My Curvy Girl Struggles
Sunday, November 08, 2015
Hi guys! Sorry for my 2 month hiatus i didn't aspect to be so busy that quickly when i returned to college. But I AM BACK, with a treat. This is my first instalment for the 'Journal' section of my blog. It will be more personal, sharing funny stories, lifestyle tips etc.
Here is a personal feature that i wrote for my media course. I hope you guys love it as i will be doing more...
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| Curvy Girl Struggles |
Before I turned 8 I was on the
opposite side of the curvy spectrum. I shied away from my mum’s West African dishes and only had hot
chocolate; when looking back I think was a confused child. My mum’s hopes of me
gaining weight occurred when I had an asthma attack at 8 years old. With asthma
came my inhalers, which contained steroids that caused me to put on weight. Puberty
was right around the corner, and with puberty came hormones, and with hormones
came more weight gain YAY ME! I did not care about what I looked like until I started
high school, and that was the start of my curvy girl struggles…
When Your 12 But You Look 18
I was the only one out of my
friends who looked older. My new love for makeup does not help however I am
beginning to see its perks. Even before
I discovered the wonders of what highlighting and contouring can do, people were
still surprised when I told them my actual age. I was short but my fuller hips,
busts and thighs made up for it. It was a struggle because those cute dresses
that you’re supposed to wear just looked inappropriate on me. I had cleavage
when I was 12! I found it strange that my friends admired me for looking ‘grown
up’. Looking like I was 12 was hard. My friends looked like tooth picks, they
could fit into anything. I had that extra ‘jelly’ that made finding clothes a
mission.
Curvy = Fat?
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| Source: Giphy |
Is curvy the politically correct
way to say a girl is fat? I see American documentaries about obesity and
these huge women would say “I love my curves girl!” I would look at them and
think you’re crazy, lose some weight. That image always reappeared whenever
someone said something about my curves. That was my insecurities talking. Some
say that magazines use “curvy” to make girls feel better about being fat.
Others think that calling someone skinny is just as bad; I think there is more negativity
behind the word ‘fat’ than ‘skinny’. However, as I have gotten older, I have realised
that people come in different shapes and sizes and diversity is good. Celebrities
like Beyoncé have given women more confidence
to embrace their bodies and BE BEAUTIFUL! “Who runs the world, [curvy] girls!”
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| Source: Giphy |
Laziness and “bodygoals”
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| Source: Giphy |
When PE is removed from your
school or college timetable, you become lazy. I was in the athletics, hockey
and rounder’s team. I was even a sports leader…and look at me now. I am eating
triple chocolate cookies and crying over those ‘perfect’ models on Instagram
hashtaging “bodygoals”. Sad times. I count fitting into my jeans as a daily
workout. I probably do 10 lunges, 5 squats and 3 jumping jacks every morning to
get into my jeans. Yet, they still don’t fit my body right. My fellow curvy
girls will agree that jeans in general are one of our top struggles. They have
to be big enough to skim over our thighs and bum but also snatch in our small
waists, which never happens. Guess I have to put a pause on my fitness goals
for now and wear more jeans.
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| Source: Giphy |
Extra-large Girl in an Extra-small World
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(From left to right) Chandice Huffine, Ashley Graham and Tess Holiday
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Tess Holiday, Chandice Huffine and Ashley Graham. These pulse size
models are dominating the industry right now. YASS! It is about time we saw
some extra jiggle on the runway. The
inequality in the modelling industry has gone on way too long. When I was
younger, I didn’t see a model in a magazine that looked like me or that I could
relate to. Naomi Campbell does not
count. Now, I feel like the
representation in the fashion industry is improving. However, with progress
comes “Negative Nancy’s” and “Haters” calling this a “plus sized problem”. Their
scared of change. Bless.
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| Chanel Boateng - FLAWLESS |
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| Gracie Francessa - SLAYING |
Beauty bloggers like Gracie Francessa and Chanel Boateng help us with our curvy
girl struggles via their YouTube channel and blog posts. They make us feel like
we are not alone and it’s great to laugh at their embarrassing stories because
we can relate. They make being curvy and on trend easier for us with their tips
and recommendations. Gracie and Chanel are an example of what being fearless
looks like. Check them out online. You won’t regret it! They have helped me and
hopefully they will help you. Being a curvy girl does not have to be a struggle
anymore.
Tess Holiday's Twitter/Instagram
Ashley Graham's Twitter/Instagram
Chandice Huffine's Twitter/Instagram
Gracie Francessa's Blog/Twitter/Instagram
Chanel Boateng Blog/Twitter/Instagram
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post. If you did make sure you share it and let me know what your curvy struggles are in the comment section below.
Ashley Graham's Twitter/Instagram
Chandice Huffine's Twitter/Instagram
Gracie Francessa's Blog/Twitter/Instagram
Chanel Boateng Blog/Twitter/Instagram
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post. If you did make sure you share it and let me know what your curvy struggles are in the comment section below.
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