Jezebel Express Most Liked Photos and Posts

Related Posts

Share This Post

Most liked photo of Jezebel Express with over 3.4K likes is the following photo

Most liked Instagram photo of Jezebel Express
We have around 25 most liked photos of Jezebel Express with the thumbnails listed below. Click on any of them to view the full image along with its caption, like count, and a button to download the photo.

Jezebel Express Instagram - Honestly, my bookshelves are the only thing I miss about living in a house. 📚🤓📚 I took this self-portrait shortly before moving into my rig and it came up in my memories today so I wanted to share. ❤️ Who remembers taking classes from me with these shelves as the backdrop during the first year of C0vīd?
Jezebel Express Instagram - So one of my TikToks is doing numbers, and as usual, a pile of strangers have shown up to express disgust at my body. I won’t say that this has no emotional impact, but the contents of the hateful messages just feel… trivial. 

Maybe it’s just part of having been a fat public figure for so long, but I feel like I can hear what people mean under their vitriol… and so little or what they are saying is actually about me. I remember the time a young fat person DM’ed me: “I would want to die if people said those things about me - how can you stand it?”

I wrote back, and told them the truth: Those people aren’t saying anything about me. They are saying something about the way they see the world. 

People who comment on other people’s bodies do so to express or reenforce their values and beliefs. Something about me feels challenging to them, and they feel the need to re-assert their beliefs out loud, in public.

To be clear: they do this for themselves, not me. No one shows up on a stranger’s page and says awful shit to them for the stranger’s benefit. 

Maybe they’re saying:
🫥“I only value people who live in bodies I find sexually attractive.”
🫥“I work hard to have a fit body, and I believe only people with fit bodies deserve respect or attraction.” 
🫥“I resent you because I hate myself, and I don’t understand how you don’t hate yourself, too.” 
🫥“I perceive my social position to be higher than hours, so I have the right to mock you.”
🫥“I was raised to believe fat people are always miserable and self-loathing… who are you to break the rules?”

With family & friends, body commentary is often a bungled attempt at love. “I am afraid you will not find a husband” or “I don’t want others to be cruel to you”. But whether people intend menace or care, the fact remains: body comments are simply reiterations of their own fears and desires, projected onto you and your perfectly acceptable body.

Comments about our bodies are almost never actually about us, in any way, shape or form. This is worth remembering, because it also means that other people’s opinions of our bodies should hold but negligible weight when we are assessing our own worth.

I hope this helps someone. ❤️
Jezebel Express Instagram - ✨Things No One Tells You About Being A Showgirl✨

No one tells you how much STUFF there is, for starters. You think it’s a corset & bra, ruffled panties, a pair of high heels. You’ve got most of that at home.

Smash cut to three —or five or fifteen years— later, & you’re backstage with two gowns (one for performing, one for curtain call), two corsets, sixty-inch wide feather fans, a bustle the size of a small car, a boa, lingerie, a lace onesie, three sets of gloves, two pairs of heels (high set for performing & the low ones for your go-go stint) & that’s before you get into wigs & hair accessories & makeup. 

And no one tells you about the stairs.

No one tells you that when you’re just starting out, the shoes you need for your show are going to cost $60, & the show is gonna pay you $50. No one tells you how hard you’ll work to be seen.

No one tells you that one day, you’ll see an audience member see themselves in you. They are rethinking what is possible, because of the five minutes you spent onstage. 

No one tells you that producers are going to hit on you & it’s going to be awful. Or that they’re going to hit on everyone except you & that you’ll hate yourself for thinking that might be even worse.

No one tells you that performing is the best drug. Or that slow weeks & unanswered inquiries will make you wonder if you should just hang up your tassels. 

No one tells you that half the photos taken of you onstage will make you want to live in a hole in the ground. 

No one tells you some gigs are perfect for you, & others will never hire you, & it’s your job to figure out which is which. 

No one will tell you that you need to practice or upgrade your costuming or study comedy. A mentor might. But no one tells you how hard it is to get a mentor, either.

What I can tell you is:

You’ll figure it out. You’ll pick up lessons the way kittens scoop up lacy bras. You’ll laugh so much, & probably cry your eyelashes off at least once. You will make good art & bad art but it will always be yours. 

The truth is that it’s life, just sparklier. So enjoy it. 

Make some friends. Abandon your ego. Learn what makes your light beam brightest. 

Then shine. ✨
Jezebel Express Instagram - Today I came across a photo I took this summer. I was really sick but trying to make it work, and I remember feeling like my body had betrayed me: all I wanted was ONE good shot, but I looked exhausted in every image.

I WAS exhausted, and I resented it. I kept getting better, then worse. I eventually found out I had pneumonia, and it did not go quietly. (Months later, I still have a horrible cough!) Through my illness, I kept asking myself: Why am I so embarrassed that I’m ill? And why do I feel like I’ve done something wrong?

It’s easy for me to understand that we can’t completely control our bodies. Body diversity is normal, and so is body change. But illness feels different. Harder.

Of course, I was raised to view illness through the lens of late capitalism. Illness nukes productivity and prevents us from fulfilling our usual obligations. I wasn’t raised to value rest, but I was taught that what I accomplish is a reflection of my worth, so illness feels like failure.

Our culture has also monetized wellness, and with it, a false narrative that we can avoid sickness (and by extension, death) with the right rituals and purchases.

In reality, illness is simply a part of living in a human body, and of aging, assuming we are lucky enough to age. The idea that good citizens produce while bad ones don’t is not only untrue, it’s wildly ableist. People who “never get sick” are not morally superior to the chronically ill. Community members are allowed to require varying levels of support. One of the core tenets of community, in fact, is that *everyone* needs help. 

Illness gives us the chance to practice hearing what our bodies need. To take support from the friends. To slow down. 

But slowing down is hard. I’ve been guilted by the bosses who insisted I stay home AND the ones who insisted I come in. We’re told to “get well soon”, but rarely to take out time to heal. It’s no wonder it feels fraught! 

Still: we don’t need to view our own illness as an error that other people now have to pay for. Illness is not a personal failing. It’s simply part of being human. Remembering this can help us treat ourselves and others with the respect and care we deserve. ❤️
Jezebel Express Instagram - This includes yours. ❤️ This reminder feels extra important during the holidays, when many of us visit family who can be quick with criticisms or advice. I know negative messaging runs rampant this time of year, so let me share some beliefs of mine that might be helpful to hear:
✨ All bodies deserve respect, because human beings live in them.
✨ No one deserves to be ridiculed for their size, proportions, ability or any bodily feature. 
✨All bodies are equally valuable. Aging bodies are not worth less than young ones, thin bodies are not worth more than fat ones.
✨If you don’t have access to someone’s medical records, you can’t draw conclusions about their health from their appearance.
✨ No one owes you health. No one owes you an attractive physical appearance that matches your preferences.
✨No one is obligated to change their body, even if that body is imperfect, even if their feelings about that body are complicated.
✨People are allowed to change their bodies if that’s what right for them. What they do with their body is unrelated to your body unless they push you to change, too.
✨Commenting on other people’s bodies in social situations is inappropriate. People know what they look like, and if they want your input, they will ask. “Concern” does not give you a hall pass to comment on other people’s bodies.
✨Shaming, body policing and joking/cruelty about bodies are not respectful. It is sane and reasonable to dislike being subject to this.
✨It is normal and healthy to set boundaries around body talk. People who resist these boundaries are often defending their “right” to treat you however they want. This is a sh*t dynamic. It’s okay to reject it. 
✨ It’s fine to make it weird when people are inappropriate about your body (they have already made it weird for you, right?)
✨It’s okay to leave situations where you are not respected. You also have the power to tolerate non-ideal situations & avoid internalizing negative messages. You know what you need and you can find a way to handle your own family dynamics. 
✨You deserve love and respect this holiday season. I hope it finds you, but even if it doesn’t— you still deserve it, and I’m holding out for next year. 💕
Jezebel Express Instagram - ✨Let the sun shine…✨Just finished a glorious extended winter holiday in the desert, and now I’m booking spring dates in the Southwest and up the West coast. Holler if you want me in your city… I’d just love to dance for you. 💕

Photo by the talented @boudoirbynomi.
Jezebel Express Instagram - In this age of data obsession, it’s understandable that we’ve come to view our bodies analytically & critically. In our lives, constant updates are a matter of course. Download the update. Get toned, beat wrinkles. Upgrade your phone. Crush your personal best. 

