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  • How I Feel About Lady Gaga’s Body Shamers

    How I Feel About Lady Gaga’s Body Shamers

    Let’s kick this post off with some positives – Lady Gaga absolutely slayed the half time show last night. She’s so talented, looked amazing, and her songs are fire. Not going to lie, she totally inspired me for those 12 minutes. She’s just a really cool, artistic person and sends a great message (Born This Way, anyone?).

    But how did I know it would somehow get ruined? Because there are still body shamers out there, that’s how. If you caught the performance, Gaga kicked off in a badass body suit, eventually moving into tiny high waisted bottoms and a cute football padded top. And if you somehow missed it, her stomach was showing. Her stomach, need I remind you, is tiny and flat. But naturally, crazy people took to social media and body shamed her.

    Want some sickening examples? One Twitter user said, “I just feel like Gaga’s dough belly should’ve been tucked in better. #jussayin.” Ha, okay dude. Another said, “Am I the only one that peeped Lady Gaga had a muffin top / lil pudge there.” Yep, you are. 

    How do I feel about it? I feel downright disturbed and outraged. First of all, it’s HER body. What gives you ANY right to give your opinion about it? I know she’s a celebrity and performing on a large platform, but I still don’t think it gives anybody the right. I also can’t stand seeing women shaming other women (which is a whole other story).

    I’m so glad to hear her fans, or “Little Monsters,” were defending her on social media; but why should they even have to? Here’s my thought process:

    1. She was dancing around, WHILE singing. Can we please remember the shape you have to be in for that?
    2. Lady Gaga is tiny and in crazy good shape. Calling her fat makes people’s perception of fat really messed up, and probably makes a lot of people feel not great about their own bodies.
    3. I dare any of these people sprawled on their couch to do what she did – in that outfit – and not look like a total ass clown.

    The fact that people think it’s normal/okay to critique her body (or anyone’s for that matter) enrages me in so many ways. It really affects people, and I don’t think a lot of people think that through. Imagine a 13 year-old girl scrolling her Twitter feed and seeing a tweet about Lady Gaga’s “rolls.” Suddenly, rolls are “bad” and make you “fat.” Suddenly, she feels fat. And she may be more likely to call herself fat while getting into a swimsuit this summer, or she may think it’s okay to call someone else fat.

    I may have taken that down a dark path that hopefully won’t happen, but think about it. Think about how everything you say can hurt and affect others, even if it’s not direct feedback to them. Hearing other people critiqued for their figures personally hurts me. I’m not kidding, it’s not something I like to hear – partly because I picture myself or loved ones on the receiving end, and it’s not a good feeling.

    I hope everyone reading this will just stop judging others, and good lord, accept some ROLLS. Because they are reality, and perfectly okay.

    I also hope to be a voice for everyone – everyone who’s been affected by body shamers, who feels affected when stuff like this happens, and who wants this crap to end. The reality of it all is, it’s those people’s problems, not yours, Gaga. So keep slayin’ the game, girl.

  • Why you Need to Drop Everything and Follow Celeste Barber on Instagram

    Why you Need to Drop Everything and Follow Celeste Barber on Instagram

    Wow guys, it’s been a while. The past few weeks have been INSANE (happy 2017?) and I have missed y’all. But I have the perfect post to keep things short and sweet today, so during the next coffee break you have at work – have a read.

    Per the title, no it’s not The Curve Confessions’ Instagram (but def follow that too). This post is actually all about one of the best people on Instagram ever, Celeste Barber. Celeste is an Australian comedian with a killer Instagram account – which in short, parodies celebrity photos (see Celeste’s Instagram here).

    As you’ll see in her feed, she’s got major body confidence, and I think this is something we should all take note of. The Instagram platform can make us all a little overly aware of how “perfect” we look (i.e., finding the right lighting, pose, background, filter), but Celeste’s complete mockery of it all just gets me every time. And not to mention, she reminds us that these celebrity photos can be downright outrageous, and completely unattainable for most of us in real life.

    Which brings me to why I follow her:

    1. We should all take ourselves a little less seriously sometimes
    2. We should all be more REAL/flaunt our bodies proudly

    Thanks for always bringing that much needed humor into my days, Celeste. You make me want to try less (I mean that in the absolute best way possible). 🙂

  • New Year’s Resolutions from the Curves

    New Year’s Resolutions from the Curves

    It’s crazy to think we’re about to have another year under our belts, y’all. But 2017 is upon us, so I know you’ve all been setting your “resolutions” to head into the New Year right.

