Every year, dozens of magazine covers and websites shout about the latest celebrity showing off her "bikini body" and promise women a "surefire way" to "get bikini body ready!" Of course, the result of all of these headlines is that many women never feel as as though their own bodies are "ready" enough. A recent SHAPE Magazine survey found that a whopping82 percent of women feel pressured to "slim down" for swimsuit season.
Now, plus-size style blogger Gabi Gregg has created the antidote to traditional women's media's approach to summer fashion. After she came back from a beach vacation back in April, Gregg posted photos of herself in a bathing suit and she got an overwhelmingly positive response. She was inspired by the barrage of comments and by XOJane's previous Real Girl Belly Project to turn her personal photo collection into something larger. Gregg writes on XOJane:
I asked Lesley [Kinzel, an XOJane Associate Editor] if she'd be into the idea of posting a gallery of fat girls in bikinis (or "fatkinis," as we so lovingly refer to them in our lil' community). I know first-hand how inspiring it can be to see people with bodies that look similar to my own feeling confident and happy on the beach in something other than a Hawaiian-print skirted one piece.
The result is a 31-image gallery that shows women of a diversity of shapes and sizes rocking their two-pieces.
Click over to XOJane to see all 31 incredible photographs, but here's a preview:
LOOK: 7 Photos From XOJane & Gabi Fresh's "Fatkini Gallery"
Follow Emma Gray on Twitter: www.twitter.com/emmaladyrose
I do believe that some of the people commenting on this article are really misinformed and I am really disturbed by the fact that it is ok for the larger men (I can see your photos on some of these) and ladies to put down the people in the article's photo. It takes courage to show your body anyway, so for someone to put them down is ridiculous. We aren't allowed to say anything about a race or religion, but it is socially acceptable to put someone down for a weight issue. Nice!
Having to treat more and more people my profession for weight related problems, its amazing how much strain this is causing on Medicaid...but wait...this movement will applaud more of them.
We as a country are getting fatter and more complacent rather than working harder to reduce the problem at hand. bigger seats on airplanes, larger portion, pants that could fit a family of 4 in some countries...no thank you.
Also, if you want to eat and be proud and jolly, please pay for your own health related costs.
By the way, I'm an engineer, so she can't be stupid either... yeah, I know I'm in trouble...