We have been encouraged to believe our bodies can be optimized & improved the way we update modern technology: filter, photoshop, control alt delete. We reboot our diets the way we’d reboot a hung program. And what is plastic (or bariatric) surgery if not the literal bodily equivalent of “cut and paste?”

But our bodies— they are not modern technical wonders. They are not new & improved. They are, in fact, ancient, made of repurposed stardust & water (which we can never drink enough of, no matter how we optimize.)

I actually don’t even think the optimizing itself is an issue. Wanting improvement is normal. The problem is that “fixing” our bodies has become obligatory, and judging bodies based on how successfully they match the cultural standard du jour is the norm.

(TW: ED, self-harm, next paragraph only)
People talk to me about their bodies a lot, & one confession comes up constantly: they tell me how they have often fantasized about snipping fat or other ‘problem’ parts away with scissors to perfect their bodies. The fantasy of the optimized body is so powerful they can’t even register the horror of scissors slicing into skin. 

But as we talk, it becomes apparent that what most of these people desire is simply to be treated better: to be loved more easily, to avoid cruelty. The problem is not with the bodies we fantasize about harming, but with a culture that refuses to value them. A culture that invites us to harm them.

Our human bodies do not exist to be optimized. Our bodies exist for love & joy & long naps & sunrises & swingsets, & holding toddlers on the perfect curve of our hip. Our bodies are not made to be analyzed, improved, streamlined. Our bodies do what they need to do to keep us alive. Your body is doing exactly what it is supposed to do: it’s letting you exist, imperfectly & beautifully. 

If you want, you can let your body exist imperfectly & beautifully, too. ❤️
Jezebel Express Instagram - Today’s reminder, for anyone who needs it. ❤️ It’s okay to have good days and bad days and weird days in your human body. All relationships have peaks and valleys, and your relationship with your body is no exception. Try to be kind to yourself (and your body) on rough days, and remember to celebrate the sparkly ones! ✨
Jezebel Express Instagram - Dreams do come true! Today I performed in New York Fashion Week in @selkie’s unbelievably gorgeous runway show at the St. Regis Hotel’s rooftop ballroom! 💗

I have such appreciation for @selkie on so many levels— from the unapologetic whimsy and magic of their aesthetic to their intentional, consistent inclusivity and commitment to creating fashion for all bodies.

I’ll be posting more about the show this week, but for now, let me just say: WOW. The looks were incredible, the models and teams were so kind, my performance was an absolute blast, and the entire audience looked so great they could’ve stood on their own in the spotlight!

But I think the absolute best part of today was realizing that this entire collection would have been brain-breaking to me when a teenager, but it would also have changed my life. 

Back then, my only option for clothing was whatever the one fat lady store at the mall had on sale. Young people weren’t supposed to be fat, so the clothes were targeted exclusively to office workers. I  was rocking business casual looks at da club y’all! I was out there in chinos! It was not great.

Even worse, it got the message knocking around in my impressionable brain that larger bodied people don’t deserve beautiful clothing, or to participate in girly or romantic behavior, or to draw attention to themselves at all, unless they’re performing weight loss penitence.

I had to do a lot of hard work as an adult to unlearn those lessons, and one of the reasons I began performing burlesque was because I wanted to help adult women rethink their relationships to their bodies and their sexuality.

But today, as I was laced into a corset covered in butterflies and swathed in soft sexy pink, I realized that when I most needed to see fashion like this was was a teen flipping through fashion magazines, trying to learn how style worked and seeing no one who looked like me, and nothing that spoke to me.

Today I got to be the person teenage me really needed to see in fashion. I can’t imagine anything feeling better.

@selkie, I’m so glad you’re here. You are everything I want fashion to be. Thank you so much for letting me be part of the magic. ✨🌙🔮
Jezebel Express Instagram - Home away from home 🔮 I always get a lot of writing done here and I invariably sleep like a rock.
Jezebel Express Instagram - This photo!!! I love how I look shocked *and* concerned, like “What AM I going to do with all this ass, all this ass outside my jeans?!” 

If you are unable to refrain from sharing in the comments what you personally would like to do with all this ass, please tip me $50 at any of the links in my bio, as I am not here on the internet to get you off for free. Bisoux. 💋

Photo by @brokenglassfoto for @strippedavaldezproduction ✨
Jezebel Express Instagram - I love being on the road, and I am doing some necessary thinking and growth, but god damn… I miss my city so much. I took this a few weeks ago when I was home for a wedding. (I called no one, because I did not have one spare minute free, so rest assured that it was me, not you. I am coming back for some of that NYC fall magic the minute the weather turns! 🍁)
Jezebel Express Instagram - ✨soft✨ Lately I’m thinking a lot about what it means to be soft but strong, resolute but resilient, to trust and love and also honor yourself and your instincts. We have to walk a fine balance and know what requires standing our ground. and where we must go with the flow. Sometimes I’m resistant to change, but lately I’m trying to be softer. A work in progress, always.
📸: @boudoirbynomi
Jezebel Express Instagram - I hope everyone gets to enjoy a restful long weekend with loved ones! Today I’m on a farm near Yosemite having a feast with friends and a photo shoot is not in today’s plans, so please accept the most Fall Y’all photo I could find along with my best wishes for a life spent near people who love you the way you need to be loved. 🍂🍁❤️
Jezebel Express Instagram - Really enjoyed this costume in this lighting. Not sure what I was doing with my hair. ✨🤷‍♀️
Jezebel Express Instagram - Whoops i did it again
Jezebel Express Instagram - Sometimes you change your outfit, sometimes you change your oil. 🔧 Working on lots of bus projects at VanAid (follow @lovejez for bus stuff) and getting the bus all tuned up for some Arizona shows in early March… I’ll be announcing them very soon!
Jezebel Express Instagram - Quick backstage selfie, and a question for y’all!
I’ll be announcing some new Spring burlesque classes this week. 🎉 Is there anything in particular you’d like me to teach? I’m taking notes! 💋 ✏️ 
PS for anyone new:  All my burly-w & confidence classes are taught on Zoom, and they’re recorded so you can take them at home, on your own schedule. Let’s dance! 💃
Jezebel Express Instagram - Just saw an image of a crowded vintage beach scene w/ the caption "A Beach in the 70s. Not one fat body. My, how the food industry has destroyed us."

Fat people have always existed. It's not shocking that they’re not in old beach photos— they were taught to hide. When y'all act like fat people are a brand new problem, you help prejudiced people feel justified in othering us & painting us as abnormal. We are not. Fat people have been around.

Body diversity is normal. Every mammalian species exhibits it & we think nothing of a bigger gopher w/a smaller sister. There's no need to rank gophers (or people) according to size.

Capitalism HAS affected our population’s health in a bunch of ways, including what foods are available/ how they’re grown, but posts like this make it hard to talk about, because their framing is so reductive & misguided. 

Let's talk about food deserts, or Monsanto, or the racist roots of fatphobic thinking, or how "obesity" is a made-up disease that prevents people from getting adequate healthcare. Or the ways an ever-increasing work week has changed our exercise habits. Or when diet drug Phen-Fen was taken off the market because it was killing people. 

Let’s talk about practical reasons for our fatter population, like folks living longer & having access to medical intervention. We could discuss the ways eating disorder treatment fails so many people who are suffering & then have the exact same conversation about bariatric surgery.

