Jes Baker, The Militant Baker
This April 5th some of the most amazing Body Love Activists and Leaders in the Self-Acceptance Movement are converging in Tucson for the Body Love Conference. http://www.bodyloveconference.comThis event and idea comes from the very Sassy and Fierce Jes Baker – also known as The Militant Baker.
I am so excited to be joining all of these amazing women and all of their body love allies for this inspirational conference. The point of the conference is to spread the word and help expand the definition of beauty. To create a consciousness and awareness that all bodies are beautiful and perfect exactly as they exist at this very moment in time.
From Jes Baker’s Body Love Conference Letter on the official website for the conference:
I’m often asked why I emphasize the importance of loving our body when we are made up of so many other components. This is a great question, and to it I respond: we are more likely to be told by the world that we are good people; funny, creative, intelligent, communicative, generous, maybe even extraordinary. What we are NOT told is that our bodies are beautiful just the way they are. We are taught that our figure is flawed, and not only is it flawed, but that the majority of our worth lies within our physical appearance. Which, of course is never “perfect enough” by societies standards. This affects our lives on a monumental level
I am personally going to be talking about my mission to help all women fall in love with their bodies by realizing how much pleasure their fat, thick, plush, thin, athletic, slim, fluffy and skinny bodies are capable of. I feel like that when women learn how much pleasure their body can create, they find it easier to love their bodies and build confidence and their own self esteem. We can learn to love our bodies no matter their size.
I own the ONLY plus size lingerie store in the entire country called Curvy Girl Lingerie (opened in Oct. 2012 in San Jose, CA) and have been in the business of selling romance knows since 2003. I have talked with tens of thousands of women about their bodies, their sexual response cycle and their vulnerabilities. We are truly all in this struggle together and I want to help women connect with their sexy bodies through pleasure.
Tess Munster
A few of the other inspirational speakers include Tess Munster, founder of Eff Your Beauty Standards (she is also the keynote speaker). Tess has thousands of fans on Facebook and Instagram and she inspires plus size women daily! Can’t wait to hear her presentation.
Jen McLellan, founder of Plus Size Birth and the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/plussizemommymemoirs Plus Size Mommy Memoirs. Jen is an advocate for plus size moms and her blog and page offers practical strategies plus
Plus-Size-Mommy-Memoirs
size women are supported before, during, and after pregnancy. In an interview about the Body Love Conference, Jen Mc Lellan said:
Plus size women are often mistreated by the medical community. I’ll be sharing tips on how to make sure you’ve hired a size friendly care provider during pregnancy and beyond. Our bodies aren’t broken. Our bodies are amazing!”
The creator of “Your Body is Not An Apology“, Sonya Renee Taylor, will be presenting will be talking about body shame and transforming historical patterns around women’s bodies. Can you believe so many amazing women in one spot? I am giddy about it!
So many amazing speakers and topics – but most importantly an epic event designed to expand all of our minds. “The Body Love Conference is the first event of its kind; a comprehensive and inclusive event that focuses on assisting all shapes, sizes and shades to embrace and love the skin they’re in right now.”
This event is open to the public and will be filled with lots of women who have been told by the media that their bodies are not perfect enough. We have all been subjected to the media’s war on women’s bodies. When we are too skinny, we get shamed and grief about being too thin. When we are what someone considers too fat, we get shamed and sold a bill of goods by the diet industry, fitness industry and the media that we must be unhealthy. You can’t win when you own a body, these days. Fat or thin, the war on our bodies is real. As I like to share with my customers and followers – STOP buying what the media is selling.
And as Jes Baker says:
The Body Love Conference is the first event of its kind; a comprehensive and inclusive event that focuses on assisting all shapes, sizes and shades to embrace and love the skin they’re in right now.
And I am thrilled to be at the inaugural event to help kick this off in Arizona. Hopefully this will touch and inspire young women all over the planet that their bodies are PERFECT and that they do not need to have a thigh gap and a bikini bridge to have a super sexy, happy, fulfilled life. Sexy is NOT a Size. And as Sonya so eloquently put it, our bodies are not an apology.
Hope to see you there!
Chrystal Bougon
Owner and Resident Curvy Girl at Curvy Girl Lingerie