Social media can be a rough place for all of us, but especially if you’re struggling with self-love and body confidence. For me personally, I’ve never felt fully represented in magazines or on Instagram as a mid-size woman (mid-size women are size 6-14, approximately), and it’s only in the past year or so that I’ve started to see more and more women who, somewhat shockingly, look like ME?! Could it BE?! I still remember the first time I saw a video titled “all my mid-size girls, this jeans haul is for you.” I clicked on it immediately, of course, and I watched it ten times. This woman wasn’t a size 2 or a size 24, she was a size 10… just like me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. She looked absolutely gorgeous and, more importantly, she looked HAPPY. She had confidence I haven’t had in YEARS, a confidence I didn’t even know that I was missing. I knew that I wanted to feel how she felt while wearing my own clothing, a way I honestly haven’t felt since I lived in Manhattan (moving to LA and my changing body image is another story for another day).
As I stumbled upon more and more mid-size fashion creators, the instant reaction is to give them a follow cause #womensupportingwomen, right? The second reaction/result, and the best one by far, is the fact that I started to notice that simply following fashion influencers who look like me, women who love their bodies and themselves at a size 8 or a size 12, started to give me a ton of newfound confidence in the way that I look…and, guess what, a LOT of that confidence has come from…wait for it…TikTok. I know, right? I’m an elder millennial who has somehow learned to love my body just the way it is from (mostly) Gen Z TikTok creators… never would’ve called this one!
I’ve always been mid-sized, even at my thinnest in high school or college at a size 6/8, but when my dad died in May 2019, I (very) quickly gained about 20lbs that I’ve since been struggling to lose. And while I do feel that I’m the best version of myself 20-25lbs lighter, I have to tell you that my obsession with TikTok and following creators who look like me has shown me that I’m not “bad” or “unworthy” just because I’ve gained some grief weight. The shame that I felt for gaining weight (and, yes, I know that’s all on me and not anyone else and I am actively working on this), started to melt away. So what if I now have to buy a size large dress in certain brands instead of my usual medium? Who cares? WHY do I care is the better question? My late father always used to tell me that age is just a number… well, so is a clothing size. The weight on the scale or the size of my jeans doesn’t determine my worth as a human on this planet and, I gotta tell you, I want to scream that from the rooftop these days. Thank you, TikTok mid-size creators!
Naturally, like all of us, I still have my moments where I catch a glimpse of my new, softer stomach in the reflection of a window, or someone takes a photo of me and I have two chins, but whenever I can feel myself slipping into a negative space I do the following:
- I pause and find a mirror.
- I then tell myself (out loud) that I’m beautiful inside and out and that 20lbs. doesn’t make or break ANYONE’S beauty.
- Then I go on TikTok and watch videos from at least one of the below accounts, run by mid-size queens who know that you don’t have to be a size 2 to be beautiful.
@Chloe_Xandria
Chloe aka “your mid-size hype girl” is at the top of my mid-size fashion accounts to follow. Along with try-on hauls, she shares a lot of content around body stereotypes, self-love and confidence.
@OfficialCatieli
Catherine is a plus-size model who shares videos on celebs get the looks, try on hauls, and “how to style” series.
@RaeAnnLangas
Rae Ann is an LA-based size 12 curve model. Her videos are all about body confidence, self-love, and, of course, good mid-size style!
@KristinaZias
Kristina is also a curve model and co-founder of The Confidence Collective. Her videos are super engaging and inspiring!
@LoganRaeHill
Logan is another favorite! She features a lot of body-positive content like the video above, along with try-on hauls as a size 6/8.
@OliviaFredaCurves
Olivia’s TikToks are super fun to watch; she focuses on affordable mid-size clothing hauls from stores like H&M, Walmart, Target, etc.
