Bodies are Art;
Art is Bodies

TW: Weight-gain, diet talk, body negativity

It’s not really a secret, but here: You don’t need to force your body to look different. You don’t need to look different. You don’t need to change your body.

If you eat whatever you want and stay the size you are, it’s a pretty clear message from your body that it’s the size it is meant to be.

Channel your energy into accepting this. Instead of making an effort  to change your body, make an effort to change your perception. Your body is the way it is and that’s awesome.

Practice self love; practice looking at yourself and being happy with what you see. Put on nice clothes and check out your own ass. Appreciate the good things that come with your size - it’s easier and cheaper to find clothes for skinny people, for example.

Once more with feeling: you do not need your body to be any size other than the size it wants to be.

TW: Disordered Eating

I’m sorry that you feel that way. I understand how hard it can be when you look at yourself and you don’t like what you see. I would like for you to focus on what you are doing - you are recovering. That fact alone makes you strong, it makes you capable. The shape and size of your body is completely unrelated to your value as a person.

I’m sorry that you don’t see your body represented here. It is very difficult for us to reblog pictures that would be representative without worrying about triggering people. It’s also important to bear in mind that thin bodies are already strongly represented and worshipped in the media, while fat bodies are not; so most of the content here is designed to offset that.

With that said, I mean what I have said in writing “all bodies are welcome here.” You are encouraged to submit, as an act of self-care or to do your part to represent bodies like yours. While I’m reluctant to reblog pictures of thin bodies, I am much more reluctant to pass over a submission with a powerful message.

Shit.. I am so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention; You’re spot on. I’ve removed that post now.

Sincere apologies to anybody that submission offended.

I am really very flattered and pleased to have been helpful to you. Best wishes on your journey!

- Sam

Thank you so much! This is a pretty awesome message to get.

- Sam

It means a number of things. To me, it’s about breaking the rules that would tell anybody what to wear: rules that say fat people can’t wear horizontal stripes, rules that mean plus-size clothes shops only sell sacks in neutral colours, rules that say girls that don’t shave or wax their body hair off are disgusting, and guys that do are weird.

But this blog isn’t just about me, by any measure, so here’s what it means to our followers:

To me, “fuck flattering” means you don’t need to follow rules set up to hide the “bad” parts of your body. There are no bad parts. - keepyourcorsetstight

I know what looks good on me and you don’t >:P - carriejoylol

It’s not my responsibility to be visibly appealing to others. Bodies are wondrous/valid; so is mine. All of it. There are no ‘problem areas’. - lonestarhotel

Fuck flattering means wearing pants after three years of avoiding them, since they don’t hide the largest part of my body. Fuck flattering means wearing a tight shirt, even if it show my round belly. Fuck flattering means wearing short shorts, despite my fat thighs, giant ass, and cellulite. Fuck flattering means my body looks good even when it doesn’t look thin. - justthinkingaboutcatsagain

For me fuck flattering is the rejection of the idea of ‘beautiful.’ I feel that I am free to be as ugly as I please and I’m happy with it. I don’t have to be beautiful or cute or sexy. I can just be a fat ugly hairy woman and get along with my life. - blogzillaaaaa

Fuck flattering to me, means ‘breaking’ the ‘rules’ that have been given to me, at the expense of myself, my well being, in favor of others. - thatnewromantic

Magazines, clothes stores, tv shows and my peers all perpetuate the idea that you can just about get away with being fat, as long as you adhere to the hourglass ideal. Fat stomachs are just about acceptable, as long as you tame them with spanx, and highlight your waist with a belt. We’re taught to hide the bad parts of our bodies, when really there are no bad parts. We’re taught to follow society’s rules about how to appropriately dress for our body shape, when really the only rules that matter are the ones that we make for ourselves. - faysbook, an excerpt from this post

I hope that answers your question!

- Sam

Yes! I have considered that, and I’ve thought about writing a quick “About” post for the three main tags we reblog, too. Maybe I’ll get on that soon, in light of this.

First let me promise, if any of the mods have reblogged anything from you with or without a tag you don’t like, please message us un-anon and let us know and I absolutely promise you we’ll do whatever you want, be that changing a comment, changing a tag, or removing the post altogether. Your posts are your posts, even if you submit them to us, let alone if we reblog them.

Secondly, I’d like to say that #fuck flattering, formatted as a tag, isn’t quite right. Rather, the catchcry is FUCK “FLATTERING” - a comment on the idea that [especially female] bodies are held up to this idea that it is a requirement for us to always try to look our best. FUCK “FLATTERING” says fuck that. Fuck “don’t wear horizontal stripes, they make you look fatter.” Fuck “you should grow your hair long, you look slimmer.” Fuck shaving your body hair if you don’t want to, fuck wearing make up if you don’t want to, fuck baggy clothes if it’s not what you want to wear. It’s not about what I consider flattering - I try to only tag “fuck flattering” on posts that I see as deliberately subverting societal ideas of what people “ought” to do.

Last, and pretty much purely as a side-note not intended to derail the original question, I just want to point out that tags added to reblogs are only used to allow location on that blog. When we tag reblogs with #fuck flattering, #fuck modesty or #fuck hiding, it’s just to allow people browsing body-posi to narrow down what they’re looking for. Different people need encouragement on different issues, and that’s all it’s for. It’s just our way of categorising.

Again, if anybody has an issue with getting reblogged here, our ask box is a very friendly place.

- Sam

You’re right, I’m sorry. This is your space as much as it is mine and I should have taken your input more seriously initially.

Thank you for taking the time to come back to me again, and I’m sorry that I’ve disappointed.

-Sam

Even if that were true (and I know her, and she’s not) there’s nothing transphobic or cissexist about the post I reblogged.

OR, come off anon and go into more detail, if you really think there’s something I should know. I’m always open to discussion.

- Sam