Are We Becoming a More Tolerant Society to the Plus Size Woman?

I have spent most of my life overweight. I have been on diets different times, lost weight, and then regained it. I am now the heaviest I have ever been. Even though there is health risks associated with obesity, I have to admit that the health risks have always been the least of my worries when it comes to being plus size. I feel now that I am older I am more accepting of myself and I no longer care what other people think in regards to my weight. Would I like to be thin? Of course I would. Am I going to do radical, crazy and dangerous things to be thin? No way.

For the past several years extremely thin has been the "in thing". Over the last decade the high fashion models have been getting thinner and thinner. I have seen fashion magazines where the models are so thin they literally look like you could break them in two; to me that is unhealthier and looks less attractive than someone who is overweight.

I have taken notice lately to there being more of an acceptance to the plus size woman. This revelation came to me when I was watching the Tyra Banks show in March 2007 where she announced her "So What!" campaign that I wrote about in an article for Associated Content. Tyra was declaring to women that it was okay to not be the weight society expected and to love ourselves and to develop a positive body image no matter what the scale says.

Over the summer I received an invitation in the mail to purchase a subscription for a new plus size woman's magazine called Figure. It's a magazine that focuses on the plus size woman, real women, and all of the models in the book are plus size. There is now a magazine that caters to the majority of American women. The magazine features clothing tips, beauty advice, health tips, and showcases successful, plus size women.