Not many things grab my attention at 8am, but as I scrolled down my Facebook timeline the NY Mag headline, “Every Single Woman in America Is Now ‘Curvy’“, caught my eye immediately.
It’s a topic that we discuss at our office frequently and it peeks out at social events in between the complimentary cocktails. And while my boyfriend would appreciate this headline, he believes that not all curves are created equal.
The first sentence of the writer’s article is totally on point, brutally honest and proves what I believe–America is in denial.
“All a woman has to do to be called “curvy” these days is possess a human body.”
By definition, a curve is a line that deviates from straightness in a smooth and continuous fashion. With just that, one could agree that every single woman in America is curvy. But we all know that not to be true.
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Growing up, I’ve never bought any garment that didn’t have two digits–except that one time where I had the flu–which was powered by what felt like death and I drastically dropped to a size 6. In my adult years, I’ve been able to hold on to my lucky number 18. It never really mattered to me what word you used to describe my body, simply because it’s my body and what you think about it is absolutely irrelevant to me.
But it seems that society can’t make up it’s mind and would like us all to believe that plus-size, curvy, thick, or big girl are all interchangeable terms–I’m not buying that at all.
This problem is most visible in celebrity fashion. To be polite or politically correct some would describe both Lala Anthony and Gabourey Sidibe as curvy. I’m gonna throw out my red flag on this play. Grouping two completely contrasting body types is just an example that supports my theory that America is in denial. If we’re set out to really teach young girls about body acceptance, is it not counterproductive to allow them to think that, dear I say it, fat is curvy?
The ongoing mantra in the plus-size community is accept me as I am. We’ve got T-shirts, pens, book bags, coffee mugs and even fabulous mouse pads that all affectionately remind us to love our bodies. And I am all for it. But shouldn’t loving our bodies also mean that I recognize I live somewhere close to the bottom of the size chart? And it’s ok that perhaps what I see in the mirror is in fact a little plump. I believe that the reality is most of us “curvy” women aren’t comfortable in our cute, yet slightly obese bodies and we’d rather use terms like “thick” and “curvy” to mask our insecurities.
I can feel the side eyes and neck movements from across my MacBook, so let’s discuss this, shall we?
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