    I feel very fortunate to say this year has been one of my best yet – and I’m genuinely excited about what the New Year has in store. But quite honestly, looking back, a lot of my past resolutions have revolved around my weight – whether it’s been to “lose weight,” “workout more,” “eat healthier” – or some variation of the three. This year, my list looks a whole lot different, so I want to share it.

    Here are my 2017 resolutions in a nutshell:

    • Wear heels more. Okay, this may sound weird ha, but I’m pretty tall – and I like exhuding that confidence at work (and in general) when I walk in a room with some extra height. Heels also add pizazz to any outfit, which, why wouldn’t I add?! Heels are only going to up my game in 2017, so expect to see more of them!
    • Love & cherish life. Knowing how precious and short life is just makes me want to go out and live it to the fullest everyday, and cherish what I have (yes, this includes my curves!). So this year, I’m going to do just that.
    • Be a better me. This year, I started tutoring at a great organization in the city for economically disadvantaged students, and I absolutely love it. Doing things for others is what it’s all about, so I’m challenging myself to keep doing this kind of good in 2017. I’m also challenging myself to keep treating my mind and body right, keep staying in touch regularly with family and friends, and keeping up with the blog and making you all feel good – which in turn will make me a better me.

    What are your resolutions for 2017? If they have anything to do with losing weight, just know, you look amazing the way you are 🙂

    Thanks for making my blog one of the highlights of my year – I’m excited for what’s to come in 2017!

    XOXO The Curve Confessions

  • The Downfalls of Social Media – and a Lesson Simone Biles Can Teach Us

    The Downfalls of Social Media – and a Lesson Simone Biles Can Teach Us

    When I was young, bullying mainly happened in person, or maybe over a computer on instant messaging. But today, it can happen a lot more places than that – like on social media. I just came across an article about Simone Biles, 19 year old olympic gymnast, who was recently body shamed on Twitter. Let’s not forget that Simone is NINETEEN. It sickens me that anyone has the audacity to make a comment about her body; but also sadly doesn’t surprise me. Thankfully, Simone was so mature with her response to these trolls, and tweeted:

    simone-b

    You all might have seen my post on Aly Raisman, too, and it’s the same type of thing. People judging people – and I’m sick of it. Aly and Simone’s stories are examples that are open to the public, ones that we all have access to; but think about the kid in the lunch room, or the girl on the high school basketball team that no one hears about. These people are being affected too – just silently.

    Simone is a nineteen year old celebrity who has to deal with this scrutiny in the public eye; which has got to be so hard. She’s so brave to put a tweet out like that, but do you think this won’t affect her? People’s comments about her body may stay with her longer than you think. I hope they don’t, but why do we live in a world where some want to put people down? Why does Simone Biles have to feel remorse over her body, or defend it for that matter, just because someone has a problem with it? Why does anyone have a problem with it in the first place? I have so many questions.

    Social media is a part of our every day lives, and we’re all pretty aware of it at this point. Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram – these are all some of the ways we stay in touch with our friends, the world, and what we’re interested in following. But sometimes it becomes too much, and we have to be reminded of the dangerous effects; like studies linking social media usage to poor body image and self esteem, or people being body shamed like Simone. The young kids really worry me most, because they’re at such an impressionable age, and in my opinion seeing way too much.

    Most of us might not be under this spotlight, and are hopefully not getting these types of comments or push back from our audiences, which is good. Thankfully, we’re also likely not the mean people making these comments. But this is a lesson to take a good hard look at your words and how they affect people. We need to stop judging people, and stop hiding behind computer screens and phones.

    We need to go out into the world and get some joy, some fulfillment, heck, give someone a compliment. We all as humans need to support each other, not tear each other down. Social media can be a positive thing; a connection, a way to keep in touch – but the more we’re using it like this, the more it makes me want to stay far away.

    Something that we’ve all experienced with social media is pressure; pressure over the amount of “likes” or positive feedback you’re getting on posts, or comparing yourself to the fitness models you’re seeing on your feeds. We all want to feel accepted for what we post, and we’re all going to run into things we’re slightly jealous of. And on the comparison front, Steve Furtick says it best, “The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” So, focusing on social media as a way to feel valued, or as a means of comparison, is not going to get us anywhere.

    In this age of social media, we really need to focus on getting positive reinforcements, having positive moments, etc. out in the world. I don’t know about you all, but getting a genuine hug from someone I haven’t seen in a while, having a drink and a great chat with a friend, giving someone a real time compliment, is SO much more important than getting a bunch of likes on a photo. And like I always say, wishing you were someone else or comparing yourself to others is going to get you nowhere. Being you is enough. We need to remind ourselves of these things in a time where social media seems and feels so important.

