BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Large & Lovely Big IS Beautiful!

I love the 'Big IS Beautiful!' article by Jodi Turchin (dietandbody.com/article1176.html) where she wrote:

"It's nice to look in the mirror and hear voices in my head say, "You go, girl" instead of "You'd be so beautiful IF." There is no IF. I am beautiful"

I really like that idea. I am getting to that point. I still have moments of self doubt. I have come to realize that I am a big girl and nothing I can do will change that. I can be healthy by eating good and exercising, but I will never be a small person. I think of it this way, I wear a size 10 shoe for a reason. If I go by the world's ideas of small, I would be grossly under weight for my 5'7 height.

I have been a big girl pretty much my entire life. But I never had the issues with being bigger than my petite friends in high school and being less attractive or beautiful. In fact most of my friends use to tease me cause I got more dates and had more boys liking me than them. Perhaps it was my personality or that I am truly beautiful or my very voluptous figure. Who knows? I find myself at age 34 still looking in the mirror and saying to myself. Dam your cute..
You can try and teach and educate socieaty on self and size acceptance. But it begins with you and within. Love your mind your body and your soul and that is what you will project unto others. At age 34 and a size 26 I am still beautiful and self confident. I do go thru the moments of wanting to go on a diet and wishing I was a size 14 again. But after giving birth to 2 children I am at this moment comfortable with my self. I might wake up tomorrow and decide I want a change but for right now I remain simply Barbie the cute BBW , mother and girlfriend from Florida and loving my life to the fullest.

I remember in college I lived on an all girls floor and we'd have ladies nights, one time the topic was body image (it was thought that one of the girls (or more) had an eating disorder and emaciated looking) I remember telling these girls what I'd tell myself as I walk down the street/hall/etc "I am a beautiful, buxom woman and any man would be honored to have me" At the time I was 21 to all of their 17/18/19's. I still remember the wide eyed expressions I got from them.
People never believe me when I tell them what I really weigh, but being 6' I can hide and or carry - take your pick - my weight, 275 & and a sz 18/20, VERY well.
I find it disheartening to see plus women hiding in their clothes that are too big or poorly cut etc. I remember stripping for my mom in the dining room one morning to show her that the bust of my shirt was rouched (sp?) rather than being too small. As some of you know I work at Lane Bryant, now my goal in life isnt to make women uncomfortable or dress them like street walkers, but I really do wish that I could bottle up some of my own confidence and hand it out for free to them. We all have our own personal demons, I just wish fewer women gave into them.
Ok, Im off the soap box - sorry =\

x0x Wendy