Is The String Bikini The Key To Fat Liberation?

Before I started my fashion blog, Tiny Red Shoes, in 2012, I had never taken a full-body photo. I saw my body as a fat vessel I would one day abandon, like a cocoon I would shed.

I worked hard to ensure there would be no evidence of it. Like many of my fat ancestors, I learned to camouflage my body to seem thinner in photos. I did all the classics: running to the back of group photos, putting pillows in front of me when I sat down, standing behind kids to cover my stomach, hiding half of my body behind whoever was next to me, and, of course, wearing baggy clothes.

The lack of documentation of my teenage years allowed me to presume myself successful; my fatness felt like the best secret I had ever kept.

Yet, no one else allowed me that kindness. I was the only one willing to keep that secret. The adults in my family, strangers in the street, family friends, and the only boyfriend I ever had never let me forget that I was fat. I realized being fat wasn’t something I could hide. I decided to dive into it and become a plus-size content creator. I started taking outfit photos and posting them online for everyone to see.

The fashionable layers of clothes allowed me to feel brave posting photos of myself without exposing the wholeness of my fatness. I became really good at hiding my stomach in fashionable ways. Some habits die hard.

As time went by, I peeled off layers of clothes, pushing myself into accepting my fatness. I began by allowing myself to wear a skirt for the first time and then showing off my arms. I worked myself into feeling comfortable in my body—one outfit at a time. Before I noticed, I went from never taking full-body photos to broadcasting myself in swimsuits.

note that even with swimsuits my belly button was covered

Posting a swimsuit photo felt like earning my Bachelor's Degree in the Science of Self-Acceptance. That was years ago, and now I am ready for my Master's Degree in Fat Confidence.