By now, most people are aware of who Tess Holliday is. But, if you are not, She is a plus sized model that was famously hailed as a "revolutionary" in the field of modeling due to her being given a cover shoot in mainstream magazines which is not often seen for plus sized girls. She rocks a faux retro look that nods to vintage styles, but is also modern and trendy. Followers of her see her taking trips to Disney, going to the beach and a plethora of other amazing and lavish experiences all while "glammed" up and beautiful. Many have labled her as someone for plus size girls to look up to and a role model to idolize. I refuse to subscribe to this idea, and feel as though she is shedding a bad light on the plus size community. The plus size community faces a lot of hate on its own, and does not deserve a potential role model who makes decisions that tear it apart.
One major accomplishment that is often attributed to Tess is the formation of the "Eff Your Beauty Standards" movement. This movement is a trend on social media that encourages women to post photos of themselves unapologetically and not adhering to what many hold as the standards for what is "beautiful". However, Tess decided to begin selling merchandise to go along with the movement and claimed that proceeds from the shirts that she started selling would also be used towards the National Coalition against Domestic Violence. Those who ordered the shirts would go on to receive nothing and have their claims deleted when they did speak up and say something on her social media accounts. Holliday has also stated that she is in full control of her social media accounts and does not allow other people to handle them in any way, which means that this is coming directly from her. Another major issue was that fans had claimed no portion of the profits were actually going to the charity. Holliday donated some of her own large fortune to Amber Rose's Slut Walk. While the donation is good, it is not what fans were promised. Holliday then reported that she needed to use profits from the merchandise sales to pay for a surgery, which left fans wondering what else she would use the profits for, such as her incredibly frequent trips to Disneyland.
There is even a Facebook group made specifically to call out her wrong doings and the lies that she has told. There are accounts of general unpleasantness from individuals who have met her as well as professional opinions of her that do not help her image in any way. She has been rude to fans and has ostracized potential photographers. She has forced photographers to heavily Photoshop her to the point of being unrecognizable. This is a difficult truth to swallow especially when accompanied with the body positivity message that she tries to spread and her supposed refusal to adhere to beauty standards.
This is not my plus size role model. This is not an individual that I aspire to be like. There needs to be more idols to look up to in the plus size community that are unapologetically fat, as well as successful in whatever field they decide to be a part of. I hope to be involved in this community long enough to see this change happen but until then, I will resolutely oppose anyone who misrepresents what our community is about.