We could talk about factory farming, or food choices being ascribed moral virtue, or America’s prejudice against disability being reflected in anti-fatness. We could discuss the "war on obesity" harming to people of all sizes, or food consumption as stress response, or the myriad ways people are denied access to psychiatric & medical care in America if it doesn't line exactly the right pockets.

Does that sounds like too much work? Is it too complicated to talk about fat in a way that encompasses data other than “calories in, calories out”'? 

You're right. Let's just say the problem is “the food industry” making people “fat”. That way, the solution is simple: just don’t be fat.

That’s how this works, right?
Jezebel Express Instagram - You already know the answer. 

Before anyone writes me an essay on why YOU, personally, need to change your body, let me just say: desiring change is normal. Humans are restless— it’s the curse of self-awareness. We want new jobs, different bodies, to swap out the chairs in our living rooms. We are eager to imagine what’s possible in the future and resistant to tolerating what is right now.

I’ve said here that you owe no one the body you had in the past, and that extends to changes you want to make now. If you decide you want to have big muscles, I will cheer you on. If you decide you are done with restricting your food intake, I have my pompons ready!

But if you are a person who primarily feels pressure to modify your body from outside sources, this is important information. Do you want muscles because your partner thinks superfit bodies are hot? Do you wear shorts at the beach because of how people look at your body? 

Are you in conversation with your body about what it needs and wants, or are you changing your body to answer other people? 

It isn’t wrong to make decisions that include insights from others, or to make decisions that keep you safe and comfy. But it’s helpful to think about how many of our decisions are influenced by the cultural consensus that there is a “right” way to look. 

Our responses to this pressure vary. Some prioritize looking whatever way will benefit them socially, while others simply try to fit in and avoid social penalty. Others resist the pressure or flout convention.

Because power dynamics amongst humans are incredibly fraught, I don’t think any of these strategies are wrong— but I do think it’s important to understand that all of us choose strategies to avoid conflict or oppression in a culture that prizes certain bodies, objectifies or desexualizes others, and ranks all bodies according to an entirely arbitrary hierarchy. 

To that end, it’s worth asking what our fantasies about changing our bodies mean. Do you actually want to modify your physical form… or do you just wish you could exist peacefully in the body you already have? ❤️

✨I want to affirm that you are worthy of love and respect, as you exist in this moment.✨
Jezebel Express Instagram - Super fun show last night in Troy, NY. Happy Birthday @boucheebardot & thank you for bringing me upstate! 🎂💕✨#backstage #travelingshowgirl
Jezebel Express Instagram - Now that I have your attention: the BURLESQUE TOP 50 voting closes in a few days! ✨ It has been meaningful for me to be on this list as an artist and activist in the past, because even burlesque is prone to fatphobia, and that is sometimes reflected in who is hired for high paying and high profile work. I’ve had to work HARD to be visible and have a microphone for my messaging that all bodies deserve respect,

Anyway, change can be hard to see because it happens so slowly, but I have taken heart in seeing people “make” this list that people appreciate for making changes in their community and in the world. 

I want to encourage you to vote for whoever is in your sparkly little heart, and to especially pay attention to performers who be denied opportunities to rise through mainstream channels due to systemic oppression. This is OUR vote for what we want OUR community to look like. ❤️ I put a link in my bio— if you have not voted yet, don’t forget to do so!
Jezebel Express Instagram - Tonight is the Pink Moon— here’s a pink moon. 🔮😉

Thinking about what I’d like to honor & release this full moon, I came across this photo today.  I took it on my birthday in 2021, which I spent alone in a strange city. My bus (where I lived) had broken down halfway between NY & Georgia, where I was headed for winter. I’d decided to make lemonade by getting a cute hotel room to do a self portrait shoot.

I got a few good shots in & then the phone rang. It was the mechanic, telling me the engine wasn’t fixable. The bus needed a new engine. He reckoned that’d run me about $14,000. This was a problem, as I’d spent my last two grand buying the bus. 

I sat on the floor, staring at my phone, & then I burst into tears. I didn’t feel like shooting anymore, &  my makeup was trashed anyway but I did take this one last shot. I wanted to remember how that exact moment felt.

I spent an agonizing several days trying to decide what to do. I was encouraged by friends & family to give up the bus & move back to New York. I understand why: I was out of my depth, I was scared & exhausted. Still: I thought I heard a little voice inside me whispering “keep going.” But what did I know? What if the voice was wrong?

Looking back, I realize how far removed I was from my instincts & my own self possession. I thought everyone else’s opinion was more important than mine, that they somehow had the key to knowledge I couldn’t unlock within myself.  I did eventually decide to replace the engine (at a much lower price) but I was painfully confused and conflicted about my choice.

Looking back, I realize how far I’ve come. Living on the road requires you to be so close to your instincts — who is trustworthy, which places are safe.

I am so close to the voice that tells me what is right for me now. I’m grateful that some part of me knew that this path was right for me. I’m glad I could hear her whisper.

Tonight, I want to honor her person I was when I took this photo. She was so willing to consider, to listen. She was exactly who I needed to be at the time. But I’m ready to let her self-doubt go. 

These days, I can hear myself so much more clearly. I just have to remember to listen. 🌙
Jezebel Express Instagram - Floating through a cotton candy dream @selkie NYFW. It felt exactly like it looks. 🩰🎀💗
📸: @ashleehuff 
#nyfw #fashionweek #whatiwore #pink #plussizefashion #selkie #runway
Jezebel Express - 3.4K Likes - Honestly, my bookshelves are the only thing I miss about living in a house. 📚🤓📚 I took this self-portrait shortly before moving into my rig and it came up in my memories today so I wanted to share. ❤️ Who remembers taking classes from me with these shelves as the backdrop during the first year of C0vīd?

3.4K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Honestly, my bookshelves are the only thing I miss about living in a house. 📚🤓📚 I took this self-portrait shortly before moving into my rig and it came up in my memories today so I wanted to share. ❤️ Who remembers taking classes from me with these shelves as the backdrop during the first year of C0vīd?
Likes : 3436
Jezebel Express - 2.1K Likes - So one of my TikToks is doing numbers, and as usual, a pile of strangers have shown up to express disgust at my body. I won’t say that this has no emotional impact, but the contents of the hateful messages just feel… trivial. 

Maybe it’s just part of having been a fat public figure for so long, but I feel like I can hear what people mean under their vitriol… and so little or what they are saying is actually about me. I remember the time a young fat person DM’ed me: “I would want to die if people said those things about me - how can you stand it?”

I wrote back, and told them the truth: Those people aren’t saying anything about me. They are saying something about the way they see the world. 

People who comment on other people’s bodies do so to express or reenforce their values and beliefs. Something about me feels challenging to them, and they feel the need to re-assert their beliefs out loud, in public.

To be clear: they do this for themselves, not me. No one shows up on a stranger’s page and says awful shit to them for the stranger’s benefit. 

Maybe they’re saying:
🫥“I only value people who live in bodies I find sexually attractive.”
🫥“I work hard to have a fit body, and I believe only people with fit bodies deserve respect or attraction.” 
🫥“I resent you because I hate myself, and I don’t understand how you don’t hate yourself, too.” 
🫥“I perceive my social position to be higher than hours, so I have the right to mock you.”
🫥“I was raised to believe fat people are always miserable and self-loathing… who are you to break the rules?”

With family & friends, body commentary is often a bungled attempt at love. “I am afraid you will not find a husband” or “I don’t want others to be cruel to you”. But whether people intend menace or care, the fact remains: body comments are simply reiterations of their own fears and desires, projected onto you and your perfectly acceptable body.

Comments about our bodies are almost never actually about us, in any way, shape or form. This is worth remembering, because it also means that other people’s opinions of our bodies should hold but negligible weight when we are assessing our own worth.

