Body positivity and acceptance has stormed the Internet with a showcase of women showing off their beautiful curves in outfits of their choice. Simone Mariposa, a 23 year from L.A, started #wearwhatyouwant after reading a body-shaming story on Twitter, as told by BuzzFeed.
Mariposa designed #wearwhatyouwant because she was frustrated with people shaming women with curves for wearing outfits that are traditionally only recommended for skinny bodies.This liberating hashtag provides women with an online space to proudly show off their bodies in bathing suits, crop tops, and other clothes that are considered not suitable for curvier bodies. One woman wrote, “No thigh gap, no problem—made to let your haters know that you are fabulous enough.”
Yet, it is the crop top that seems to have stirred the most anger and push back. O magazine encouraged women to only wear a crop top if they have a flat stomach, as told by People. We all love the sexiness of the crop top and every woman should be able to show off a slice of their stomach without insecurities and shame.
These women are challenging the notion that the crop top is only designed for smaller women, which is for some an impossible standard of thinness. In one woman’s message to love your body, she wrote, “How to wear a crop to: 1) Just fucking do it.” These powerful portrayals of self love are breaking down restrictions on curvier bodies.
And more, beautiful crop tops!
For many of the woman using the hashtag, it is more than wearing the clothes they want to. It is about confronting the self-hate waged against their bodies. One woman wrote, after a showing off a tiny peak of her stomach, “Struggles with insecurities about body image are incredibly hard to defeat, but everyday i love myself more.”
While for some, the hashtag is about redefining ‘fat.’ One woman wrote, “Plus size doesn’t mean ugly. Plus size doesn’t mean unhealthy. Plus size doesn’t mean I’m fat. Plus size doesn’t mean I’m lazy. Plus size doesn’t mean my life means any less than anyone else’s.” Fat remains one of the last acceptable ways to discriminate someone and so many people considered ‘fat’ are deprived of their humanity. #wearwhatyouwant is a brave message for women to embrace their curves, throw traditional fashion advice out of the window, and ultimately to love themselves.
Photo taken at XOXO Alice Boudoir Studio, photographer: Alecia Hoyt, makeup: Kristin McGaughy
top photo via Instagram
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