That time Gabi, Jazzy, Dani and Chrissy broke my Internet.
I was all prepared to write something else today. In fact, I was supposed to post it yesterday, but time got the best of me.
And then, something incredible came across my Instagram timeline.
Ebony released this month's cover and GabiFresh, Jazmine Sullivan, Danielle Brooks and Chrisette Michele were on it. And not just on it. But they were slathered across the page in different flavors of brown and I'm sure that at the moment that picture was taken the room smelled like flowers and vanilla and maybe even a hint of coconut oil.
And then my internet broke.
I think it was just mine. No one else's. Immediately, I began to get text messages, IG and Facebook tags. This picture was literally all up and down my timeline. And I loved every single moment of it.
Regardless of the #teamfit movement and the countless fat shaming bullies that come along with it, representation still matters to us fat girls. The body positive movement has sort of shifted this idea that only size 2 models are acceptable. But even in that, many times the "plus" models aren't even in double digits yet. There is still work to be done.
Before I go on, I want to address something. I've started to see many arguments against the BPM that say that body positivity is just an excuse to be fat and that we should be okay with ourselves but not with our fat bodies.
Let me woo-sah real quick before I go on...
There is absolutely no reason for you not to love the fat body that you're in. Love the hell out of that body. Because loving your body runs much deeper than your rolls and stretch marks. It's about being patient and kind to yourself. And those things will lead you to a healthier lifestyle - physically, emotionally and mentally.
Back to this GabiDaniJazzyChrissy mashup on my screen.
This is big folks. Four beautifully curved women with thighs and booties and hips and melanin in their skin. I almost wished they released this in February. With the epic Black History Month we had it would have put the icing on the cake. But I'm okay with it being the cover for Women's History Month. 'Cause all this black girl magic on my screen...I just can't.
When I see this picture, I think about the chunky 8th grader who is struggling with herself. Struggling to have the confidence to just be; no matter what shape or size she is. And then I picture her seeing this picture on the cover of a magazine at the grocery store and just in one look is empowered to have the confidence necessary to be herself - whatever that means to her.
When Chrisette Michele posted the picture her caption said, "Our bodies occur to other people more than they occur to us and sometimes we have to stop and sit and talk about them. " If only that were true for everyone. She goes on to say that we should just celebrate beauty and not curves. Chrissy, baby, I'm not gonna agree with you there. We should celebrate the HELL out of curves. Especially, the ones on the front cover of Ebony magazine this month!
TGwBH