It’s taken 30 years to love my body but I hated it growing up.
I was the tallest kid in primary school, and I was bullied by the boys. I was a twig, but they called me ‘bush pig’, and according to the principal, it was because the boys liked me. They tormented me, and I was so much taller and ‘bigger boned’ than all the other girls, I felt like a behemoth.
Kids can be such little twats, but it stuck with me through high school. I went to an all-girls private school too so the comparison was rife. I always felt ‘bigger’ than everyone else, and I was still the tallest girl, sent up the back for class photos. High school was a constant battle with my body, and at 15 I had DD boobs too.
In my early twenties, I always felt like the wing-woman to my petite, stunning, size six and eight friends, even though I was only a size ten myself. I was always the tallest, and if I wore heels, I towered at 190cm tall. It was rare that guys would come up to talk to me in bars, because it was rare that there were taller guys in the room; I always felt like I stuck out.
I still struggle occasionally with my body, which I think is only human for women who grew up on 90s media and the idea of a 'supermodel', but I love my body now more than I ever have, and it’s a bloody strong body to have trekked me through what it has in the last decade alone.
I have stretch marks that run from my thighs all the way up to my waist. I have cellulite, sometimes on my knees. I have freckles and moles and birthmarks and scars. I’ve been turned down for influencer jobs in the past because I don’t have a ‘sample size’ body and the dress won’t fit - which is madness.
What I do have, is an awareness of myself and a passion to empower other women. I now choose to work with labels that are size-inclusive, ethical, sustainable and responsible for their impact, and I’m wearing two of them. My underwear is organic and made in Melbourne, and my kimono is made by an ethical Australian social enterprise that supports Aboriginal women.
Ethical and sustainable fashion is about so much more than living wages and eco-friendly fabrics; it’s about taking responsibility for your impact on those who make your clothes, and those who wear them, and I’m happy to get my rolls out because I want you to feel better about yours.
Whatever your body looks like, it’s awesome.
The Fashion Advocate x
