“The best result out of all the hard work I have achieved is knowing that I have liberated the minds of so many women who have struggled with a negative body image their entire lives.”
Fluvia Lacerda
This is why she has been our inspiration for creating the Body Hero of the week. I have enjoyed hunting down pics and quotes from Fluvia because I have learned so much about her, and it just kept getting better and better. She will be hard to top that’s for sure. It has truly been my pleasure to feature her and introduce her to those of you who may not have known about her. Give one last salute to Ms. Fluvia Lacerda a True Body Image Hero!
Margaret Hartmann— You’ve probably heard of pro-ana websites, the online communities where people with eating disorders swap dieting tips and post “thinspiration” images. Now there’s another type of website that’s purportedly the antidote to all that. In the past few years, people have started posting images of themselves on body-positive websites. The intention is to promote acceptance, but, as with most topics having to do with our bodies, the sites are still problematic.
Today Refinery29 ran an interesting articlethat takes a tour of these body-positive online communities. There are several sites that celebrate larger women specifically, such as “Curve Appeal“ and “Big And Better,” but one of the most popular, “Stop Hating Your Body,” focuses on people of all sizes. Annie Segarra, 20, who started the blog in October 2010, says it now has more than 32,000 followers.
The posts, which are mainly from young women, each feature a self-portrait along with a message about her struggle to love her body. Most are full-length shots of the girls in bathing suits or underwear, but anything goes: In the photos the posters are nude, totally clothed, or showing only one body part. There are even some men baring their bellies. The accompanying stories are heartbreaking, and not just because it seems like every girl in America grows up hating her body. Some posters share intimate stories on topics including eating disorders, self-harm, and abuse. Every post ends with the phrase “BE BRAVE: JOIN THE REVOLUTION.”
It’s a hopeful message, and the girls say they’re becoming happier with themselves from reading other posts and seeing what the vast majority of women actually look like. But there’s also a concerning element. Most posts include the poster’s height, weight, and sizes, and experts say this sends mixed messages. From Refinery29:
Trench coat is by Jean Paul Gaultier for Target, black long sleeve is by Dorothy Perkins, leggings by Biluzik, shoes by Zara.
my girlie look…….
look 2: Feeling too romantic, thx Paris!Dress, oversized cardigan and shoes by H&M
out for dinner…..
look 3: Got a chance to see my friends and hang out at my favorite neighborhood (where I always stay while in Paris!) Montmartre.Oversized cardigan by H&M, grey silk blouse by Forever 21, jeans by City Chic, shoes by H&M.
ready for meetings….
look 4: I had a few meetings with clients and wanted something practical and fun.
Blazer by H&M (their size 16 is pretty generous!) t-shirt by Forever 21, leggings by Biluzik, shoes by H&M.
night out….
look 5: I lucky to have my husband in Paris at the same time as I was there, so we enjoyed a few romantic evenings together…
The wrap dress is by Forever 21 and the boots are by Zara.
For more click here!
“Modeling has led me to meet many women who have struggled with being told they have no value in society. Representing those women has a far higher meaning to me than just a paycheck.”
Our Body HeroFluvia Lacerda isn’t your typical plus size model. For starters, she once worked as a nanny after immigrating to the United States from Brazil to pursue a better life. Little did she know that one day she would be called “the plus size Gisele Bundchen.”
In May I posted about Bill Dukes documentary about African American women and the color bias that effects them. Recently this article about the movie was sent to me, I am putting up because I don’t want to forget that this is coming out, so it’s a reminder for myself as much as for you all. I have included the Trailer as well.
By Wendi C. Thomas
Around the time she reached junior high, Brooke Sarden noticed that remarks made by neighborhood kids took on a different shade.
The pretty girls were described as light-skinned, with long hair — and the observations were made as a compliment.
But kids who were the object of derision? “If they wanted to insult someone, it was ‘Charcoal.'”
In the decades since, Sarden, whose brown skin is neutral — she was neither praised as pretty nor teased for being dark — has placed that word in the larger cultural context of intraracial prejudice against darker-skinned black people, particularly women, in favor of those with fairer skin.
The subject makes for a treacherous, often painful minefield that an upcoming documentary plumbs.
“Dark Girls” is scheduled to premiere in October at the International Black Film Festival in Nashville.
A powerful 10-minute trailer from the film has made its way around Facebook, prompting a recent examination of this discrimination among black people by black people.
In the clip, a series of dark-skinned black women, some in tears, recount how they were made to feel that their skin was less than ideal by relatives, friends and romantic partners.
“I can remember being in the bath tub, asking my mom to put bleach in the water so that my skin would be lighter and so that I could escape the feelings that I had about not being as beautiful, as acceptable, as lovable,” said one woman.
Said another woman of her view of her skin as a child: “I thought it was dirt, and I tried to clean it off, but it wouldn’t come off.”
The tension dates back to slavery, when lighter-skinned enslaved people, products of the slave master’s wandering or raping, were assigned comparatively cushy jobs in the master’s house, and those who were dark-skinned were relegated to the fields.
