I put it out there to my Facebook followers last week to throw some random topics at me that I would try turn into blog posts. I realised I could turn just about anything into a lingerie post somehow! The selection they gave went from Football themes to wild animals. I thought I would give the challenge a go and do a few of them. One that took my fancy, and the first one that came up was Big is Beautiful.
I tend to not use the words big or small in regards to the female form as these are words that can be called complimentary sometimes and then offensive at others. Think about it... If someone told you, you have a big bum it can sound to be a negative. But if you were told you have a big smile or even sometimes a big bust, it could be seen as a compliment. It's all how we perceive the word and what it's related to.
I remember a time when I was 12 and my Mum pointed out to her friends how big my bum was. I had no concept of size or body image at that age but I knew the word big and heard this as an insult. It made me paranoid about it and I remember tying jumpers around my waist and wearing flared skirt options rather than anything fitted anymore. Years later I confronted my Mum about this one comment she made. She didn't really remember it, but I told her how much it had affected me. She was shocked I felt that way as she was saying it as a compliment! She had a flat bum and was envious of the fact I actually had a round one. It was the one thing she was most self conscious about when it came to her own body. So to her, big was beautiful.
What I wanted this post to be was to focus on some beautiful imagery that doesn't portray your stock standard model size. Media focuses on certain sizes when it comes to lingerie, just like with fashion, but the lingerie shape is different yet again. I often find stunning photography using all different shapes and sizes as their models. The problem is that these images don't make it into the general public's view. And even for me I think they are hard to find. Wouldn't it be nice if all body types were shown to us more in media. Then the difference between what we class as normal, big or beautiful would grow even smaller... (see, smaller as a good point not a negative).
So I present to you some of the beautiful photography I have saved up over the years of stunning curvier models dressed in lingerie. Now no one could tell me that these women are not beautiful...
Do you find the word big to be an insult but the word small to be a compliment? I want to change that... Have you had a negative body image comment said to you that you still hold on to? What's your story?
