Yes, Fat Girls CAN -- And Don’t You Forget It

Hey my gorgeous plus-size sisters, circle up. Let’s have a chat. I’m fat. I’ve been fat since I was a kid. I’ve heard my fair share of opinions about what I can and can’t do in the body I have. Most of it is total BS. I know that fat girls can do anything we want. We just don’t hear that message as often as we should.

The world just doesn’t like how fat girls look. Everyone knows that, historically, many men in social power have expected one of a woman’s primary roles to be decoration. As long as we are going to be objects, they figure we ought to be objects of their sexual desire. The only type of woman many men will admit to desiring is a thin woman, and fat girls exist outside of their expectations — therefore we are just not enough. Or we are too much. I don’t know.

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Somewhere along the way, diet culture became our culture. It’s pervasive and toxic. Thin has been in for a long ass time now, and fat girls have spent our entire lives listening to people tell us what we should and should not do, based on how our bodies look when we do it.

The list of “Shoulds” is short.

• Exercise to the point of injury with the sole intention of weight loss.
• Be grateful for any and all sexual attention, especially from men.
• Hate our bodies.
• Feel like unhealthy ticking time bombs.

The “Should Not” list is endless, but it includes anything that would lead us to accept ourselves as we are for any amount of time under any circumstance, and anything that makes us feel good about the bodies we live in. (Also, it includes “eating carbs.” Apparently, we are never, ever supposed to do that.)

I’m not here to try to convince the world that fat girls can do all the things that They™ have decided are not meant for us. The world will not be convinced. Some miserable man is going to send me a message the minute this publishes to remind me that he thinks I’m repugnant. Whatever. I’ve heard it all before.

This isn’t about them.

I’m just here talking to you, my fellow curvaceous ladies. The world is wrong, your body is good, and you are allowed to do anything you want in it.

If you have been holding back because you think, as a fat girl, you shouldn’t do certain things just because of how your body might look to other people, buckle up. I’m about to take you on an inspiring freaking journey.

From the slightly plump, to the infinifat, yes, fat girls can do anything we choose –– and we can look damn good doing it.

We can do all the outdoorsy things.

Wanna try kayaking? Then try kayaking! If the water is calling your name, gear up and head out. Make safe choices, and have a blast. Kayaking is for fat girls.

How about hiking? Are you itching to get out into nature and break a healthy sweat? Fill up that water bottle, get some good shoes, and hike your heart out. Hiking is for fat girls.

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Do you have a strong desire to jump on a bicycle and feel the wind in your hair like you did when you were a kid? Well, you can’t because you need to wear a helmet. Just because we threw caution to the wind in the ’80s doesn’t mean we should do it now. But you can totally do the biking part. Biking is for fat girls.

You know what else fat girls can do? Run when nobody is chasing us. Stupid memes don’t have to be real life. If you want to run, get your run on. You might have to build up to a distance run, but that feeling of taking off is still as invigorating as it was on the elementary school playground. Running is for fat girls.

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Fat girls can use our bodies to express creativity.

Movement is art, and our bodies are not meant to be excluded from the narrative. If you want to express yourself by moving the beautiful body life gave you, get on it, girl. Creative movement is for every kind of body. Check out this gorgeous, pink-haired mama mesmerizing everyone with her badass hooping skills. Fat Girls + Flow Arts = Love.

You think fat girls can’t dance? Au, contraire. At the Eugene Panfilov Ballet of the Fat, fat girls can dance…ballet en pointe! If you aren’t trained in the art of arabesques, pirouettes and Grand Jete, never fear. You can dance any way you know how. Dancing is for fat girls.

Fat and athletic are not antonyms.

Fat girls can definitely play sports. Whether it’s church league softball, weekly tennis with friends, or competitive weight-lifting, fat girls can be as sporty as we want. And we can win an Olympic medal. Don’t take my word for it; Ask Sarah Robles how that feels. She’s done it. Sports are for fat girls.

Fat girls can do yoga. Our bodies are capable of flexibility, strength and discipline. Grab your mat, find a class and enjoy the practice. Namaste, fat babe. Yoga is for fat girls.

The world calls these girls fat. These girls call themselves gymnasts. The hashtag #thickgirlswhotumble took off on Twitter a while back because plenty of girls are happy to prove that a thick body can still fly through the air with ease. Tumbling is for fat girls.

Fat girls don’t have to hide in baggy clothes or pretend we only eat salad.

Remember those carbs we aren’t “supposed to” eat? We are allowed to enjoy those suckers in public or private like every body else. The same goes for all foods. Sometimes you want a crisp, juicy apple, and sometimes you want 7 Oreos. Neither of those snacks holds any morality, and you’re allowed to eat when you’re hungry. Snacks are just fine for fat girls.

Do you wish you had the body to wear a bikini? Well, if you have a torso, you definitely already have that body. You can wear whatever TF you want on the body you have. People don’t have to like it, and you don’t have to listen. Your body is yours. You are free to dress it in as little or a much as you want. All kinds of clothes are for fat girls.

Let me say this slowly and with emphasis: You. Are. Allowed. To. Feel. Sexy.

And I don’t mean at home with the lights off sexy. You are totally “dance on a pole” sexy. Feeling and looking sexy is definitely for fat girls.

Fat people have all the sexual feelings and function that every other size person has, all the way across every spectrum. We are human beings, not sexless, faceless before photos. That means if you are having sex, you should be having good sex. Real good sex. Don’t even consider believing that your body is a barrier to your pleasure or your partner’s enjoyment. You don’t deserve that kind of lazy, uncreative lover. Anyone who deserves you will do what it takes to make it hot. Amazing sex is for fat girls.

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And if all that amazing sex leads to love, and that love brings you to marriage, you can be a gorgeous bride without losing an ounce. You have no obligation to a long engagement chock full of weight loss attempts. If you eloped the day after the proposal, you’d be gorgeous enough just as you are. Here comes the fat bride, and she is stunning.

Sure, exercise and love and fashion are great, but you have you tried ruling the world?

Because if a plus-size woman can be the whole entire prime minister of Norway, I’m pretty sure we aren’t far from curvy girl world domination.

If politics aren’t your ambition, you could aspire to be, oh, I don’t know…maybe the CEO of a Fortune 500 finance company?

Fat girls can do literally anything we choose. If you have been letting your body’s size stop you from pursuing any of your goals, it’s time to put yourself first. From the itsy-bitsiest bikini to running an entire country, nothing is out of your reach solely because of your body. The world is yours.