I hope this helps someone. ❤️

2.1K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : So one of my TikToks is doing numbers, and as usual, a pile of strangers have shown up to express disgust at my body. I won’t say that this has no emotional impact, but the contents of the hateful messages just feel… trivial. Maybe it’s just part of having been a fat public figure for so long, but I feel like I can hear what people mean under their vitriol… and so little or what they are saying is actually about me. I remember the time a young fat person DM’ed me: “I would want to die if people said those things about me – how can you stand it?”

I wrote back, and told them the truth: Those people aren’t saying anything about me. They are saying something about the way they see the world. 

People who comment on other people’s bodies do so to express or reenforce their values and beliefs. Something about me feels challenging to them, and they feel the need to re-assert their beliefs out loud, in public. To be clear: they do this for themselves, not me. No one shows up on a stranger’s page and says awful shit to them for the stranger’s benefit. 

Maybe they’re saying: 🫥“I only value people who live in bodies I find sexually attractive.” 🫥“I work hard to have a fit body, and I believe only people with fit bodies deserve respect or attraction.” 🫥“I resent you because I hate myself, and I don’t understand how you don’t hate yourself, too.” 🫥“I perceive my social position to be higher than hours, so I have the right to mock you.”
🫥“I was raised to believe fat people are always miserable and self-loathing… who are you to break the rules?” With family & friends, body commentary is often a bungled attempt at love. “I am afraid you will not find a husband” or “I don’t want others to be cruel to you”. But whether people intend menace or care, the fact remains: body comments are simply reiterations of their own fears and desires, projected onto you and your perfectly acceptable body.

Comments about our bodies are almost never actually about us, in any way, shape or form. This is worth remembering, because it also means that other people’s opinions of our bodies should hold but negligible weight when we are assessing our own worth. I hope this helps someone. ❤️
Likes : 2063
Jezebel Express - 1.9K Likes - ✨Things No One Tells You About Being A Showgirl✨

No one tells you how much STUFF there is, for starters. You think it’s a corset & bra, ruffled panties, a pair of high heels. You’ve got most of that at home.

Smash cut to three —or five or fifteen years— later, & you’re backstage with two gowns (one for performing, one for curtain call), two corsets, sixty-inch wide feather fans, a bustle the size of a small car, a boa, lingerie, a lace onesie, three sets of gloves, two pairs of heels (high set for performing & the low ones for your go-go stint) & that’s before you get into wigs & hair accessories & makeup. 

And no one tells you about the stairs.

No one tells you that when you’re just starting out, the shoes you need for your show are going to cost $60, & the show is gonna pay you $50. No one tells you how hard you’ll work to be seen.

No one tells you that one day, you’ll see an audience member see themselves in you. They are rethinking what is possible, because of the five minutes you spent onstage. 

No one tells you that producers are going to hit on you & it’s going to be awful. Or that they’re going to hit on everyone except you & that you’ll hate yourself for thinking that might be even worse.

No one tells you that performing is the best drug. Or that slow weeks & unanswered inquiries will make you wonder if you should just hang up your tassels. 

No one tells you that half the photos taken of you onstage will make you want to live in a hole in the ground. 

No one tells you some gigs are perfect for you, & others will never hire you, & it’s your job to figure out which is which. 

No one will tell you that you need to practice or upgrade your costuming or study comedy. A mentor might. But no one tells you how hard it is to get a mentor, either.

What I can tell you is:

You’ll figure it out. You’ll pick up lessons the way kittens scoop up lacy bras. You’ll laugh so much, & probably cry your eyelashes off at least once. You will make good art & bad art but it will always be yours. 

The truth is that it’s life, just sparklier. So enjoy it. 

Make some friends. Abandon your ego. Learn what makes your light beam brightest. 

Then shine. ✨

1.9K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : ✨Things No One Tells You About Being A Showgirl✨ No one tells you how much STUFF there is, for starters. You think it’s a corset & bra, ruffled panties, a pair of high heels. You’ve got most of that at home.
 Smash cut to three —or five or fifteen years— later, & you’re backstage with two gowns (one for performing, one for curtain call), two corsets, sixty-inch wide feather fans, a bustle the size of a small car, a boa, lingerie, a lace onesie, three sets of gloves, two pairs of heels (high set for performing & the low ones for your go-go stint) & that’s before you get into wigs & hair accessories & makeup. And no one tells you about the stairs. No one tells you that when you’re just starting out, the shoes you need for your show are going to cost $60, & the show is gonna pay you $50. No one tells you how hard you’ll work to be seen. No one tells you that one day, you’ll see an audience member see themselves in you. They are rethinking what is possible, because of the five minutes you spent onstage. No one tells you that producers are going to hit on you & it’s going to be awful. Or that they’re going to hit on everyone except you & that you’ll hate yourself for thinking that might be even worse. No one tells you that performing is the best drug. Or that slow weeks & unanswered inquiries will make you wonder if you should just hang up your tassels. No one tells you that half the photos taken of you onstage will make you want to live in a hole in the ground. No one tells you some gigs are perfect for you, & others will never hire you, & it’s your job to figure out which is which. No one will tell you that you need to practice or upgrade your costuming or study comedy. A mentor might. But no one tells you how hard it is to get a mentor, either. What I can tell you is: You’ll figure it out. You’ll pick up lessons the way kittens scoop up lacy bras. You’ll laugh so much, & probably cry your eyelashes off at least once. You will make good art & bad art but it will always be yours. The truth is that it’s life, just sparklier. So enjoy it. Make some friends. Abandon your ego. Learn what makes your light beam brightest. Then shine. ✨
Likes : 1872
Jezebel Express - 1.6K Likes - Today I came across a photo I took this summer. I was really sick but trying to make it work, and I remember feeling like my body had betrayed me: all I wanted was ONE good shot, but I looked exhausted in every image.

I WAS exhausted, and I resented it. I kept getting better, then worse. I eventually found out I had pneumonia, and it did not go quietly. (Months later, I still have a horrible cough!) Through my illness, I kept asking myself: Why am I so embarrassed that I’m ill? And why do I feel like I’ve done something wrong?

It’s easy for me to understand that we can’t completely control our bodies. Body diversity is normal, and so is body change. But illness feels different. Harder.

Of course, I was raised to view illness through the lens of late capitalism. Illness nukes productivity and prevents us from fulfilling our usual obligations. I wasn’t raised to value rest, but I was taught that what I accomplish is a reflection of my worth, so illness feels like failure.

Our culture has also monetized wellness, and with it, a false narrative that we can avoid sickness (and by extension, death) with the right rituals and purchases.

In reality, illness is simply a part of living in a human body, and of aging, assuming we are lucky enough to age. The idea that good citizens produce while bad ones don’t is not only untrue, it’s wildly ableist. People who “never get sick” are not morally superior to the chronically ill. Community members are allowed to require varying levels of support. One of the core tenets of community, in fact, is that *everyone* needs help. 

Illness gives us the chance to practice hearing what our bodies need. To take support from the friends. To slow down. 

But slowing down is hard. I’ve been guilted by the bosses who insisted I stay home AND the ones who insisted I come in. We’re told to “get well soon”, but rarely to take out time to heal. It’s no wonder it feels fraught! 

