Tess Holliday: Pregnant and Plus Size is O.K.
When you're pregnant, some people give unsolicited advice for your health. When you're plus size, some people give unsolicited advice "for your health." For Tess Holliday, a plus-size model who is eight months pregnant, comments she received during her pregnancy from strangers forced her speak out on behalf of plus size and pregnant women.
Holliday expressed her disappointment in people who body-shame pregnant women via Instagram: "What I've had to be learn to be okay with (WHICH IS NOT COOL) is the fact that people still think it's okay to comment on my body: 'You don't look pregnant,' 'You must be having quadruplets,' 'You are putting your baby at risk,' and a slew of other uneducated statements that are very far from my reality."
In a world where women in the public eye are supposed to remain fit throughout their pregnancy and be bikini-ready weeks after giving birth, Holliday is reminding all women that it's a unrealistic standard to uphold. "I'm part of a small minority that's telling you it's okay to not have a perfect baby bump, or not show at all, to be plus size & have a healthy child, and most importantly to find a care provider that doesn't shame you about your size," says Holliday. Apparently, the nay-sayers aren't effecting her day-to-day. She's working right up to her due date, and recently shot a campaign for Benefit Cosmetics. Live your life, Tess.