The midsize community is one of the fastest-growing self-love and style communities on social media. Midsize women are finally rising up and creating their own representation. But being midsize is about more than just being between US size 8-16. It comes with it’s own set of highs and lows that makes the midsize experience so unique. What does it mean to be midsize?
As a midsize woman, discovering the midsize community has been life changing for me. For years I felt that my body was never enough. Not small enough to be what society sees as “attractive”. Not big enough to be accepted by traditional body positivity movements. Shopping for clothes was hard. Finding self-love was hard. Discovering that there was a whole community of midsize women finding confidence and style in their bodies inspired me to start loving my own body – and eventually to start creating my own midsize content.
What does it mean to be midsize?
To honour this community and help more people find some of the beautiful women who are a part of it, I wanted to create this post all about what it means to be a midsize woman. I asked 10 midsize influencers to answer one question about their midsize experience. We all have different sizes, ethnicities, and experiences, but together, we make up a small portrait of the midsize community. Here is what it means to be midsize!
Julianne’s Instagram | Julianne’s TikTok
What are the biggest struggles you face as a midsized woman?
One of the biggest struggles we midsize women face is that we don’t see enough people with our body types being represented in the media. Representation is so important! The fact that our bodies aren’t normalized in the media spreads the idea that they aren’t accepted anywhere. This sends the unhealthy message that there’s something wrong with our bodies and that we should shrink them to fit societal standards. This issue has contributed to many of us developing deadly eating disorders. In fighting for our recovery, it’s clear this is an issue that needs to be fought as well.
I once made a TikTok saying “fat is not a feeling” and was met with hundreds of comments saying “but you’re not fat.” I can’t be the only one who’s experienced this issue. Diet culture is so twisted that the people who make these comments actually believe they’re giving you a compliment. In reality, it’s invalidating, and really missing the point to tell those who seemingly fit societal beauty standards that they don’t deserve to feel food or body shame, because they’re “not fat.” Diet culture negatively impacts people of all body types, so all bodies deserve body peace.
Sierra’s Instagram | Sierra’s TikTok
I think one of the biggest struggles of being a midsize woman is simply, there’s little to no representation. That’s actually the reason I started my Instagram account. I always saw women who were thin and women who were plus size. I never felt like I fit in anywhere. I’ve always been bigger than most of my friends but I still always loved fashion and looking good. Just because you’re not a size 2 (or even a size 10) doesn’t mean you can’t look good.
Another issue that goes along with lack of representation is sizing. I can never find my size anywhere! I’m a big-chested girl so unless it’s an XXL, I’m not necessarily fitting into clothes thinner women wear. And a lot of brands don’t sell higher than a L. That can be frustrating. But through Instagram, I’ve found a community of women who are midsize like me, and I feel less alone. It is so nice to feel represented and I love that these women can help me feel more secure with who I am and how I look.
Abby’s Instagram | Abby’s LikeToKnowIt
Recommended Post: How to be Body Positive as a Mid-Sized Woman
What are the best parts about being midsized?
I would say the best part of being midsized is what we get to represent. We get to be the missing puzzle pieces to society’s crazy beauty standards. I think it is so important to see representation of all shapes, sizes, and colors. We get to let kids know that they matter! That’s power, being midsized is powerful. It’s a change, we get to be proof of change. For me, there is nothing better than being apart of a group determined to break barriers, a group that won’t be silenced in their fight. A group that is so filled with love and strength.
Amber’s Instagram | Amber’s YouTube
For me, finding the term midsize was incredibly helpful to finally feel like my body was seen and recognised. Considering ‘midsize’ encompasses the most common sizes for women, the lack of representation in the media of bodies that fall into this category is astonishing. However, finding this word that I felt defined my body type and beginning to embrace myself as a midsize woman came with finding a wonderful community of supportive people doing exactly the same.
The midsize community on Instagram is full of some of the most kind and loving people I have ever met and becoming a part of this and building new friendships is by far the thing I am most grateful for when it comes to being midsize. And, of course, being midsize and part of this community also comes with amazing advice for how to style curvy bodies, as well as so many posts of positivity and self-love that inspire me daily. The midsize community is accepting of people of any shape or size, but if it were not for discovering the term in the first place and realising that this is the category my body falls into, I would have never found such an incredible support system.
Recommended Post: The Best Mid-Size Inclusive Clothing Brands
How did you become more confident in your body?