Black people picked up where slavery left off, using paper bags as the color litmus test or searching for blue veins under tinted skin. Even today, the ears of black newborns get extra scrutiny, as they are rumored to match what the child’s skin color will be when she or he grows up.
In 1988, Spike Lee’s film “School Daze,” in which the light-skinned “Wannabes” were pitted against the dark-skinned “Jigaboos,” propelled the topic into popular culture.
Even rap music, like Young Money’s “Every Girl In The World,” declares a preference for fair-skinned black women: “I like a long-haired, thick red bone.”
Perhaps cultural influences like these are behind the heartbreaking segment in “Dark Girls” in which a dark-skinned girl, about 5, sits in front of a poster board with five shaded drawings of girls, from light to dark.
Asked to choose the ugly child, she picks the darkest one. “Why is she the ugly child?” the interviewer asked. “Because she’s black,” the girl replied. Asked to pick the smart girl, she picks the palest one. Why? “Because she’s light-skinned.” Read more after the jump
“In Brazil, just by walking down the streets of various cities, you’ll see the majority of women do not look like Gisele Bundchen or Adriana Lima! Most women clearly wear sizes between 10 -18. It’s a huge physiological denial! They don’t want to be that way because the media portraits it to be wrong, ugly and unacceptable.
Society in Brazil makes you feel like wearing a size 16 jeans is a national crime. Most women have known nothing but negative criticism throughout their entire lives, from parents, school friends and even work colleagues. It’s the innocent suggestions of a new diet to a mentioning a new high tech plastic surgery procedure. Therefore they have yet to comprehend the meaning of being happy with yourself, regardless of your size.“ Fluvia Lacerda
“…Now, I’m not saying go out there and try to be comfortable wearing a bathing suit, to each it’s own. But what I am saying is that you shouldn’t let life pass by without enjoying the things you particularly want because of your size and because eyes might be staring. Who cares?!!??!?!!! No one is paying your rent girlfriend, so go on, live the life you want.
So there you have it, I’m that fat chick wearing bikinis at the beach and seriously happy about it. Perhaps because New York City winters have made me realize how awful I look on that pale yellow skin tone but probably and most likely because I’m aware that if I’m not happy under my own skin, no one else will be for me.”Read more of Fluvia on her blog I’m on My Way
There are a plethora of women in the spotlight these days that are (whether be it their intention or not) are held up by the media and their fans as Role Models, the criteria of which as atrophied from the already sketchy realm of being an actress, singer, model to being a celebutante, having a reality show, a sex tape or having dated a celebrity. It’s slippery slope and most of us are wearing heels. It pains to see that women are seldom awarded for being intelligent or having brilliant minds and if they are you will no doubt see them celebrated on a magazine cover barely clothed wearing “nerd glasses” and reading a book. Seriously. The commercialization of the female body in the media makes it almost impossible to make an impact without stripping down. Perhaps that is why the more successful women get the thinner they become. As their brand gets bigger they get smaller, shrinking, almost disappearing in a sense. Since My body My Image is about re-defining the concepts of beauty and our perceptions of our Selves, I thought it might be good to start putting forward women who we as females both (young and more mature (wink wink) can look to as inspirations, not just for their looks, but for the way they relate to their bodies, the way they perceive themselves or the edicts beauty that govern us all. Perhaps it could be their personal philosophy, for either standing up to, not accepting or managing the space they hold within that spectrum. Our inaugural Body Hero of the week is …..Drumroll
Fluvia Lacerda
Applause Applause Applause!!!
When I learned about Brazilian beauty Fluvia Lacerda I thought that she was fabulous simply based on her photos. It was a post on the Frisky informing us that she had named the Best Plus Commercial Print Model of the Year by Full Figure Fashion Week. But it was when I read her blog post that exclaimed
The tone of that piece is very much the “And let me tell you another thing” It is a total MUST read! but here is just one of the parts I appreciated:
What I really want and enjoy is shopping for clothes that look good on the body I have. Although it might sound astonishing for some, looking GOOD doesn’t necessarily equate to looking THIN/SMALLER to a lot of us plus sized women. Curves aren’t an embarrassment that we need to wear pieces to diguise’ em or use accessories to divert peoples attention from noticing my wide hips. They are there and I find no reason to disguise them (I probably wouldn’t be able to even if I tried, LOL).
how’s that for Appreciation, Acceptance and Respect! And that’s one of the reasons she is our Body Hero of the week. ’cause that’s how we roll!
She talks about her love of heat, the beach and yes the 2 piece bathing suit, and has no qualms about flaunting her size 18 figure. She imparts such great advice to all women small, large, and everything in between. She encourages women to go for it and not to get hung up in their hang ups! Here she tells readers how going for it – and not being worried about what others thought of her paid off for her:
If I had limited myself to do the things I’ve always wanted due to other’s opinion in regards of my body size, I would have not achieved most things I have in my life so far. And to me that’s just absurd, senseless and flat out unacceptable. Mind you I had a pretty hefty list of things I would not achieve according to others rules. And without even trying, I’ve far surpassed that list.