Still: we don’t need to view our own illness as an error that other people now have to pay for. Illness is not a personal failing. It’s simply part of being human. Remembering this can help us treat ourselves and others with the respect and care we deserve. ❤️

1.6K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Today I came across a photo I took this summer. I was really sick but trying to make it work, and I remember feeling like my body had betrayed me: all I wanted was ONE good shot, but I looked exhausted in every image. I WAS exhausted, and I resented it. I kept getting better, then worse. I eventually found out I had pneumonia, and it did not go quietly. (Months later, I still have a horrible cough!) Through my illness, I kept asking myself: Why am I so embarrassed that I’m ill? And why do I feel like I’ve done something wrong? It’s easy for me to understand that we can’t completely control our bodies. Body diversity is normal, and so is body change. But illness feels different. Harder. Of course, I was raised to view illness through the lens of late capitalism. Illness nukes productivity and prevents us from fulfilling our usual obligations. I wasn’t raised to value rest, but I was taught that what I accomplish is a reflection of my worth, so illness feels like failure. Our culture has also monetized wellness, and with it, a false narrative that we can avoid sickness (and by extension, death) with the right rituals and purchases. In reality, illness is simply a part of living in a human body, and of aging, assuming we are lucky enough to age. The idea that good citizens produce while bad ones don’t is not only untrue, it’s wildly ableist. People who “never get sick” are not morally superior to the chronically ill. Community members are allowed to require varying levels of support. One of the core tenets of community, in fact, is that *everyone* needs help.  Illness gives us the chance to practice hearing what our bodies need. To take support from the friends. To slow down.  But slowing down is hard. I’ve been guilted by the bosses who insisted I stay home AND the ones who insisted I come in. We’re told to “get well soon”, but rarely to take out time to heal. It’s no wonder it feels fraught!  Still: we don’t need to view our own illness as an error that other people now have to pay for. Illness is not a personal failing. It’s simply part of being human. Remembering this can help us treat ourselves and others with the respect and care we deserve. ❤️
Likes : 1557
Jezebel Express - 1.5K Likes - This includes yours. ❤️ This reminder feels extra important during the holidays, when many of us visit family who can be quick with criticisms or advice. I know negative messaging runs rampant this time of year, so let me share some beliefs of mine that might be helpful to hear:
✨ All bodies deserve respect, because human beings live in them.
✨ No one deserves to be ridiculed for their size, proportions, ability or any bodily feature. 
✨All bodies are equally valuable. Aging bodies are not worth less than young ones, thin bodies are not worth more than fat ones.
✨If you don’t have access to someone’s medical records, you can’t draw conclusions about their health from their appearance.
✨ No one owes you health. No one owes you an attractive physical appearance that matches your preferences.
✨No one is obligated to change their body, even if that body is imperfect, even if their feelings about that body are complicated.
✨People are allowed to change their bodies if that’s what right for them. What they do with their body is unrelated to your body unless they push you to change, too.
✨Commenting on other people’s bodies in social situations is inappropriate. People know what they look like, and if they want your input, they will ask. “Concern” does not give you a hall pass to comment on other people’s bodies.
✨Shaming, body policing and joking/cruelty about bodies are not respectful. It is sane and reasonable to dislike being subject to this.
✨It is normal and healthy to set boundaries around body talk. People who resist these boundaries are often defending their “right” to treat you however they want. This is a sh*t dynamic. It’s okay to reject it. 
✨ It’s fine to make it weird when people are inappropriate about your body (they have already made it weird for you, right?)
✨It’s okay to leave situations where you are not respected. You also have the power to tolerate non-ideal situations & avoid internalizing negative messages. You know what you need and you can find a way to handle your own family dynamics. 
✨You deserve love and respect this holiday season. I hope it finds you, but even if it doesn’t— you still deserve it, and I’m holding out for next year. 💕

1.5K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : This includes yours. ❤️ This reminder feels extra important during the holidays, when many of us visit family who can be quick with criticisms or advice. I know negative messaging runs rampant this time of year, so let me share some beliefs of mine that might be helpful to hear: ✨ All bodies deserve respect, because human beings live in them. ✨ No one deserves to be ridiculed for their size, proportions, ability or any bodily feature.  ✨All bodies are equally valuable. Aging bodies are not worth less than young ones, thin bodies are not worth more than fat ones. ✨If you don’t have access to someone’s medical records, you can’t draw conclusions about their health from their appearance. ✨ No one owes you health. No one owes you an attractive physical appearance that matches your preferences. ✨No one is obligated to change their body, even if that body is imperfect, even if their feelings about that body are complicated. ✨People are allowed to change their bodies if that’s what right for them. What they do with their body is unrelated to your body unless they push you to change, too. ✨Commenting on other people’s bodies in social situations is inappropriate. People know what they look like, and if they want your input, they will ask. “Concern” does not give you a hall pass to comment on other people’s bodies. ✨Shaming, body policing and joking/cruelty about bodies are not respectful. It is sane and reasonable to dislike being subject to this. ✨It is normal and healthy to set boundaries around body talk. People who resist these boundaries are often defending their “right” to treat you however they want. This is a sh*t dynamic. It’s okay to reject it. ✨ It’s fine to make it weird when people are inappropriate about your body (they have already made it weird for you, right?) ✨It’s okay to leave situations where you are not respected. You also have the power to tolerate non-ideal situations & avoid internalizing negative messages. You know what you need and you can find a way to handle your own family dynamics.  ✨You deserve love and respect this holiday season. I hope it finds you, but even if it doesn’t— you still deserve it, and I’m holding out for next year. 💕
Likes : 1457
Jezebel Express - 1.4K Likes - ✨Let the sun shine…✨Just finished a glorious extended winter holiday in the desert, and now I’m booking spring dates in the Southwest and up the West coast. Holler if you want me in your city… I’d just love to dance for you. 💕

Photo by the talented @boudoirbynomi.

1.4K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : ✨Let the sun shine…✨Just finished a glorious extended winter holiday in the desert, and now I’m booking spring dates in the Southwest and up the West coast. Holler if you want me in your city… I’d just love to dance for you. 💕 Photo by the talented @boudoirbynomi.
Likes : 1444
Jezebel Express - 1.4K Likes - In this age of data obsession, it’s understandable that we’ve come to view our bodies analytically & critically. In our lives, constant updates are a matter of course. Download the update. Get toned, beat wrinkles. Upgrade your phone. Crush your personal best. 

We have been encouraged to believe our bodies can be optimized & improved the way we update modern technology: filter, photoshop, control alt delete. We reboot our diets the way we’d reboot a hung program. And what is plastic (or bariatric) surgery if not the literal bodily equivalent of “cut and paste?”

But our bodies— they are not modern technical wonders. They are not new & improved. They are, in fact, ancient, made of repurposed stardust & water (which we can never drink enough of, no matter how we optimize.)

I actually don’t even think the optimizing itself is an issue. Wanting improvement is normal. The problem is that “fixing” our bodies has become obligatory, and judging bodies based on how successfully they match the cultural standard du jour is the norm.

(TW: ED, self-harm, next paragraph only)
People talk to me about their bodies a lot, & one confession comes up constantly: they tell me how they have often fantasized about snipping fat or other ‘problem’ parts away with scissors to perfect their bodies. The fantasy of the optimized body is so powerful they can’t even register the horror of scissors slicing into skin. 

But as we talk, it becomes apparent that what most of these people desire is simply to be treated better: to be loved more easily, to avoid cruelty. The problem is not with the bodies we fantasize about harming, but with a culture that refuses to value them. A culture that invites us to harm them.

Our human bodies do not exist to be optimized. Our bodies exist for love & joy & long naps & sunrises & swingsets, & holding toddlers on the perfect curve of our hip. Our bodies are not made to be analyzed, improved, streamlined. Our bodies do what they need to do to keep us alive. Your body is doing exactly what it is supposed to do: it’s letting you exist, imperfectly & beautifully. 

