and we are so glad you are joining us.

Don’t allow anyone to tell you #BOPO is frivolous, or fat centric. It is vital, it is important and it is working!

So keep it up, we certainly will!

Chelle
Survivor, Crusader & General Wonder Woman.

“Plus Size” does not mean Fat!

Today I found myself in a heated debate on a page.

Someone had shared a photo of a woman from a website selling a plus size bikini. She is described on the website as being a size 18.  There were a great many comments shocked by this fact and accusing the site of having edited the photos.

Now there really is an issue with websites editing and photo shopping their models, and I was cheered to see that so many had come to realise that not everything we see should be taken as fact.

But there then became a lot of:
“No way is she plus size, where is her belly”
“She is no way plus size. She looks like me and im a size 8!”
“She just looks like a normal healthy woman, not plus size”
“If she is plus size then I’m a whale”

It saddened me as I realised that these women weren’t actually criticising the model. They all accepted that she had a lovely figure.

But they were all under the misconception that plus size = fat/obese/ugly/undesirable. This woman couldn’t possibly be a true plus size woman as she was attractive and had a nice figure.

When I pointed out that yes, she was plus sized as in the UK a model between a size 12-18 is plus sized. And plus sized clothing ranges usually start at a 14, so this size 18 lady was definitely plus sized. There was outrage.

How could a size 14, or worse still a 12, be considered plus size. I also pointed out that most models are very tall, so their size will always look better proportioned than on some others. I shared the below photos of myself, size 22 and weighing roughly 20 stone, But also 6’1.

They weren’t angry that the fashion industry is compartmentalising us based on our sizes. They were horrified that seemingly slim women would be considered “plus size” because we inherently consider this to be a derogatory term.

It became clear that when people hear the term Plus size they imagine a very large, very overweight person. They imagine wobbly bits and someone that would not be considered aesthetically pleasing in the mainstream.

THIS IS WRONG!
Plus Size is merely the term for the collection of clothes.

When creating clothes it is possible to just “size up” a garment within the typical 8-14 range of sizes. But beyond that you need to re measure and adjust accordingly, as there needs to be adaptations to the cut and shape of the garment. Which is why when we order cheap things from china we are always left scratching our heads as to how we get them on!

Plus size isn’t a judgement. It isn’t a comment on your weight. It isn’t a way to describe yourself, your worth or how you look. It is nothing more than the tag you put into the search bar when narrowing down your pay day purchase list.

Now we would dearly love to see more achievable bodies within the fashion industry. And I think most would agree that seeing a lady with the odd lump and bump can only help us to imagine what an outfit will look like on ourselves. But we need to first remove this negativity from the idea of Plus size fashion.

When we understand that it is ok to be plus size. It is possible to be plus size and still have a toned body, a beautiful shape, a flat tummy and a beautiful face. Maybe then we will see that the plus size ranges don’t need to be hidden at the back. They don’t need to be online only, because god forbid we may want to try something on in the changing rooms.

We don’t get upset by the term Petite, or Tall, Plus Size is no different.

The label inside your dress is just that, a label. It doesn’t define or describe you!

Chelle
Survivor, Crusader & General Wonder Woman.