Definition Of Size, Art Exhibition - Plus Confidence In You

One of the most talked about topics of the moment is confidence! I have recently stumbled across many blog posts, Facebook statuses, tumblr posts, tweets, and Instagram pics on the very subject! It seems that some people have a heavy dose of confidence and others need a bit of a helping hand. I am one of many people who has had a lifelong battle with confidence and it seems that only recently I have begun to win the fight! 

As someone who spent her childhood and teen years constantly fighting myself and others about my weight, I know first hand how sometimes you can feel so bad about yourself that you'd rather stay home and hide under the covers, instead of going outside with your head held high to face the world. It's hardly surprising that in today's society both men and women are in a constant struggle to find acceptance from the majority. From what I can see a lot of this is because people feel that they don't "look" right compared to their peers. Magazines, online forums and other internet platforms, radio shows etc. are all things that are currently being used to knock people for their appearance. 

I myself have fallen into the trap laid out by the media and have beaten myself up and worked myself into a frenzy trying to fit in with other women with looks, fashion and size. After years of back and forth, up and down and hair tugging; I finally decided to just enjoy who I am and make the best of what I have. As I have said before I agree that it's vital to eat well and get plenty of exercise but there is a misconception that this will be the ultimate key to happiness and a fantastic image. In a lot of cases this is all it takes, but I have met many people over the years and what is obvious to me is that not only do we all come in many shapes and sizes, we all have different things that work for and against us when it comes to our looks and appearance. Diet and exercise plans, tape measures and fad trends have brought a lot of people to a size and shape that they can love, but in my experience they were all different torture devices that only made me feel worse about myself in the long run and had my size yo-yoing up and down more than I care to express.

The lovely Anita Bellamy 

At the recent Plus London event a lot of interesting things happened and I met a lot of fantastic women! One woman in particular who really struck a chord with me was Anita Bellamy, Plus size model, musician, and major fashionista. Over a friendly drink myself, Anita and some of the other girls got into a bit of a debate about how important confidence actually is! Elements of this particular conversation spilled into the blogger discussion that took place on the Community Day of the event also. It seems that in today's world it's OK to ridicule, belittle and basically trample all over a particular group of people because they are fat! Not only do I find the current treatment of fat people insulting and offensive it's also rather uncalled for!

Anita shared some pretty horrific stories with me about how some of the people she's met and worked with in the past have been treated because of their size. It's hard to shock me but I was honestly jaw drop shocked at some of the things she was saying! I totally understand why she is so eager to try and make positive changes where she can through talking to various individuals, fashion brands and like minded people. I'm pretty sure that it won't be long before many more people are attached to the cause as she's doing some fantastic things and turning many heads in the process.

Plus Confidence in you was started by Anita to empower and educate others on the importance of body confidence in both men and women, and especially plus size people! You may be wondering what exactly is Plus Confidence in you and what are it's aims?

"Is an organisation that has zero tolerance regarding body size discrimination. Plus Confidence in you; helps bring ordinary people of any size together and realising that we are not alone in this weight game. We have been campaigning for just over two years and are no longer going to try and be accepted or fit in with how society feels we should look. Images shown on the Internet, magazines and television do not portray the top end of plus size people in a good light and in many ways this sort of negative behaviour has caused many people to feel isolated and alone. We would like to; create a safe and friendly community that shows we are active and creative people. That it should be about fitness and not size. We want to bring together fashion, designers and a full spectrum of companies to work with us to show that people of size can and do contribute to society at large."

Anita will be holding a preview event for her art project to give everyone a taster of the project and raise funds for the project. Info can be found in the flyer below, come along and meet Anita and have a good time:

"The Definition of Size Exhibition will carve out a niche in the fashion industry and indeed society in this innovative first of its kind exhibition. This body confidence program will be recognized not just for its elegance and beauty but will appeal to people of all walks of life with the issues around body confidence and individuality."