All women are beautiful in their own right. Yet, there seems to be some sort of attack on the plus size community. I am a part of the plus size community, and I love my body, as all women should. What bothers me is that people always assume that because someone is plus size, they have self-esteem problems and needs extra attention. That isn’t always the case. People also feel like they should force their health views and opinions onto others, and that is so offensive.

I have observed from social media, and even on television, that people have some sort of animosity towards bigger people, women in particular. I’ve seen videos of a plus sized woman put next to a woman of a smaller frame where people have the community “choose who looks better." This is so disrespectful. What is even more disrespectful is that a lot of the body shaming comes from other women.

Where I am from, I am taught that women are supposed to uplift one another and give each other a feeling of admiration and support. The female community does not always do that. Women go on social media and in public to shame other women and make them feel bad about their bodies. Any woman knows that the body is one of the most sensitive topics for us. Whether we admit it or not, 85% of what we wear is driven by society. Which is why I don’t understand why we get so angry when we see another woman wearing an outfit similar to ours. We are all inspired by someone else.

Just because a woman is overweight or larger than “your liking,” it doesn’t mean they don’t like how they look. Some women are very confident in what they look like, I happen to be one of them. Confidence is one of the keys to happiness. If you’re not happy about yourself, the things in your everyday life won’t be as great as they could be. Most plus size women aren’t lacking in self-esteem, simply because we know to love ourselves first. Low self-esteem doesn’t have a body type. Anyone can be ashamed of their looks.

Health is also very important, but just because you are active and enjoy working out, it doesn’t mean you have to force that on someone else. Everyone doesn’t want to lose weight, and that’s perfectly fine. Don’t get me wrong, obesity is a serious thing and it kills, but that doesn’t give anyone the permission to force someone into a lifestyle that they may not even be ready for. It has been sad to watch people get talked about and judged because of their health issues. This brings me back to the fact you have to love yourself the way you are first because nothing else will matter if you don’t. You can lose all the weight that you want but when you’re done with that, you will still be unhappy with yourself. Happiness doesn’t come from what you see, honestly. It comes from what’s within you and what’s in your heart.