It wasn’t until I was 17 I started feeling more comfortable in myself after a really rough start to my teens. I had finally started buying the right sizes of clothing and stopped trying on the jeans I’d kept since I was 14. The turning point for me was realizing how amazing I felt in clothes I really loved. I stopped wearing what others were wearing and started buying dresses and skirts and things I really loved. In Stockholm in 2011, no one wore polka dot skater dresses to school. While I, 10 years later, no longer have the same style as I did then, I still only aim to wear things that make me love myself more, not less.
A big factor in my journey was also surrounding myself with media and curating my social media feeds with content that inspired me and made me feel good. In my case that meant a lot of plus-size and mid-size creators. When I started realizing that there were other people out there who looked like me, I finally felt seen. For a long time, I was simply a follower. I learned more about body positivity, self-love, and self-care. Seeing and admiring other people like me looking hot, cool, and fashionable and sharing their confidence and vulnerabilities helped me build that admiration and grace towards myself. Now I take pictures of myself in my bedroom, trying to help others feel the same.
Julia’s Instagram | Julia’s YouTube
Having confidence in my body is a constant struggle. I would love to say I have all of the answers to find/have confidence in your body, but I don’t. I think it varies from person to person. The way I find confidence in my body is by loving myself, which is hard at times and is a journey that I continue on. There will always be moments of doubt, but in those moments I remind myself how strong my body is and how beautiful I am regardless of my imperfections and how society defines “beauty.” All of this is easier said than done but I find I am at my happiest and most confident when I am all dressed up, in an outfit that makes me feel beautiful and surrounded by those I love most.
Lauren’s Instagram | Lauren’s LikeToKnowIt
What made you want to create content about being midsized?
Up until 2020, I had put parts of my life on hold until I had lost 40 pounds (spoiler: the weight loss never happened). Individual restrictions could be small, like not wearing shorts until I had thinner legs or not wearing sleeveless shirts. But these had larger implications, like not wanting to go on vacation somewhere I really liked just because it was a hot place. It held me back from dating for a lot of years when I was younger, and I equated rejection with my size. It takes time to change a mindset set from a young age.
Seeing someone live their life to the fullest as they are, especially when they look similar to me, is my daily affirmation that I don’t need to backwards aspire towards something that I’m not. We too often default into a cycle of self-criticism. Hopefully my daily styling posts and weekly videos can shed some of that criticism we’re holding onto and instead give some confidence that we can do what we want as we are.
Elisa’s Instagram | Elisa’s YouTube
I think midsize bodies are underrepresented. My whole life I never fit into society’s standard of “beauty” and I never fit into the plus-size spectrum either. So my whole life I spent feeling like I didn’t have anywhere to belong. Once I found out what midsize was I finally felt seen, heard and validated. I knew right there and then I wanted to be apart of this movement and help other women feel validated in their bodies.
Lex’s Instagram | Lex’s TikTok | Shop Midsize Queens
Recommended Post: Here’s How Body Neutrality Can Give You The Self-Love Breakthrough You Need
What message would you like to send to your younger self about your body?
That the awesome things your body can do should be the focus, not being thin. Past me, you’re thin now, but only because being thin is your life. I know how tired you are, and that you need to eat. I know you hate yourself because others have taught you that you aren’t worthy unless you’re skinny, but that is simply not the case. You’re worthy because you’re YOU! Your body is worthy as it is. You can hike, run, swim, and GIRL, you can DANCE!! Your body is so powerful, no matter the size. It will be even more powerful if you EAT and fuel it! Yes, you’re going to gain weight, but that is so worth it in exchange for mental and physical health. Because a lot of things taste better than skinny feels.
I promise that one day in about 10 years, you will embrace your natural size while still leading a healthy life. You’ll still be super athletic and able to keep up, even if you do weigh more! And hey, you always say you want a boob job because you’re flat chested…well, hello D cups! Perks of eating and not over-exercising!!
The bottom line: it gets better. You will get better, so keep focusing on recovery! There is joy and freedom on the other side! I love you so much!
Shelby’s Instagram | Shelby’s Blog
You are loved, valued, and appreciated no matter what size you wear. The size of your waist does not equate to how many people you make smile each day. The size of your thighs will never dictate whether people like you or not. Your stretch marks are signs of strength, growing and nurturing your own temple. You will yo-yo diet for years, constantly struggling to be happy with your body but I promise one day you will wake up being completely content in your life, your body; everything, and it’ll be so so worth the pain and the worry to be where you are now. It may not feel like it, but you are going to be overwhelmingly happy – just believe in yourself.
Charlie’s Instagram | Charlie’s Blog
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Remember to check out all these incredible women if you’re looking for more midsize positivity in your Insta feed! And remember: you are valuable and beautiful just the way you are. Sending lots of love your way!
So amazing!! Honoured to be a part
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