Tess Holliday Has Started A Major Discussion Around Restrictive Eating Disorders
trigger warning: eating disorders
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Tess Holliday has always been an icon in body positive spaces. As well as being an incredible model, she has continued to serve as a fierce advocate for body positivity and fat visibility and representation. From her Instagram platform to her Cosmopolitan cover shoot, her passion and – if we’re completely honest – her physical body have sparked conversations around the world, across industries and all demographics.
Despite the adversity she continually faces from critics and bigots alike, the Eff Your Beauty Standards founder strives to make change and champion the bodies who are so frequently shut out of the celebrations. And whilst this is far from new, her latest comments about her own eating disorder recovery have made headlines and opened a very much needed dialogue.
Last week, Tess took to Instagram to talk about weight loss, inspired by commenters who had pointed out that her body looked different to how it did previously. Someone’s weight loss or gain is absolutely nobody’s business, and Tess reminded people of just that. She wrote:
“To everyone that keeps saying ‘you’re looking healthy lately’ or ‘you are losing weight, keep it up!’ Stop. Don’t. Comment. On. My. Weight. Or. Perceived. Health. Keep. It. To. Yourself. Thanks ✌🏼”
She continued, explaining that she was “healing from an eating disorder” and slammed (quite rightly) the idea that weight equates to health, and subsequently the way bodies are valued and considered worthy depending entirely on their size.
Less than a week later, she returned to Instagram with another post, dedicated to those impacted by diet culture and the insidious world of eating disorders.
This time, she shared a series of text slides, talking about the realities of restrictive eating disorders, disordered eating, childhood bullying, and more. She added to the post: “The world may not be ready to have this conversation and that’s okay. But I’m here for my fat folks, for our narratives that have been invisible for so long. We deserve to exist as multidimensional human beings. We deserve to make and have room for our complex truths. We deserve to heal. We deserve to be free.”
The next day, Tess appeared on Good Morning America, where she spoke with Kayna Whitworth about her anorexia diagnosis and, subsequently, her own recovery journey. The interview prompted a multitude of responses, some of which highlighted the misinformation and stereotypes around anorexia nervosa itself. The concept of restricting food is societally reserved for thin bodies, and as a result, anorexia is treated by many solely as a body type, rather than a mental health condition that can affect any age, shape, size, gender, or ethnicity.
During the interview, she said: “I always thought that I overate, but then people in my life would say ‘Oh yeah, I eat more than Tess,’ and it was almost like a I wore it as a badge of honour.” She also mentioned the reception she’d received from people, challenging her diagnosis. “I’ve had a lot of messages from folks that are anorexic that are livid and angry, because they feel like I’m lying. I am plus size, but advocating for diversity in larger bodies, and so I think for people hearing me say I’m anorexic was really jarring.”
Tess’ decision to share her truth and vulnerability with the world is nothing short of brave, and we collectively owe her our deepest gratitude for kickstarting such an important conversation. Her diagnosis – and ultimately, her recovery – breaks the stereotype of what anorexia looks like, and how it typically impacts people’s lives.
She added, “I understand that people look at me and I don’t fit what we have presented as, you know, the diagnosis for anorexia. But then, for me, that tells me that there’s a larger problem, which is – what I’ve actually been saying for years – that there’s a lack of diversity and representation in the world.”
We’re not alone when we say we’re grateful to Tess for sharing her story with the world and the support that it’s bringing to so many who need it.
If you’d like to help any number of the charities working hard to help those suffering, you can head to our Resources page and check out our list of charities who would welcome your support. Alternatively, if you are currently dealing with an eating disorder and are in need of some help, our Resources can point you in the right direction – you are not alone.
Image credit: Tess Holliday/Instagram
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