If you want, you can let your body exist imperfectly & beautifully, too. ❤️

1.4K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : In this age of data obsession, it’s understandable that we’ve come to view our bodies analytically & critically. In our lives, constant updates are a matter of course. Download the update. Get toned, beat wrinkles. Upgrade your phone. Crush your personal best. We have been encouraged to believe our bodies can be optimized & improved the way we update modern technology: filter, photoshop, control alt delete. We reboot our diets the way we’d reboot a hung program. And what is plastic (or bariatric) surgery if not the literal bodily equivalent of “cut and paste?” But our bodies— they are not modern technical wonders. They are not new & improved. They are, in fact, ancient, made of repurposed stardust & water (which we can never drink enough of, no matter how we optimize.) I actually don’t even think the optimizing itself is an issue. Wanting improvement is normal. The problem is that “fixing” our bodies has become obligatory, and judging bodies based on how successfully they match the cultural standard du jour is the norm. (TW: ED, self-harm, next paragraph only) People talk to me about their bodies a lot, & one confession comes up constantly: they tell me how they have often fantasized about snipping fat or other ‘problem’ parts away with scissors to perfect their bodies. The fantasy of the optimized body is so powerful they can’t even register the horror of scissors slicing into skin. But as we talk, it becomes apparent that what most of these people desire is simply to be treated better: to be loved more easily, to avoid cruelty. The problem is not with the bodies we fantasize about harming, but with a culture that refuses to value them. A culture that invites us to harm them. Our human bodies do not exist to be optimized. Our bodies exist for love & joy & long naps & sunrises & swingsets, & holding toddlers on the perfect curve of our hip. Our bodies are not made to be analyzed, improved, streamlined. Our bodies do what they need to do to keep us alive. Your body is doing exactly what it is supposed to do: it’s letting you exist, imperfectly & beautifully. If you want, you can let your body exist imperfectly & beautifully, too. ❤️
Likes : 1357
Jezebel Express - 1.3K Likes - Today’s reminder, for anyone who needs it. ❤️ It’s okay to have good days and bad days and weird days in your human body. All relationships have peaks and valleys, and your relationship with your body is no exception. Try to be kind to yourself (and your body) on rough days, and remember to celebrate the sparkly ones! ✨

1.3K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Today’s reminder, for anyone who needs it. ❤️ It’s okay to have good days and bad days and weird days in your human body. All relationships have peaks and valleys, and your relationship with your body is no exception. Try to be kind to yourself (and your body) on rough days, and remember to celebrate the sparkly ones! ✨
Likes : 1342
Jezebel Express - 1.3K Likes - Dreams do come true! Today I performed in New York Fashion Week in @selkie’s unbelievably gorgeous runway show at the St. Regis Hotel’s rooftop ballroom! 💗

I have such appreciation for @selkie on so many levels— from the unapologetic whimsy and magic of their aesthetic to their intentional, consistent inclusivity and commitment to creating fashion for all bodies.

I’ll be posting more about the show this week, but for now, let me just say: WOW. The looks were incredible, the models and teams were so kind, my performance was an absolute blast, and the entire audience looked so great they could’ve stood on their own in the spotlight!

But I think the absolute best part of today was realizing that this entire collection would have been brain-breaking to me when a teenager, but it would also have changed my life. 

Back then, my only option for clothing was whatever the one fat lady store at the mall had on sale. Young people weren’t supposed to be fat, so the clothes were targeted exclusively to office workers. I  was rocking business casual looks at da club y’all! I was out there in chinos! It was not great.

Even worse, it got the message knocking around in my impressionable brain that larger bodied people don’t deserve beautiful clothing, or to participate in girly or romantic behavior, or to draw attention to themselves at all, unless they’re performing weight loss penitence.

I had to do a lot of hard work as an adult to unlearn those lessons, and one of the reasons I began performing burlesque was because I wanted to help adult women rethink their relationships to their bodies and their sexuality.

But today, as I was laced into a corset covered in butterflies and swathed in soft sexy pink, I realized that when I most needed to see fashion like this was was a teen flipping through fashion magazines, trying to learn how style worked and seeing no one who looked like me, and nothing that spoke to me.

Today I got to be the person teenage me really needed to see in fashion. I can’t imagine anything feeling better.

@selkie, I’m so glad you’re here. You are everything I want fashion to be. Thank you so much for letting me be part of the magic. ✨🌙🔮

1.3K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Dreams do come true! Today I performed in New York Fashion Week in @selkie’s unbelievably gorgeous runway show at the St. Regis Hotel’s rooftop ballroom! 💗 I have such appreciation for @selkie on so many levels— from the unapologetic whimsy and magic of their aesthetic to their intentional, consistent inclusivity and commitment to creating fashion for all bodies. I’ll be posting more about the show this week, but for now, let me just say: WOW. The looks were incredible, the models and teams were so kind, my performance was an absolute blast, and the entire audience looked so great they could’ve stood on their own in the spotlight! But I think the absolute best part of today was realizing that this entire collection would have been brain-breaking to me when a teenager, but it would also have changed my life. Back then, my only option for clothing was whatever the one fat lady store at the mall had on sale. Young people weren’t supposed to be fat, so the clothes were targeted exclusively to office workers. I was rocking business casual looks at da club y’all! I was out there in chinos! It was not great. Even worse, it got the message knocking around in my impressionable brain that larger bodied people don’t deserve beautiful clothing, or to participate in girly or romantic behavior, or to draw attention to themselves at all, unless they’re performing weight loss penitence. I had to do a lot of hard work as an adult to unlearn those lessons, and one of the reasons I began performing burlesque was because I wanted to help adult women rethink their relationships to their bodies and their sexuality. But today, as I was laced into a corset covered in butterflies and swathed in soft sexy pink, I realized that when I most needed to see fashion like this was was a teen flipping through fashion magazines, trying to learn how style worked and seeing no one who looked like me, and nothing that spoke to me. Today I got to be the person teenage me really needed to see in fashion. I can’t imagine anything feeling better. @selkie, I’m so glad you’re here. You are everything I want fashion to be. Thank you so much for letting me be part of the magic. ✨🌙🔮
Likes : 1260
Jezebel Express - 1.3K Likes - Home away from home 🔮 I always get a lot of writing done here and I invariably sleep like a rock.

1.3K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Home away from home 🔮 I always get a lot of writing done here and I invariably sleep like a rock.
Likes : 1257
Jezebel Express - 1.3K Likes - This photo!!! I love how I look shocked *and* concerned, like “What AM I going to do with all this ass, all this ass outside my jeans?!” 

If you are unable to refrain from sharing in the comments what you personally would like to do with all this ass, please tip me $50 at any of the links in my bio, as I am not here on the internet to get you off for free. Bisoux. 💋

Photo by @brokenglassfoto for @strippedavaldezproduction ✨

1.3K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : This photo!!! I love how I look shocked *and* concerned, like “What AM I going to do with all this ass, all this ass outside my jeans?!” If you are unable to refrain from sharing in the comments what you personally would like to do with all this ass, please tip me $50 at any of the links in my bio, as I am not here on the internet to get you off for free. Bisoux. 💋 Photo by @brokenglassfoto for @strippedavaldezproduction ✨
Likes : 1257
Jezebel Express - 1.3K Likes - I love being on the road, and I am doing some necessary thinking and growth, but god damn… I miss my city so much. I took this a few weeks ago when I was home for a wedding. (I called no one, because I did not have one spare minute free, so rest assured that it was me, not you. I am coming back for some of that NYC fall magic the minute the weather turns! 🍁)

1.3K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : I love being on the road, and I am doing some necessary thinking and growth, but god damn… I miss my city so much. I took this a few weeks ago when I was home for a wedding. (I called no one, because I did not have one spare minute free, so rest assured that it was me, not you. I am coming back for some of that NYC fall magic the minute the weather turns! 🍁)
Likes : 1252
Jezebel Express - 1.2K Likes - ✨soft✨ Lately I’m thinking a lot about what it means to be soft but strong, resolute but resilient, to trust and love and also honor yourself and your instincts. We have to walk a fine balance and know what requires standing our ground. and where we must go with the flow. Sometimes I’m resistant to change, but lately I’m trying to be softer. A work in progress, always.
📸: @boudoirbynomi

