The recent debate about fatphobia and “exclusive” body positivity has left satirist Lesego Thlabi triggered, and the Coconut Kelz creator has asked people not to divide the movement by gaslighting the institutionalised bias that already exists against fat people.
A post by Lesego “Thickleeyonce” Legobane on the body positivity movement not being for “slim bodies already accepted by society” divided social media and sparked a fierce debate on body shaming.
As a plump-bodied person herself, Lesego weighed in on the debate, speaking from personal experiences and observations of the world around her.
“The very first thing people come at me for when they disagree with my opinions is my weight. I’ve seen it with other fat girls. Fat is seen as unattractive and unhealthy. And undesirable. We have not until now seen our bodies celebrated and been told it’s ok to love ourselves.” she said.
As the debate raged on, Lesego used some examples to emphasise that fatphobia was very real to her.
“Guys until recently we didn’t even have sizes over 16 in most high street stores. Clothing designers just said, ‘you don’t deserve to wear our sh**’. We had to custom make or open up ‘plus-size stores’.
“You can name the plus-size models because there’s like two on supermodel status and like 4 in SA. Our sizes are not seen as normal. They’re called plus because there’s the norm and then everything else is extra. Can’t you see how even the language we use excludes us?” she asked.
Lesego explained that even if she “out-trains” and “outruns” her friends with smaller body shapes, people would always assume that she’s “lazy and unhealthy”.
I lost out on a big role last year because even though I was perfect in character, they “didn’t imagine her as fat”.
That’s what fatphobia & being excluded means. No matter how brilliant I was that day, my weight meant that they’d take a less suited person based on their size.
— Lesego Tlhabi (@LesegoTlhabi) September 1, 2020
The comedian went on to tell a story of how she lost out on a big role just last year because even after she knocked the audition out the park she was told that they “didn’t imagine her as fat”.
Read the full thread below.
It took me 6 years after graduating to believe I deserved a space on screen after being told no so many times just due to my weight. I had to work harder than everyone else and carve my own path because they decided no before I even spoke
— Lesego Tlhabi (@LesegoTlhabi) September 1, 2020
Even then the script is filled with “self”-deprecating humour coz of course there must always be underlying self-hate issues.
— Lesego Tlhabi (@LesegoTlhabi) September 1, 2020
In other news – Khabzela aka Thapelo Sebogodi’s life will never be the same again #TheRiver1Magic
Having been left in their feels after attending several virtual funerals thanks to The River writers, fans of the popular telenovela reached their last emotional straw when the writers killed Khabzela’s mother Regina in a fire. Learn more
Source: Timeslive
The post Lesego Tlhabi opens up about losing roles because of her weight first appeared on News365.co.za.
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