Your newest must-read has arrived, thanks to supermodel and fearless body positivity advocate, Tess Holliday. We caught up with the 32 year-old fashion industry trailblazer to discuss her new book, The Not So Subtle Art Of Being A Fat Girl — a breakout memoir chronicling her turbulent childhood in Mississippi, life as a single mom, and the complicated art of always loving the skin you're in. And how else could we celebrate her literary debut than with a game of 29 Questions, where we got the details on everything from how she handled an emotionally raw writing process to her fave cocktail (spoiler: it's an unexpected Old School throw-back). Along the way, Holliday also blessed us with tips for shattering regressive beauty standards and a few go-to skincare tips. Oh, not to mention that genius piece of advice Ice-T casually gave her about dealing with those Internet trolls.
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Even though she's now a published author, Holliday's campaign to encourage everyone to #effyourbeautystandards isn't anywhere near over. When asked how fashion helps make her feel empowered, Holliday candidly pointed to the work we've still got to do when it comes to equally representing different shapes and widening the definition of what beauty really is. "Unfortunately you're seeing the same bodies and the same kind of people, and it can feel like I'm not doing enough, because there's not enough diversity out there," she reminded us. But that doesn't mean she's backing down from advocating for the body positive movement she had a pivotal hand in forming, especially, as she puts it, "loving your body is a journey, not a destination."
Catch our full conversation with Holliday in the video above, and don't forget to nab a copy of The Not So Subtle Art Of Being A Fat Girl, on shelves now.