1.2K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : ✨soft✨ Lately I’m thinking a lot about what it means to be soft but strong, resolute but resilient, to trust and love and also honor yourself and your instincts. We have to walk a fine balance and know what requires standing our ground. and where we must go with the flow. Sometimes I’m resistant to change, but lately I’m trying to be softer. A work in progress, always. 📸: @boudoirbynomi
Likes : 1227
Jezebel Express - 1.1K Likes - I hope everyone gets to enjoy a restful long weekend with loved ones! Today I’m on a farm near Yosemite having a feast with friends and a photo shoot is not in today’s plans, so please accept the most Fall Y’all photo I could find along with my best wishes for a life spent near people who love you the way you need to be loved. 🍂🍁❤️

1.1K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : I hope everyone gets to enjoy a restful long weekend with loved ones! Today I’m on a farm near Yosemite having a feast with friends and a photo shoot is not in today’s plans, so please accept the most Fall Y’all photo I could find along with my best wishes for a life spent near people who love you the way you need to be loved. 🍂🍁❤️
Likes : 1139
Jezebel Express - 1.1K Likes - Really enjoyed this costume in this lighting. Not sure what I was doing with my hair. ✨🤷‍♀️

1.1K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Really enjoyed this costume in this lighting. Not sure what I was doing with my hair. ✨🤷‍♀️
Likes : 1071
Jezebel Express - 1.1K Likes - Whoops i did it again

1.1K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Whoops i did it again
Likes : 1062
Jezebel Express - 1K Likes - Sometimes you change your outfit, sometimes you change your oil. 🔧 Working on lots of bus projects at VanAid (follow @lovejez for bus stuff) and getting the bus all tuned up for some Arizona shows in early March… I’ll be announcing them very soon!

1K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Sometimes you change your outfit, sometimes you change your oil. 🔧 Working on lots of bus projects at VanAid (follow @lovejez for bus stuff) and getting the bus all tuned up for some Arizona shows in early March… I’ll be announcing them very soon!
Likes : 965
Jezebel Express - 1K Likes - Quick backstage selfie, and a question for y’all!
I’ll be announcing some new Spring burlesque classes this week. 🎉 Is there anything in particular you’d like me to teach? I’m taking notes! 💋 ✏️ 
PS for anyone new:  All my burly-w & confidence classes are taught on Zoom, and they’re recorded so you can take them at home, on your own schedule. Let’s dance! 💃

1K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Quick backstage selfie, and a question for y’all! I’ll be announcing some new Spring burlesque classes this week. 🎉 Is there anything in particular you’d like me to teach? I’m taking notes! 💋 ✏️ PS for anyone new: All my burly-w & confidence classes are taught on Zoom, and they’re recorded so you can take them at home, on your own schedule. Let’s dance! 💃
Likes : 963
Jezebel Express - 0.9K Likes - Just saw an image of a crowded vintage beach scene w/ the caption "A Beach in the 70s. Not one fat body. My, how the food industry has destroyed us."

Fat people have always existed. It's not shocking that they’re not in old beach photos— they were taught to hide. When y'all act like fat people are a brand new problem, you help prejudiced people feel justified in othering us & painting us as abnormal. We are not. Fat people have been around.

Body diversity is normal. Every mammalian species exhibits it & we think nothing of a bigger gopher w/a smaller sister. There's no need to rank gophers (or people) according to size.

Capitalism HAS affected our population’s health in a bunch of ways, including what foods are available/ how they’re grown, but posts like this make it hard to talk about, because their framing is so reductive & misguided. 

Let's talk about food deserts, or Monsanto, or the racist roots of fatphobic thinking, or how "obesity" is a made-up disease that prevents people from getting adequate healthcare. Or the ways an ever-increasing work week has changed our exercise habits. Or when diet drug Phen-Fen was taken off the market because it was killing people. 

Let’s talk about practical reasons for our fatter population, like folks living longer & having access to medical intervention. We could discuss the ways eating disorder treatment fails so many people who are suffering & then have the exact same conversation about bariatric surgery.

We could talk about factory farming, or food choices being ascribed moral virtue, or America’s prejudice against disability being reflected in anti-fatness. We could discuss the "war on obesity" harming to people of all sizes, or food consumption as stress response, or the myriad ways people are denied access to psychiatric & medical care in America if it doesn't line exactly the right pockets.

Does that sounds like too much work? Is it too complicated to talk about fat in a way that encompasses data other than “calories in, calories out”'? 

You're right. Let's just say the problem is “the food industry” making people “fat”. That way, the solution is simple: just don’t be fat.

That’s how this works, right?

0.9K Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Just saw an image of a crowded vintage beach scene w/ the caption “A Beach in the 70s. Not one fat body. My, how the food industry has destroyed us.” Fat people have always existed. It’s not shocking that they’re not in old beach photos— they were taught to hide. When y’all act like fat people are a brand new problem, you help prejudiced people feel justified in othering us & painting us as abnormal. We are not. Fat people have been around. Body diversity is normal. Every mammalian species exhibits it & we think nothing of a bigger gopher w/a smaller sister. There’s no need to rank gophers (or people) according to size. Capitalism HAS affected our population’s health in a bunch of ways, including what foods are available/ how they’re grown, but posts like this make it hard to talk about, because their framing is so reductive & misguided. Let’s talk about food deserts, or Monsanto, or the racist roots of fatphobic thinking, or how “obesity” is a made-up disease that prevents people from getting adequate healthcare. Or the ways an ever-increasing work week has changed our exercise habits. Or when diet drug Phen-Fen was taken off the market because it was killing people. Let’s talk about practical reasons for our fatter population, like folks living longer & having access to medical intervention. We could discuss the ways eating disorder treatment fails so many people who are suffering & then have the exact same conversation about bariatric surgery. We could talk about factory farming, or food choices being ascribed moral virtue, or America’s prejudice against disability being reflected in anti-fatness. We could discuss the “war on obesity” harming to people of all sizes, or food consumption as stress response, or the myriad ways people are denied access to psychiatric & medical care in America if it doesn’t line exactly the right pockets. Does that sounds like too much work? Is it too complicated to talk about fat in a way that encompasses data other than “calories in, calories out”’? You’re right. Let’s just say the problem is “the food industry” making people “fat”. That way, the solution is simple: just don’t be fat. That’s how this works, right?
Likes : 934
Jezebel Express - 840 Likes - You already know the answer. 

Before anyone writes me an essay on why YOU, personally, need to change your body, let me just say: desiring change is normal. Humans are restless— it’s the curse of self-awareness. We want new jobs, different bodies, to swap out the chairs in our living rooms. We are eager to imagine what’s possible in the future and resistant to tolerating what is right now.

I’ve said here that you owe no one the body you had in the past, and that extends to changes you want to make now. If you decide you want to have big muscles, I will cheer you on. If you decide you are done with restricting your food intake, I have my pompons ready!

But if you are a person who primarily feels pressure to modify your body from outside sources, this is important information. Do you want muscles because your partner thinks superfit bodies are hot? Do you wear shorts at the beach because of how people look at your body? 

Are you in conversation with your body about what it needs and wants, or are you changing your body to answer other people? 

It isn’t wrong to make decisions that include insights from others, or to make decisions that keep you safe and comfy. But it’s helpful to think about how many of our decisions are influenced by the cultural consensus that there is a “right” way to look. 

Our responses to this pressure vary. Some prioritize looking whatever way will benefit them socially, while others simply try to fit in and avoid social penalty. Others resist the pressure or flout convention.

Because power dynamics amongst humans are incredibly fraught, I don’t think any of these strategies are wrong— but I do think it’s important to understand that all of us choose strategies to avoid conflict or oppression in a culture that prizes certain bodies, objectifies or desexualizes others, and ranks all bodies according to an entirely arbitrary hierarchy. 