    I digress. For real though, Simone Biles’ situation is something we all need to be mindful of. Everything we say to someone (especially publicly) can never be taken back, and can have more negative impact than you may know. And spending too much time on social media, comparing yourself, or measuring your success by the amount of praise (or lack thereof) you’re getting is just not a good way to live.

    So, make an effort in 2017 to stop obsessing over what you’re going to post – how many likes you’re getting – whatever it is (I will be doing it too). Enjoy the company around you, enjoy the little things, and be kind to others.

    And like Simone Biles’ tweet, stay true to yourself. Do YOU – that’s all that matters. Stand up to the bullies, be proud of yourself and your body, and do what you want to do for yourself. Which brings me to one of my favorite quotes: “Be you. Do you. For you.” Don’t do it for anyone else, y’all. ❤

     

     

     

  • The Media’s Photoshop Problem – and this Lane Bryant Model’s Perfect Photo Clap Back

    The Media’s Photoshop Problem – and this Lane Bryant Model’s Perfect Photo Clap Back

    Scrolling through my social media feeds and flipping through magazines, I’ve questioned my fair share of photos for their authenticity. Airbrushing, tightening, whitening, and everything in between HAPPENS, and probably a lot more than we think. We all look at these perfect people depicted in magazines or on Instagram gawking at them, but do we really know how many rounds of photoshop that picture has gone through? Nope, we don’t.

    I recently came across an Instagram photo of a Lane Bryant model, Denise Bidot, and man is it refreshing. It’s refreshing because she looks like a normal person, and she is definitely not airbrushed – the stretch marks on her stomach are completely visible (and beautiful, might I mention). Her caption says, “Loving this new image and how real it is. Thank you @lanebryant for loving my body, stretch marks and all.”

    I love it, I love it, I love it. Okay, can you tell I love it? I love it because we’re all so conditioned to think the way perfectly airbrushed bodies in the media look is ‘normal.’ It’s not. But this photo from Denise Bidot IS normal – and in my opinion, her stretch marks shouldn’t be considered not normal. A lot of women have them, and they’re perfectly okay. So why do so many of the media make these ‘imperfections’ not normal?

    I’m sure you’ve all witnessed instances of celebrities being photoshopped, but this article outlines some horrible ones. A few highlights – Katy Perry’s stomach being smoothed out, thighs being thinned, and boobs being lifted in Rolling Stone, or Meghan Trainor’s waist being slimmed in her “Me Too” music video (which she corrected, thank goodness).

    Thankfully, some celebs call people out when they notice the nipping and tucking (like Zendaya and Kerry Washington, for example). It’s great that they’re acknowledging this problem, but why does the media want to depict them as something they’re not? I truly don’t get it.

    But that’s part of why I started The Curve Confessions – because our views of beauty are constantly skewed in the world around us. These kinds of photos are already changing our beauty ideals – making us think what we see from these perfectly framed women is what’s considered beautiful. But if we look at Katy Perry’s photoshop mishap in the article above, that makes it even worse. Because a celebrity like her, who is considered extremely attractive, is getting edited. I can’t help but think, what the hell would they do if I went in for a photoshoot? It’s just not okay to even have to compare ourselves to this (which is why we shouldn’t).

    I love the media (reading the news is part of my job), and I love following celebrity news – it’s something I really enjoy keeping tabs on. But, I want us all to take a critical eye to this stuff, and realize that it can be a complete fairy tale land. Yes, a lot of celebrities have killer bodies and look very similar to how they look in magazine articles we all see – that’s going to happen. But next time you’re scrolling, just remember that it COULD be photoshopped. And if it’s not, you should also remember that this is not the norm, and you don’t have to strive to look like this to be beautiful.

    Also, remember my post on Refinery 29? 67 percent of women are considered plus-size, but only TWO percent of them (or should I say us :)) are depicted in the media. We see things in the media that give us a completely skewed view of the real world – so let’s all make an effort to look around and remember the normal, beautiful and diverse bodies we see every day.

    I just had to get this photoshop stuff off my chest, because I hate seeing all of us compare ourselves to these people who live such different lifestyles than us (and if you don’t compare yourself to these beauty ideals, keep on keeping on!). I want you all to set your own beauty standards. You are beautiful, and you need to believe it – no matter what.

    PS – I think this goes without saying, but any photo you ever see of me for the rest of time will never be photo shopped or altered. 🙂 Also – you go, Denise Bidot, you go.

    Photo credit: Denise Bidot