Bodies

“I just love your squishy belly!” Then, as only children can do, he gave it a nickname: belly jelly. So I'm learning to love my belly jelly.

There I was, naked from the waist down, to wax my butt, clutching my knees and trying to act like this was not the most vulnerable position possible.

Slimming World (UK version of Weight Watchers) is telling those who have reached their “target weight” to ditch their fat friends.

To him, perhaps, my fat feminine body was acceptable to sexualize. I can’t say I learned a foolproof way of avoiding going on a date with a clean eater.

There are so many little things I never thought about before I lost the ability to do them. Pain is fluid. It seeps into every crack and corner.

I’m a survivor — of fat camp. How terrible could a weight-loss camp be? Well, it was bad enough that I’m still dealing with its after-effects decades later.

Mendiola chose to design swimwear as a way to change the narrative surrounding societal beauty standards and physical differences.

I smile a lot. Not because it’s my favorite, though I certainly don’t mind, but because my face just does that. And my smile made my illness go undiagnosed.