The impossible beauty standards that are heralded in glossy magazines, and now by so-called Instagram "models" continue to infuriate society at large. Not only is it difficult not to feel the pressure to conform to these ideals, but they're also stringent - allowing very little room for alternative conceptions of what is physically desirable. However, plus-size model and activist Tess Holliday has made it her life's work to showcase women's bodies, in all of their different shapes and sizes.
The 32-year-old shot to fame after an impassioned Instagram post on
body positivity went viral, and she has since starred in several high-profile modelling campaigns, with the likes of Benefit Cosmetics and Vogue Italia. Her unfiltered honesty has gained her over 1.5 million followers on Instagram, and the empowering #effyourbeautystandards hashtag that she started back in 2015 continues to attract more fans everyday. But the mother-of-two recently revealed that she wasn't always so confident in her own skin in a touching social media post.
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Despite practically oozing confidence as a successful plus-sized model, in a recent Instagram post Tess Holliday detailed the trauma she felt when competing in her first and only beauty pageant at the age of 13 - revealing that she too has struggled with body image issues.
On Wednesday, Tess posted a photo of her in her first beauty pageant, alongside a more recent shot. "Growing up in Mississippi, pageants were life and all of the ‘pretty’ girls did them, and my god how badly I wanted to feel beautiful and fit in," she wrote.
"My mom searched everywhere to find a dress to fit me, & this was the only one in town that fit. The rest of the girls competing were showing much more skin, they were all dolled up and I remember the pit in my stomach of feeling so unloveable & unworthy because to me, I didn’t look like them.
When it was my turn of stage, they asked what my hobby was & I said 'collecting tweety bird' & the audience laughed. I held my tears back as I walked off stage. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t win that night, but man, did I end up winning in life..."
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She continued, "I wish someone could have shown that sad, lonely 13 yr old kid the photo on the right of her future: shooting a fashion campaign in Paris, wearing a gown that not only fits me, but allows me to no longer hide. As I write this, I’m packing my bags for #NYFW, and I have moments where so still feel like that little girl, sad, & overwhelmed by how hard the world can be to those of us who have never quite fit in."
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Holliday ended the post with an overarching message of positivity directed at anyone who is struggling with body confidence, stating "If you are reading this, please know you aren’t alone. Please know it gets better, and the #glowup is real. Life is weird, but things always have a way of working out."
In other news,
the woman who started the "saggy boobs matter" campaign receives huge criticism.
