Body Image: Shyly
In one of my first posts, I made a list of beautiful women. One of them was a nude model who goes by the name Shyly. I thought, in light of the entry regarding my insecurity over comments about my weight as well as my series of posts dedicated to body image, it was time to give Shyly her very own piece in Feminism Without Clothes.
So, Shyly's a nude model. So am I. And a whole lot of other people are, too. What makes her different? I'm sure there are many things- but here's one: she weighs 320 pounds.
It's not her weight in and of itself that's important, in my eyes. It's that she realizes and proves that fat women- and she refers to herself as fat on her site, The Beauty Curve- can be beautiful, and sexy, and naked, all at the same time. And, in our society, that's quite an accomplishment.
She refers to what she's doing as "size activism"- a bit misleading in my eyes. It seems to imply that it only benefits people of size. Like feminism, in my opinion, it improves the lives of everyone, not just the large.
So, thank you.
Photography by Craig Morey; model: Shyly.
Photography by Gary, taken in July, 2006.
So, Shyly's a nude model. So am I. And a whole lot of other people are, too. What makes her different? I'm sure there are many things- but here's one: she weighs 320 pounds.
It's not her weight in and of itself that's important, in my eyes. It's that she realizes and proves that fat women- and she refers to herself as fat on her site, The Beauty Curve- can be beautiful, and sexy, and naked, all at the same time. And, in our society, that's quite an accomplishment.
She refers to what she's doing as "size activism"- a bit misleading in my eyes. It seems to imply that it only benefits people of size. Like feminism, in my opinion, it improves the lives of everyone, not just the large.
So, thank you.
10 Comments:
You are a beautiful woman indeed!
Thank you for sharing these two beautiful pictures.
BAC
www.firstfreedomfirst.org
I don't think that obesity is something that is beatiful or should be glorified. not for aestheric reasons, but because it is unhealthy and unnatural. I suppose being an american it's just something you've learnt to accept as natural, but it's not. Personally i believe it's a sympton of insecuritys in the same way anorexia is, but you wont be saying that thoes curves are sexy, will you.
This post came out sounding harsh and you'll probably find it offensive, which is not my intention, I just don't know how else to say this. I agree with most of what you write, and that you should accept and apreciate and feel good about your body and accept others differences, but the 'obesity epidemic' (epidemic, as in a sickness) is something that is wrong with society and should not be glorified. I said that already, sorry, i'm rambling.
btw, did you know there are more overweight people than starving people in the world? (over 1 billion to 800 million). fascinating...
/fellow liberal douchebag
People aren't epidemics- they're individuals.
Well said, Candy.
Anonymous has a good point--health. What he/she is assuming, however, is that fat=unhealthy and therefore fat=bad aka fat people=bad. It's a common assumption. It's also bullshit.
There is a wealth of evidence suggesting you can be fat and healthy. It is largely ignored, because such discussions don't leave much room for profit making ventures.
But "health" is always the argument that people make when protesting This Fat Woman Is Beautiful statements. The knee-jerk NO!!! reaction to such assertions don't have anything to do with health. It's about prejudice. Feeling justified with the excuse for your disdain (unhealthy!)doesn't change the fact that it's simply prejudice. Let's not forget, the Klan has eugenics backing them up. For years, homosexuality was a disease. No matter how you try to rationalize it, hate is hate.
Thank you for featuring her again, Candy. I love seeing beautiful images of fat women. We chubby chasers thank you. :)
I can't see why you think that i think fat people are bad people or that "people are epidemics" (though they can be part of an epidemic). I didn't mean to seem predjudice or hateful in my post, but i realized i probably would.
I still believe that it is not in anyway a good thing to be fat. yes, Shyly is rather pretty and for all i know a great person, but no thanks to her fat. Obesity is a problem. it is unhealthy, and it costs millions in health care (although in america thats the individuals problem, not the taxpayers, innit?). It must suck not being able to walk up a set of stairs or run more than 10 meters without getting exhaused. No one could truely want that. instead of rebuilding the whole nation with elevators, escalators, bigger toilets, chairs, cars and planes, why not try to solve the problem. it can be solved, and you don't need dr. phill or miracle diets for it. you don't even have to eat less. just eat healthier and move a little. many of the americans I know drink nothing but coke and eat nothing but fries for luch and pizza for dinner and wonder why they get fat.
I have never heard of that you can be fat and healthy. by fat i mean overweight, which i thought implied "over a healthy weight." I would sincerely like to see some evidence of that.
anon: your comments about the "obesity epidemic" don't really matter when it comes to this entry. This is about a beautiful model who is breaking down stereotypes.
As someone who does not qualify, for reasons that cannot be externally seen and will not be further discussed, as healthy, I'd like to think that health is not the best gauge when it comes to measuring both physical and internal beauty.
Well said Candy. Anon clearly doesn't get it.
BAC
www.firstfreedomfirst.org
alright, fair nuff
It IS possible to be 'fat' and healthy. Sumo wrestlers do it all the time. It is, however, difficult.
On the other hand, if we suppressed the glorification of that which is unnatural simply because it is unnatural, we'd all be as nude as CandyDoll, since clothing isn't exactly something we're born with...
Shyly is pretty. All soft 'n cuddly 'n stuff. I've dated two women in her weight range and only one of them really qualified as 'unhealthy' and that was due to something that happened before she gained her weight, and indeed was the cause of her weight gain. The other one was extremely active (she had no problem negotiating stairs) she just couldn't lose weight the same way some people can eat like starving pomeranians and never put on an ounce.
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