Never heard of Tess Munster? Where the hell have you been. So basically, Tess Munster (aka Tess Holliday) is a plus size model, and by plus size, I’m not talking about a size ten, this girl is a size 22 at a diminutive 5’5” tall, and all woman with it. Think that doesn’t really sound like a winning formula for success in the cutthroat world of modelling? Agreed, hence Ms. Munster’s timely delivery of a big “fuck you” to all of the people who told her she didn’t have a great look, couldn’t be a model, and was waaaaay toooo faaaaat to become an icon.
Finding herself being a round peg that didn’t fit into a square hole, Tess decided to hammer her own niche, and managed this just fine, thank you very much, by refusing to be ashamed of her body or cover it up, embracing her curves, and calling out to a whole generation of ignored women who do not fit the media’s classical interpretation of beauty (ie, thin, tall and flawless.) Tess’s trending Twitter hashtag #Effyourbeautystandards let the haters know exactly what she thought of them, and pretty much all the rest of us who are perfectly fucking good looking but are sick of being told our look is wrong jumped on the bandwagon too.
As well as being plus sized and having the distinction of working with her curves and build, rather than against them, Tess can (in my opinion) fairly be described as having an alt look, being as she is delightfully tattooed and fond of strong, dark looks with a twist on the classical norms of pin-up beauty.
The Militant Baker talks about why the mainstream media loves to hate people with an alt look, particularly if their beauty does not fit into the tall, thin category, here, bringing out a few home truths about how people who are both fat and happy seem to pose almost an affront to the mainstream media who seem to think that fat should always, without exception, be shrouded in a shapeless coat of shame.
Tess Munster, she say no.
We should all be getting on board with Tess Munster’s look and activism for body acceptance, regardless of whether or not our body type is similar to hers or not. More mainstream acceptance of and coverage of plus sized and alt looks as desirable and positive can only be a good thing, and as time has shown, ain’t nobody going to just give us that; we have to go out and take it, and be heard.
So yeah, Effyourbeautystandards, you do you.
Check out Tess Munster’s official website, Instagram page, blog, and of course, the #Effyourbeautystandards hashtag.
