I recently wrote about leaving the body positivity movement, having called myself a ‘body positivity advocate’ for about 18 months. It left me feeling a little… well, lost if I’m honest. The body positivity movement had helped me so much for so long. It had made me fall in love with my body, learn to appreciate it for all it can do and not how it looks, learn to view myself as perfect even though I’m not a size six. Leaving it felt like a break up… I still loved it and wanted it but it couldn’t be mine.
Several bloggers and influencers have started ‘midsize’ and ‘average size’ groups and hashtags, in the aim of making space for those of us who are a size 12-18; not plus size but not slim either. Somewhere awkwardly in the middle. However, when I looked at these people – mostly women – I found that I still didn’t look like them. I didn’t see anyone whose body shape was similar to my own, at least in my opinion.
Clearly there was only one thing for it – I had to make my own space.
I became a curvefluencer.
A what?
A curvefluencer!
My whole adult life I have been complimented on my curves. I have big boobs, a big bum, a small waist and big hips, thick thighs and a little chubby belly. I rarely see anyone the same build as me – the girls with small waists and big hips usually have a flat belly, whereas I do not. I’m often called curvy and I had a ‘lightbulb’ moment… I was influencing other people to love their curves! That made me a curvefluencer, right?
A quick Insta search showed me that there was no one using the hashtag, and so I quickly nabbed it for my own, creating a graphic to post on my social media platforms to inform the world that I was claiming the hashtag, and inviting other people to use it to share images of their curves.
Accurate representation matters, and in the same way we don’t want slim bodies becoming the face of body positivity, I didn’t want stereotypical sexy girls with curves in all the right places becoming the face of my ‘curvefluencer movement’. I wanted people who might have curvy hips and bums but also bellies like me. People with big boob and no bums, and vice versa. Of course, people with the perfect hourglass figure are welcome to use the hashtag and join the gang, but it’s not completely aimed at them. Hopefully that makes sense…
Representation matters.
In 2019, we’re slowly beginning to realise that actually, not everyone looks the same. That actually, different kinds of bodies can be sexy. I grew up with no representation of a body like mine in mainstream media, and I hope that I can be one of many, many people changing that for the youth of today. Everyone deserves to see someone that looks like them in mainstream media. I’m not just talking fat or thin, either. I’m talking disabled, trans, non-binary, black, asian, gay… everyone deserves representation.
I love my curves because they make me feel sexy and feminine. I love finding a piece of clothing that clings to them and makes me look sassy and fierce as hell. They’re not for everyone, but they are for me and that’s what matters.
Everyone looks different. EVERYONE. No two people on this planet are the same, and when you think about it, that’s pretty magical, right? Why would you want to spend so much time trying to be someone else when you could just be you? Incredible, unique, one of a kind you?
One of my favourite quotes of all time is “A rose and a sunflower look totally different, yet people think both are beautiful. That’s the same for people, too.” Similarly, “Fairy lights and flowers look totally different and yet people still think they’re both beautiful”
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder at the end of the day, everyone is going to like different things. Don’t be beautiful or perfect like someone else. Be beautiful and perfect like you. Someone will appreciate you for exactly who you are… and so should you.
Join the movement
If you’re curvy and want to see some other lovely ladies flaunting their curves, or maybe you want to flaunt your own, why not join the movement? Share a photo on Instagram and hashtag it #Curvefluencer so I can show you alllll the love! Let’s make sure that we create positive representation for our bodies and give people after us something incredible to look up to!
Love from, Florence Grace
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