Tamisha Thomas takes an abused and abusive term in order to re-define it.
The world is obsessed with dress size. With so much pressure to be thin, to fit in with this world of extreme voyeurism, I was far from surprised when Channel 4’s documentary, Plus Size Wars, focusing on full-figured role models – yes, models – caused a big storm.
During the documentary I couldn’t help but feel proud. It was fulfilling to see plus-size women empowering themselves, embracing their extreme curves, their thighs that rub together, and not-so-perfect midriffs.
Women whose confidence made me see beauty, not size!
However, the feeling of joy was short-lived, and I soon became angry.
As a woman who takes a size 12 (size 10 on a good day), at first I wasn’t sure why I felt so irate. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: FAT. The word itself carries a lot of weight; it should be handled with care. But in this documentary it was implied and applied without due care and attention.
Although the female narrator started off well, appearing to convey a positive message, by the middle of the programme her tone of voice was heading back towards traditional disdain, while at the end it sounded extremely rude, condescending and outrageously judgemental. Ironically, the programme which had promised to put plus-size models on a pedestal, somehow managed to take them down instead.
(Fullerfigurefullerbust) blogger Georgina Horne made an interesting point during the programme while explaining why she wanted to lose weight. Despite the fact the size 16 ‘instafamous’ model succeeded in making a name for herself by flaunting her curvaceous body, she wanted to ‘change her body to suit her mind’.
OK for her, but I was more impressed with how self assured the remaining plus size women were, because it’s more of a challenge to change your mind to suit your body, than it is to change your body to suit your mind.
Although my current size is bang in-between ‘plus size’ and ‘skinny’, I confess I have stubborn fat in unwanted areas. Throughout my life I have struggled to obtain the ‘perfect’ size and only recently have I realised I will never be happy.
No matter how big (at my biggest size 16, the average size for a British woman) or how small my body gets, my mind will always tell me I am the fattest person in the room.
Instead of reacting to the Plus Size Wars straightaway, I made the conscious decision to twiddle my fingers for a few days; just to see what the rest of the world would have to say on the topic. Even though my fingers yearned for the keyboard, I remained resilient.
Singer/songwriter Jamelia kicked off the plus size debate when she took to Loose Women to say that unhealthy people should be made to feel uncomfortable. ‘I don’t believe stores should stock clothes below or above a certain weight,’ she declared.
Reviews of Plus Size Wars included words like ‘horrifying’, ‘worrying’ and ‘shocking’, echoing the many harsh statements previously made on this topic.
In 2013, Katie Hopkins declared that the term ‘plus size’ is ‘simply a euphemism for being fat’. She still maintains that ‘big people are not beautiful.‘
It’s interesting to see what is classed as beautiful and healthy in today’s society.
Super skinny models have been seen as bearers of ultimate beauty. I have to admit they are good at what they do. On the catwalk they exude elegance and the fashion photography plastered on retail shop windows makes them appear desirable.
But last month while walking through my local Westfield shopping centre I couldn’t help but stare when an extremely conceited woman walked passed me. Both her legs together appeared smaller than just one of mine – my motherly love told me to buy her a mouth-watering cheeseburger.
I was left with my jaw on the ground when I realised that the woman stomping past me was British fashion model Jourdan Dunn.
It’s interesting that people who appear malnourished go unnoticed. Women who are painfully thin – skeletal, even – are classed as beautiful and healthy, when in reality they are neither.
No wonder more people are taking extreme measures to lose weight, with deadly dieting pills and tapeworms, to name but a few.
For example on 12 April student Eloise Parry died after swallowing eight diet pills purchased online. The deadly dose of 2.4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) resulted in the 21-year -old losing her life. In 2008, 26-year-old Selena Warlond died from taking the same slimming pill, after her heart rate and temperature rapidly increased.
Surely these deaths illusatrate a fundamental problem.
‘Fat shaming’ and the pressure to be thin can have fatal consequences. The fear of being ‘fat’ pushes people who are already insecure, vulnerable and demoralised, over the edge.
That’s why today I want to give the word ‘fat’ a new definition.
My new definition is specially for those people who are bullied by the word, for those who feel less human being simply because they are a double digit number in the high street stores.
I am a 23-year-old, size 12 woman with curves, and the proud owner of full, voluptuous breasts.
And yes I am FAT – Fabulous, Artistic and extremely Talented.