To that end, it’s worth asking what our fantasies about changing our bodies mean. Do you actually want to modify your physical form… or do you just wish you could exist peacefully in the body you already have? ❤️

✨I want to affirm that you are worthy of love and respect, as you exist in this moment.✨

840 Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : You already know the answer. Before anyone writes me an essay on why YOU, personally, need to change your body, let me just say: desiring change is normal. Humans are restless— it’s the curse of self-awareness. We want new jobs, different bodies, to swap out the chairs in our living rooms. We are eager to imagine what’s possible in the future and resistant to tolerating what is right now. I’ve said here that you owe no one the body you had in the past, and that extends to changes you want to make now. If you decide you want to have big muscles, I will cheer you on. If you decide you are done with restricting your food intake, I have my pompons ready! But if you are a person who primarily feels pressure to modify your body from outside sources, this is important information. Do you want muscles because your partner thinks superfit bodies are hot? Do you wear shorts at the beach because of how people look at your body? Are you in conversation with your body about what it needs and wants, or are you changing your body to answer other people? It isn’t wrong to make decisions that include insights from others, or to make decisions that keep you safe and comfy. But it’s helpful to think about how many of our decisions are influenced by the cultural consensus that there is a “right” way to look. Our responses to this pressure vary. Some prioritize looking whatever way will benefit them socially, while others simply try to fit in and avoid social penalty. Others resist the pressure or flout convention. Because power dynamics amongst humans are incredibly fraught, I don’t think any of these strategies are wrong— but I do think it’s important to understand that all of us choose strategies to avoid conflict or oppression in a culture that prizes certain bodies, objectifies or desexualizes others, and ranks all bodies according to an entirely arbitrary hierarchy. To that end, it’s worth asking what our fantasies about changing our bodies mean. Do you actually want to modify your physical form… or do you just wish you could exist peacefully in the body you already have? ❤️ ✨I want to affirm that you are worthy of love and respect, as you exist in this moment.✨
Likes : 840
Jezebel Express - 801 Likes - Super fun show last night in Troy, NY. Happy Birthday @boucheebardot & thank you for bringing me upstate! 🎂💕✨#backstage #travelingshowgirl

801 Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Super fun show last night in Troy, NY. Happy Birthday @boucheebardot & thank you for bringing me upstate! 🎂💕✨#backstage #travelingshowgirl
Likes : 801
Jezebel Express - 769 Likes - Now that I have your attention: the BURLESQUE TOP 50 voting closes in a few days! ✨ It has been meaningful for me to be on this list as an artist and activist in the past, because even burlesque is prone to fatphobia, and that is sometimes reflected in who is hired for high paying and high profile work. I’ve had to work HARD to be visible and have a microphone for my messaging that all bodies deserve respect,

Anyway, change can be hard to see because it happens so slowly, but I have taken heart in seeing people “make” this list that people appreciate for making changes in their community and in the world. 

I want to encourage you to vote for whoever is in your sparkly little heart, and to especially pay attention to performers who be denied opportunities to rise through mainstream channels due to systemic oppression. This is OUR vote for what we want OUR community to look like. ❤️ I put a link in my bio— if you have not voted yet, don’t forget to do so!

769 Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Now that I have your attention: the BURLESQUE TOP 50 voting closes in a few days! ✨ It has been meaningful for me to be on this list as an artist and activist in the past, because even burlesque is prone to fatphobia, and that is sometimes reflected in who is hired for high paying and high profile work. I’ve had to work HARD to be visible and have a microphone for my messaging that all bodies deserve respect, Anyway, change can be hard to see because it happens so slowly, but I have taken heart in seeing people “make” this list that people appreciate for making changes in their community and in the world. I want to encourage you to vote for whoever is in your sparkly little heart, and to especially pay attention to performers who be denied opportunities to rise through mainstream channels due to systemic oppression. This is OUR vote for what we want OUR community to look like. ❤️ I put a link in my bio— if you have not voted yet, don’t forget to do so!
Likes : 769
Jezebel Express - 750 Likes - Tonight is the Pink Moon— here’s a pink moon. 🔮😉

Thinking about what I’d like to honor & release this full moon, I came across this photo today.  I took it on my birthday in 2021, which I spent alone in a strange city. My bus (where I lived) had broken down halfway between NY & Georgia, where I was headed for winter. I’d decided to make lemonade by getting a cute hotel room to do a self portrait shoot.

I got a few good shots in & then the phone rang. It was the mechanic, telling me the engine wasn’t fixable. The bus needed a new engine. He reckoned that’d run me about $14,000. This was a problem, as I’d spent my last two grand buying the bus. 

I sat on the floor, staring at my phone, & then I burst into tears. I didn’t feel like shooting anymore, &  my makeup was trashed anyway but I did take this one last shot. I wanted to remember how that exact moment felt.

I spent an agonizing several days trying to decide what to do. I was encouraged by friends & family to give up the bus & move back to New York. I understand why: I was out of my depth, I was scared & exhausted. Still: I thought I heard a little voice inside me whispering “keep going.” But what did I know? What if the voice was wrong?

Looking back, I realize how far removed I was from my instincts & my own self possession. I thought everyone else’s opinion was more important than mine, that they somehow had the key to knowledge I couldn’t unlock within myself.  I did eventually decide to replace the engine (at a much lower price) but I was painfully confused and conflicted about my choice.

Looking back, I realize how far I’ve come. Living on the road requires you to be so close to your instincts — who is trustworthy, which places are safe.

I am so close to the voice that tells me what is right for me now. I’m grateful that some part of me knew that this path was right for me. I’m glad I could hear her whisper.

Tonight, I want to honor her person I was when I took this photo. She was so willing to consider, to listen. She was exactly who I needed to be at the time. But I’m ready to let her self-doubt go. 

These days, I can hear myself so much more clearly. I just have to remember to listen. 🌙

750 Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Tonight is the Pink Moon— here’s a pink moon. 🔮😉 Thinking about what I’d like to honor & release this full moon, I came across this photo today. I took it on my birthday in 2021, which I spent alone in a strange city. My bus (where I lived) had broken down halfway between NY & Georgia, where I was headed for winter. I’d decided to make lemonade by getting a cute hotel room to do a self portrait shoot. I got a few good shots in & then the phone rang. It was the mechanic, telling me the engine wasn’t fixable. The bus needed a new engine. He reckoned that’d run me about $14,000. This was a problem, as I’d spent my last two grand buying the bus. I sat on the floor, staring at my phone, & then I burst into tears. I didn’t feel like shooting anymore, & my makeup was trashed anyway but I did take this one last shot. I wanted to remember how that exact moment felt. I spent an agonizing several days trying to decide what to do. I was encouraged by friends & family to give up the bus & move back to New York. I understand why: I was out of my depth, I was scared & exhausted. Still: I thought I heard a little voice inside me whispering “keep going.” But what did I know? What if the voice was wrong? Looking back, I realize how far removed I was from my instincts & my own self possession. I thought everyone else’s opinion was more important than mine, that they somehow had the key to knowledge I couldn’t unlock within myself. I did eventually decide to replace the engine (at a much lower price) but I was painfully confused and conflicted about my choice. Looking back, I realize how far I’ve come. Living on the road requires you to be so close to your instincts — who is trustworthy, which places are safe. I am so close to the voice that tells me what is right for me now. I’m grateful that some part of me knew that this path was right for me. I’m glad I could hear her whisper. Tonight, I want to honor her person I was when I took this photo. She was so willing to consider, to listen. She was exactly who I needed to be at the time. But I’m ready to let her self-doubt go. These days, I can hear myself so much more clearly. I just have to remember to listen. 🌙
Likes : 750
Jezebel Express - 698 Likes - Floating through a cotton candy dream @selkie NYFW. It felt exactly like it looks. 🩰🎀💗
📸: @ashleehuff 
#nyfw #fashionweek #whatiwore #pink #plussizefashion #selkie #runway

698 Likes – Jezebel Express Instagram

Caption : Floating through a cotton candy dream @selkie NYFW. It felt exactly like it looks. 🩰🎀💗 📸: @ashleehuff #nyfw #fashionweek #whatiwore #pink #plussizefashion #selkie #runway
Likes : 698