This #fatbabefriday features not one but three gorgeous fat babes – GabiFresh, Tess Munster and Nadia Aboulhosn – with their everyBODYisflawless video!
“As a fat woman of color, I’m often treated differently than my thin, white peers. By brands, by fellow bloggers, by the media… I get passed over for things I’m more than qualified for. I get stares and cold shoulders at fashion events. I hear whispers. I get hate mail and trolling comments from people who call me disgusting and say I shouldn’t be allowed in public. Like Bey, I usually just brush these people off, and I never give them power by addressing them here or anywhere else. But it gets tiring, and sometimes I’m really tempted to drop the lady-like thing and just kind of…go off. So when I heard Beyonce telling her haters to Bow Down in the song ***Flawless, I immediately fell in love.” – GabiFresh
As soon as I read this (I read Gabi’s blog post prior to watching the video), I started getting really excited. I haven’t seen the original Beyonce video yet (did you know I only found out who Beyonce was a few months ago?), but I immediately connected with Gabi’s words. Because I’ve been there. I am still there. This seems to be something a lot of fat fashionistas experience (as well as something I’m sure that many people can relate to) – the trolling, the hating, all of the bullshit.
“…you don’t have to be a certain size to claim your flawlessness. Fat is not a flaw. This video is dedicated to the mainstream media, to the fashion industry, to internet bullies, and to anyone else who thinks it’s their right to try to make us feel less than because of their insecurities. #everyBODYisflawless” – GabiFresh
I’m so proud of Gabi, Nadia and Tess – this video is amazing. Thank you for all that you do, ladies!
xo Meagan
While I do understand why you posted this video…I hate it. Women spend their lives being measured and objectified and f we are going to “fix” this, I’m puzzled how caricaturing woman in the “sexy” role is going to help? I don’t understand how one hand we are asking not to be judged on our shape, but are allowing people to judge our “sexiness”? For me, the answer lies in respecting the human dignity of another, not reducing them to one facet of their whole person. This video doesn’t empower me, however it does worry me that we are tapping in to societies most misogynistic “parts” to find acceptance.
Interestingly, the video didn’t come across that way to me. I thought it wasn’t so much about being “sexy” as it was about a bunch of kick-ass women standing up and claiming their right to be whoever/whatever they want regardless of size/shape/background. My favourite bit was these lyrics:
We teach girls to shrink themselves
To make themselves smaller
We say to girls
“You can have ambition
But not too much
You should aim to be successful
But not too successful
Otherwise you will threaten the man”
Because I am female
I am expected to aspire to marriage
I am expected to make my life choices
Always keeping in mind that
Marriage is the most important
Now marriage can be a source of
Joy and love and mutual support
But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage
And we don’t teach boys the same?
We raise girls to each other as competitors
Not for jobs or for accomplishments
Which I think can be a good thing
But for the attention of men
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings
In the way that boys are
Feminist: the person who believes in the social
Political, and economic equality of the sexes
Unfortunately, the people who NEED to hear the words won’t….they’re the ones easily distracted by naked flesh…