Cosmopolitan magazine is more “woke” than ever—putting a morbidly-obese model on their newest cover, to promote “body positivity.”
Model Tess Holliday took to Twitter to express her satisfaction with the cover, writing: “I’m literally a COSMO GIRL!! Can’t believe I’m saying that!” she said. She added: “If I saw a body like mine on this magazine when I was a young girl, it would have changed my life.”
Holliday reportedly weighs 280 pounds, and is just 5 feet, 5 inches tall, which officially puts her in the “morbidly obese” category.
Holliday first came to fame when she led the #EffYourBeautyStandards campaign on social media—designed to promote women who don’t look like traditional models.
“I created [the campaign] out of frustration,” said Holliday, in her interview with Cosmopolitan UK. “I was angry and sad that people kept commenting on my pictures saying, ‘You’re too fat to wear that!’ or ‘Cover up! No one wants to see that!’ And then one night I was lying in bed and thought, ‘F*** that!’ So I posted an image with four photographs of myself wearing things that fat women are often told we ‘can’t wear’, and encouraged others to do the same.”
However, she’s also received criticism for promoting an unhealthy lifestyle, considering the laundry list of health concerns that come with being so heavily overweight.
Holliday will be on Cosmopolitan UK’s October issue, which will hit newsstands next week.
