Poppy Mayy

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Conquering Curvy: The Biggest Curvy Misconception

It's obvious I'm a curvy girl.

And I don't mind that. Actually, I am just starting to get comfortable with it. That's why I wanted to talk about something that some others may find controversial. There are many misconceptions that people have of the typical "curvy" girl but to be honest there is one that really bothers me. 

I'm not writing this post to have a pity party because trust me when I say that I hate nothing more than people feeling sorry for me. I'm writing this because I just want to make people think of the word "curvy" as something more than it's being represented as at the moment.

So, the biggest misconception that I hate about curvy girls...*drum roll please* is- if you are curvy you must be fat.

What? 

That's so messed up. Society automatically thinks that because I am not slim and I describe myself as curvy that I am fat. Curvy does not mean overweight. Curvy by definition actually means "most often a curvy woman is said to have an hourglass figure. An hourglass figure is commonly defined as a woman with wider hips, thighs and bust compared to her waist". 

So society, listen up. Curvy girls come in all sorts of sizes, what makes them curvy is their hip/bust to waist ratio. Just for a little more emphasis, both of these beautiful women below (Georgina Horne and Shirley B Eniang) are technically classed as curvy...

Both very different women wouldn't you agree? But both beautifully curvy.  So why do people still think that being curvy means that you are overweight or obese?  

Well, I personally think that the word "curvy" has been overused and endorsed by the media as meaning "plus-size", which for some reason people associate with being overweight. Now, I know you can be "plus-size" and not overweight. I also know you can still be curvy and "plus-size". However one thing you cannot be, technically, is curvy and have a body that you cannot distinguish your hips from your waist.

As I said before, I know some people may find this controversial but the fact is you cannot be curvy, a word that insinuates going in and out, and have no shape. That's like me saying I'm short when I stand at 5ft '9.  

I'm not writing this to slam people who aren't curvy. I'm writing this so people can educate themselves about the fact that not all curvy girls are the same size. You can be a size six and curvy just like you can be a size twenty and curvy.   

Just to put this into perspective for you all, let's have a little story time... 

When I talk about my Conquering Curvy series on the internet behind my Twitter avatar (which is literally just my mouth) people are surprised that I'm not fat. Once at a blogging event I was talking to a fellow blogger and when she realised who I was on Twitter she said "Oh...You're not fat". No. No I am not. I'm just curvy. But you assuming I am overweight is not only rude but very presumptive. As I said, curvy girls comes in all shapes and sizes and they are all beautiful.  

So if you don't class yourself as curvy, all that I ask is that you don't make assumptions about someone who is "curvy". Being curvy isn't always about being overweight.  

Just a little disclaimer: of course, I know that everyone feels like there are misconceptions towards all body types. So if you have a post or know of one where I can read about other people's experiences of different body types please post them below in the comments. I love reading about people's relationships with their bodies and understanding what different people go through. 

Please let me know in the comments down below what misconceptions you hate about body types and let me know if you enjoyed reading this post.