Plus-size women pose in lingerie to reclaim the word 'fat'. Photo / empoderarteme.tumblr.com
Plus-size women pose in lingerie to reclaim the word 'fat'. Photo / empoderarteme.tumblr.com
A photographer has teamed up with a group of plus-size women in order to reclaim the word "fat" and remove the negative stigmas that are currently connected with it.
Brazilian-based photographer Mariana Godoy's new body-confident picture series Empoderarte Me, which translates to Empowering Me, sees several curvy women baring their bodies as they pose up in their underwear in order to show the world that they aren't afraid to embrace "fat" and everything that it means.
"I chose lingerie because photographs of fat woman in lingerie are rare, so this was a form of protest and self-acceptance," Mariana, 22, told Daily Mail Online.
"I think if a fat woman sees the images, she will feel the power of the girls who were photographed. The power of self-love, to love each definition of love. To be unique and wonderful.
"The models who appear topless chose to pose that way themselves, they want to choose the way they feel loved."
Mariana added to Cosmopolitan: "There is a lot of prejudice against the word fat [in Brazil], people judge and condemn fat people."
The photos feature several different full-figured women, posing in lingerie or even topless. Shot in vivid colour, the photos highlight every dimple, curve and stretch mark, with the women displaying each aspect of their bodies with pride.
Photo / empoderarteme.tumblr.com
Photo / empoderarteme.tumblr.com
In many of the photos, the women also bear slogans scrawled across their bodies in Portuguese such as: "My Body My Rules" and "Fat and Healthy".
Despite brunette, brown-eyed curvy beauties being somewhat commonplace in Brazil, Mariana explained that blonde, blue-eyed and slim-hipped women are still considered to be the most beautiful in the country.
But with this new project, she aims to remove the stigma attached to being a larger lady, and bring a new, positive meaning to the word fat.
Photo / empoderarteme.tumblr.com
"I want to prove that not every obese or fat person has health problems," she explained to Daily Mail Online.
"A thin person may also have health problems. Being healthy has nothing to do with your size.
"I grew up understanding that the word 'fat' was meant offensively, but I want to show the opposite of that. I want to show that being fat is beautiful, and that people have to stop being prejudiced towards larger people."
Photo / empoderarteme.tumblr.com
Photo / empoderarteme.tumblr.com
After receiving the idea for the project from a friend, Mariana sent out an open call for volunteers who share her vision, and found a pack of plus-size ladies more than happy to strip for the cause.
And while Mariana's fat-focused photoshoot first began as a fun project between her and her friends, she explains that it soon evolved far beyond that, after her images started gaining attention on social media, and more and more women contacted her to ask to be involved.
"As soon as I posted the first photo on a social network, everyone admired them and asked me to give continuity to the project," she said.
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