Pinups of every size
I posted a picture of myself on my Instagram account and the picture was reposted by a big brand. After a few days I received a DM with screenshots of some of the comments that was made on the photo. They wrote that I was “too fat “ to wear a certain dress. They wrote that I had to wear shape wear to look good enough in that dress.
I confronted those people who were body shaming me and one of the answers I received was “you have to expect to hear that when you post photos of yourself on the internet “. I believe that’s wrong. I believe that we have to think twice before commenting on social media and I believe we can make a difference.
Therefore, I have started the #PinupsAgainstBodyShaming movement
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- Chan Delier -
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Instagram Link
Pinups Against Body Shaming Blog Piece
Society makes no secret of what the ‘ideal’ male figure is by current standards, and I am very much not it. Looking into historical male beauty pageants however is very eye opening. There were so many more shapes celebrated that are now looked at and mocked for being too scrawny, too hairy, ‘dad-bods’, moustachioed. For being natural. The masculine body positive movement rocketed backwards and is still so far behind where it needs to be. We’re all force fed the carrot-shaped, perfectly chiselled and bronzed gym body as the only male body that is allowed to be celebrated for its beauty and I want to see that changed.
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- Rassputin -
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Instagram @r.ass.putin
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Pin-up is not just about modeling photos and fashion, it's a way for a women to express them self make them self up and style them self wearing vintage clothing and feeling 100 percent beautiful. It is not about dieting and being skinny or being the same as the girl modeling on this month's cover page of the latest magazine this is why I love been involved you can be true to who you are. It is about loving who you are as a person and showing off your womenly curves being proud. This is why I have become a true pin-up enthusiasts.
You can face most things in life with all your confidence you recieve from the beautiful Pin-up community and events you attend, but be knocked back very easily by simply looking around at the other gorgeous pin-ups surrounding you. But we are not all built the same, and we all do have to remember love our selves before we can love anyone else.
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- Cherry Diamond -
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Instagram Link
Link to full written piece
"One of the biggest challenges I found was trying to identify myself as a pinup.
I have always been a curvier girl and I will probably never be a size 4, blonde haired, 6-foot tall supermodel. A lot of people believe that you need to look a certain way in order to dress according to be accepted and that is not true.
Looking different from others doesn’t stop me from loving who I am and embracing the individual that I want to be. I remember being asked what style of pinup fashion I liked as well as what I wanted to experiment with dressing. People would ask me if I would stray away from ‘traditional’ styles because I wasn’t the ‘traditional’ pinup. It does not matter what pinup style other people believe I should fit into - this is my decision to make. If I want to look like a sassy, femme fatale or dress like my favourite Disney princess, then I will do just that. There is something for everyone when it comes to pinup and what appeals to you may not appeal to someone else."
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- Velvet Valentine
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FaceBook link: The Real Velvet Valentine
Instagram link: @therealvelvetvalentine
If pinup at large has presented any particular challenges it would be in the narrowness of its historic approach; it is difficult to find references for poses and images that are not extremely femme, and interesting clothing and accessories are similarly unavailable. If it weren’t for my sewing background the clothes that I want would not be available for me.
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- Mx Lucy Furr -
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Instagram: @mx_Lucy_Furr
There are some fantastic companies out there making a broad range of sizes and not just grading the patterns up and down, but making sure they understand how both smaller bodies and curvier bodies actually work in those clothes.
Not all companies do this. And sadly not all businesses who stock these brands can see why excluding sizes above a 16 is a problem. If 16 is the average size then it should be in the centre of your size range. There are a lot of excuses, but it's as simple as; if you cared you would do it.
The argument that larger sizes don't sell is not the fault of the customer. Often larger clothing is not tailored to larger bodies, just patterns graded up so the fit isn't right.
I love that some publications are including diverse models and I think our community is definitely making progress when it comes to inclusivity, but when you hear stories about people competing in pageants losing when they probably deserved to win their title because a judge (generally male and not into vintage fashion but a sponsor or figure in the industry) decided another competitor was 'hotter', it can be incredibly disheartening. Both the global and local Pinup communities have had many issues over the years with lack of accessibility for events, cultural appropriation, bullying, racism, queer phobia, and fat phobia, and there have been times I have considered throwing in the towel altogether, but I would miss it and my friends too much. There are so many good points to our culture and community and I would be sad to give it up because of other people.
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- Sugar St Claire -
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Instagram Link
Link to full written piece
My journey hasn’t been an easy one . I’m a plus size pinup as well as a pinup of color . I’ve had to overcome some fears that I have about my size and posting full body pictures of myself. I’ve noticed I’m not the only plus sized pinup who has shyed away from pageants or a photoshoot because of feeling out of place . This also brings me to our fellow pinups who are trans and pinups of color . Some are still hiding in the shadows and backgrounds feeling like they don’t fit in or belong . We come from all different walks of life . We are all different shapes , sizes , colors and sexual preferences. This is what makes our community beautiful . It’s time for those of us who feel like we might be too big to be a model to stop hiding and show our beautiful selves.
I’m proud of who I am and you should be as well . Don’t let your size , color or sexual preference stop you from being a pinup model . Work with what you have and show it off . Be the beautiful you that you are . I have two pinups who I adore and that have inspired me one being Fran (frantasy_island) I love love love her . How she carries herself with such confidence, her style and that lovely smile. Like myself she’s not a size 2 but she can work it . I love her outfits and of course her hair . She is too cute and doesn’t know but has helped me come out of my shell to where I’ve posted a Boudoir photo of myself clad only in my bra and undies on Instagram. That is a huge step for me . I also love the fierce rollingwithlindsay_ . She as well as Fran is confident in her body . I personally thank these two for helping me that the body I’m in is beautiful.
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- Cheesecake Kate -
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I love pinup because it makes me who I am. It gives me confidence that I don’t have when I’m in regular clothing. I knew pinup was perfect for me when I was told I was too fat to be a pinup. I proved that person wrong and did my best to look my best and accept everyone.
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- Dottie May –
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Facebook Link
Instagram Link
Pinup of the Month interview