WATCH NOW
Watch on the app
The Body Positivity Movement and the Latinas Who Are Making It Happen
Body positivity is a movement that has been gaining momentum in recent years, and Latina women are at the forefront. These celebrities and influencers are using their platforms to promote self-love and acceptance, regardless of body size or shape.
Denise Bidot
View this post on Instagram
Denise Bidot is a plus-size model and body positivity activist. Her mother is of Puerto Rican descent while her father is of Kuwaiti descent. In 2014, Bidot became the first plus-size model to walk the runway, with two different brands, during New York Fashion Week. Bidot has worked with big names such as Nordstrom, Forever 21, Target Corporation, Old Navy, Lane Bryant, Levi’s, and Macy’s.
Bidot has been vocal about the need for more diversity in the fashion industry and has encouraged women to love their bodies no matter their size. Her movement, #NoWrongWay, creates scholarships for young women and provides them a place where they can be embraced for being themselves.
“It’s crazy not to be scrutinized for your physical appearance in my industry. But I think it’s just about reprogramming the way people think. For so long what was out there in the media was just one-sided. Now in media, there’s so many more curvier women being incorporated into lineups of fashion, that I think we’re seeing a real big change in the way that women are going to see themselves and feel about themselves. It’s really special,” said Bidot in 2015.
Denise Mercedes
View this post on Instagram
Denise Mercedes is a plus-size Dominican-American fashion influencer who uses her platform to promote body positivity. Mercedes continued to break barriers and started a body-positive campaign dedicated to women of all shapes and sizes called #becauseitsmybody. She aims to become a voice for women of all shapes and sizes.
Denise often posts photos and videos of herself and her best friend, who is a straight-size model, wearing the same outfits to show that fashion is for everyone. As a plus-size model, she has collaborated with brands such as Forever 21. Target, J. C. Penney, and Rue21. She has also worked with smaller body-positive online stores, such as Feminine Funk and Curvy Girl Fever. As if all that wasn’t enough, she also runs a clothing line with Rebdolls.
Rosie Mercado
View this post on Instagram
Rosie Mercado is an American plus-size model, celebrity makeup artist, fashion designer, and television personality. She is best known for starring in the reality television show Curvy Girls on NuvoTV and was featured on National Geographic Channel’s Taboo. Mercado is of Mexican descent, as her parents are from Guadalajara and Zacatecas.
At one point she weighed 186 kilos. However, she became aware of her eating disorder problem when, in mid-2011, an airline employee warned her that due to her size, she had to buy an additional seat to board the flight.
Rosie changed her diet and began doing physical activity every day, such as running, boxing, and yoga. With a lot of effort and willpower, she managed to overcome her disorder. She lost 100 kilos and today she is a recognized model. Additionally, she is responsible for promoting body diversity and is a motivational speaker for abused women.
Fluvia Lacerda
View this post on Instagram
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Fluvia moved to New York at the age of 16 and, as the story goes, one day she was on a bus and a woman asked her if she had never considered being a plus-size model. The woman gave Fluvia her card and, out of curiosity, she contacted her and soon the modeling contracts started to roll in.
Her career took her to the pages of Vogue Italia, where she participated in campaigns for brands such as Target and Marina Rinaldi, to name just a few. Industry recognition came in 2011 when she was chosen as the plus-size model of the year by the Full Figured Fashion Week organization, the most important plus-size fashion event in the United States. In addition, she made history by being the first plus-size model to star on the cover of Playboy magazine in Brazil.
for the latest updates from LatiNation