BODY CONFIDENCE FOR THE SMALLER CURVY GAL

I have had a lot of thoughts about this lately, and I know that I am not one to preach about body confidence. In fact, I have struggled with body image throughout my whole adolescence. It has taken me till now to not only coming to terms with my self-esteem but actually dealing with the issues that I have struggled with in my life so far. I have essentially struggled with being a smaller curvy girl, now even saying this feels like a contradiction - I'm not "super skinny" but not "plus size" either.

"So what?" some might ask "then you are just average,". The issue that many young women feel in the same position that I am in is that they don't feel represented, particularly in the media. 

There have been moments in my life where my weight has fluctuated up and down. Whether it was in my early teens where I was obsessed with keeping my weight down, or a holiday where I would stuff my face and gain 7 pounds within a week or two. Keeping my weight down entailed calorie counting, analysing carb intake, and generally just not eating terribly much so I could look like the women I admired in the media. At a UK size 6, sometimes even fitting a UK size 4, I still felt that I didn't look thin. And although I was a very small size, I didn't relate to the thinnest of the thin mainly due to retaining my curves. I guess this upset me at the time because after all the exhausting effort I put in, I still didn't have a group that I could relate to. It has taken me till now to realise that I just have a naturally more curved body and down to many factors such as genetics, or the fact that I enjoy eating both cheeseburgers and salads that I am the just the way that I am meant to be. I am myself. 

 Kudos to those girls that have fast metabolism's or people that just generally enjoy exercise but I just am not one of those people.

On the other side of the coin, when I say that I am just curvy and that is the way that body has been built. Even when I gain those 7 pounds from having one too many takeaways, I am not in any way a larger size. At this current moment I mostly fluctuate between a UK 8 or 10, however, I am short with sizeable boobs and an ass. I find when the curvier girl is represented it seems brands go with the plus-size model. They just skip over the middle section. You are either skinny or fat, no in-between and that is not the way that bodies work. 

You could argue that although I am an hourglass I do belong in the small size group, but I  just don't look like most of the others. From struggles with clothing cuts - will it look flattering on me? or was it built for the classic thin girl?  - to feeling anxious about eating in front of others. It truly isn't fun to feel out of place amongst everyone else.

It has only been in the last year that I realised that that so what if I am curvy? I can maybe rock outfits in a different way to others. After all it is pretty special that I naturally have both a small waist at 26 inches and generous set of boobs and bum to go. Instead of moping over what I haven't got - such as super long thin legs - I have decided to love the assets I do have. I suggest anyone who felt like me and are uncomfortable in their body really look at themselves and realise that they are beautiful in their own individual way. It will take time to truly appreciate yourself, especially if you have had troubles with self-esteem throughout your life but it is so worth at the end of the day and can say 'fuck it, I'm awesome the way I am.'

For further reinforcement just look at these beautiful ladies: