A year ago we met the founder of the Adipositivity Project, Substantia Jones, and learned just how much of a badass she is. Through her work, the photographer has been sending the message to the world—loud and clear—that all bodies deserve love.
This year, we’re back in touch with Jones about her latest additions to the Valentine Series, which features portraits of couples. “My hope is to give fat people and their partners some visibility as couples,” she says of the pieces. “Some documented PDA.”
The artist's photos are the kind of sweet, powerful images that provide their viewers the much needed reminder that Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be all about commercialist bullshit. That’s right: At its core, the holiday’s a celebration of love.
“Valentine's Day has many vocal detractors,” Jones says. “And I certainly understand their annoyance at the thin, white, hetero-normative homogenization of love as product. But I personally find romantic love dizzyingly pleasurable, and completely deserving of being celebrated once a year. At least.”
And with her photos, she's expanding the meaning of the holiday by reinforcing to her audience that despite the kind of images the media is constantly bombarding us with, “fat people live and love in much the same manner as thin people.”
Check ‘em out:
“Over the past year, showing my body and letting other people see how much I love it has grown from something I enjoyed to something I now feel driven, compelled to do. The Adipositivity project played a big part in my journey to accepting and loving my body. We were thrilled to be part of this movement.”
Lillian Bustle, age 37, Burlesque performer and body love activist
"I love her. And her amazing body."
Georg Friedrich Haas (of his wife and co-Adiposer Mollena Lee Williams-Haas)
"As corny as it sounds the love Ryan and I shared provided a shelter for me and as always, I felt safe there."
Nick, age 41 (on posing with his partner)
More from BUST
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Marissa is an NYC-based writer who loves feminism, doughnuts, and being outside. She's not a huge fan of writing personal bios, but she does love writing pretty much anything else. Read more of her work at marissadubecky.com.
