There’s a lot of body hate out there, especially in ugly corners of the Internet, but body positive activists, bloggers, and authors like Jes Baker, aka the Militant Baker, are leading the fight against it. As much as fat shaming sneaks into our daily lives, we’re in the midst of a powerful counter-movement that calls for us to love all bodies, no matter their shape, size, color, or anything else. Baker’s new book, Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls: A Handbook for Unapologetic Living (Seal Press) is part of the push.
As unapologetic as the title claims to be, the book is a fantastic guide to body acceptance. Baker shares honest tales, full of humor and charm, from her own journey to discovering body love, touching on everything from coping with Internet trolls to her inner critic. Along the way, Baker doles out vital wisdom and advice, giving readers tools to combat harmful societal norms and attitudes.
To help spread the message of body positivity and encourage you to get your hands on the nearest copy of Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls ASAP, here are 15 quotes from Baker’s book that perfectly capture the spirit of the movement. Preach, Jes.
Fat Girls by Jes Baker, $10, Amazon
“The word fat is not inherently bad. … The only negativity that this word carries is that which has been socially constructed around it; our aversion is completely learned.”
“The way we view our bodies impacts the way we participate in the world… and wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could lose the bullshit we’re taught and love our bodies for the perfect things that they are?”
“Body love has the capacity to change the world.”
“Your size is irrelevant to your ability to find fulfillment, purpose, love, a sense of worthiness, and the ovaries to not give a fuck.”
“Happy people don’t try to purposely hurt other people.”
“Ignore those people who tell you loving yourself is not okay. Have empathy for the people that hate you for being happy; we all know what that kind of self-loathing feels like.”
“It’s actually a documented fact that being fat isn’t an indicator of being unhealthy, and being thin is no assurance of good health. But you’d never believe it based on diet, health, and weight-loss ads.”
“I believe in glorifying all bodies. All of them. Because every single person in the entire world deserves to feel good about and love themselves. It’s that simple.
“We don’t see enough cellulite, stretch marks, wrinkles, racial diversity, or non-hourglass fat bodies represented…well, anywhere.”
“Each of us lives within a vessel that is uniquely ours and also perfectly ‘real.’”
“There is power in community, and there is power in numbers. If we support each other in our journeys, the sky is the limit.”
“When you are told that you are insignificant, inferior, not ‘cool’ enough, unimportant, undeserving of representation; that you should hide, shrink, cover up, walk with your head down, and not take up space…to do the opposite of that is a radical and paradigm-changing action. Just do you.”
“Body hate isn’t something we’re born with. It’s totally and completely learned. … Thanks to neuroplasticity, we can unlearn the hate and retrain our brains to see ourselves with love.”
“It’s really important to remember that it’s okay to have days when you don’t love yourself.”
“The second you stop looking for someone else in your mirror and start looking at YOU is the second you will start to appreciate what you are.”
Image: Jes Baker/Facebook
