I came to body positivity because it held the promise of something radical—the possibility that I, as a very fat person, could be seen and understood for who I am. Not because I am happy or healthy, thin, or beautiful, but because I am human. But that was before the skyrocketing popularity of body positivity. It was before their slouched stomachs with one small fat roll were called brave. This was before fat shaming was defined in the popular imagination by the inaccurate judgment of thin women as fat: straight-size women who embodied the beauty standard like pop stars Jessica Simpson and
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