YouTuber and plus-size model Loey Lane recently posted this video of some swimsuit ideas. What's most striking about the video is the monologue she wrote in the description below it.
In a preface to it, she writes:
I didn't want this to be just another fashion video; I wanted it to be a lot more. The monologue is based on something I wrote in an Instagram post earlier this month, and I'll type the full thing out down below. Post it on Tumblr, write it down and put it on your wall or just keep it in your head; but remember these words. Remember that there is nothing wrong with you or your body. I love all of you more than you know.
They're words that are worth sharing.
This is my body.
This is the body of someone who has struggled with an eating disorder. This body is misunderstood. When people see it they assume I sit on the couch and eat McDonald's all day, when in reality I've never even seen a Big Mac in person.
They tell me it's wrong.
"It's not okay to be fat," they'll say.
"You need to be healthy. Lose some weight." But then when they see me at the gym, they whisper and giggle just loudly enough for me to hear. I'm a joke, something to be put in a hole until I'm pretty by the standards of society.
But before you tell me what's wrong with this body, let me tell you what's right.
This body can run for miles and not give out on me.
This body is strong. This body has curves.
It has muscle and it has cellulite. This body is fueled with healthy foods, but doesn't fail if I feed it improperly from time to time. This is the body of a size 14, the average size of the American woman. And it should be represented the way it is: beautiful.
This is the only body I will have for the rest of my life.
It shows my struggles and it shows my progress. Why shouldn't I be proud of it? Why shouldn't it be celebrated? Why shouldn't the path to health be every bit as beautiful as the finished result? I am thankful for what this body has done for me. I am thankful for the healthy path I have taken, both mentally and physically.
I am proud of what I've overcome.
This is my body.
Truer words never spoken.
