So heres a question for you: is it easier now for a plus sized woman then it has ever been before? I mean, is it more acceptable to have a little junk in the trunk then it was, say, ten years ago? With companies centered around plus sized clothing and
plus size swimwear, are women able to find ways to look good without having to fit into previously defined ideas of beauty?
I know, I know, pretty heady stuff for a fluff piece, right? But I started thinking about this the other day when I was looking for swimsuits for the upcoming summer season. Now, Im not really a plus-sized woman by definition, but Im also not what you would call stick thin. Because of this, I have always had a little bit of a body image problem. I come from the age when women in magazine ads were rail thin. You know, the Twiggy era. The thing that I always found interested about that age is that I never met a single man who was into that look. Men dont like rails, they like women with some meat, at least the ones Ive known. Because of that, I always found it weird that women are set to this standard that men really dont set them too themselves.
Because of this disconnect between men and women, we have a tendency to become our own worst critics. There is nothing more terrifying than having to pick out a new bathing suit for the summer, even though the only opinion we are really using is our own. Answer me this: when we are trying on different bathing suits do we ever ask our husbands opinion? Not typically, because we feel too embarrassed to do so. Wouldnt it make it so much easier to have someone elses opinion when it comes to what bathing suit looks best on us? Yes, but we do dont because ultimately we have decided that we are the best judges of how we look, even though we have a bad self body image. Thats a little weird isnt it?
Unfortunately with that thought in mind I cant really end this piece by saying We just have to break through the barrier and feel better about ourselves can I? We really have no one to blame but ourselves, even though we are really not to blame ourselves, if that makes sense. Ill say this though, next time youre trying on your bathing suits, ask your man, or woman, for their opinion. Chances are, they will be much nicer then youd imagine or that you would be on yourself.
