Marie Southard Ospina

The year was 2011 and I was a journalism student in university. My studies led to a part-time role at the now-defunct iVillage.com, a self-proclaimed “fe

In the days of yore — when Tumblr was the social media platform de rigueur and My Chemical Romance turned adolescent angst into a bona fide culture — I

I was 21 years old when my mother bought me my first suit. The matching skirt and blazer were houndstooth print, terribly ill-fitting on my plus-size body

Much like the year that preceded it, little about 2021 so far has felt expected. Never could I have predicted that the UK would still be locked down nearly

During my third year of university, I spent a semester abroad in Madrid. It was there that I first saw Daniela, an older woman who lived in one of the flat

When I first saw my cousin after chopping my very long, curly hair from bum-length into a short back and sides, she said she wasn’t surprised I had done

To fresh eyes, Hebden Bridge might seem like any other well-preserved former mill town in rural Yorkshire. Factories-turned-flats are scattered throughout

When I was 21, I found a tube of matte red lipstick under my bed, which my sister must have dropped the last time she’d visited. It was MAC’s Ruby Woo,

When my firstborn was a few months old, I dyed my waist-length curly brown hair into a bright red hue reminiscent of a fire engine. Emboldened by the trans

If there’s one thing self-isolation has made universally clear, it’s the value of community. Of course, community is vital for most of us but it’s es

After discovering the worlds of plus-size fashion blogging and fat liberation advocacy in 2012, I began taking steps to reclaim my own fat body, one of whi

When Lydia Morrow was pregnant with her son, like so many people she gained weight fairly quickly. Faced with a “full-on wardrobe makeover project

When it comes to dating, I was something of a late bloomer. Around the time my friends started losing their virginities and acquiring partners, I alternate

I saw them before they saw me. As I made my way across the street to the local Co-op, I watched as one of the boys elbowed a mate and pointed in my directi

As I watched my hair fall to the grey tiles in frizzy, scattered piles, I felt a sudden wave of panic. The stylist took scissors, then clippers, to the lon