Marie Southard Ospina

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

On 1st January, renowned plus-size blogger, advocate and influencer Callie Thorpe shared a photo of herself on the cover of Cosmopolitan. For its February

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

If you had asked me what I wanted for any birthday or Christmas between the ages of 14 and 24, I would have definitely requested a handbag. My collection s

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

As I waited for my ride home from an after-school newspaper meeting back in 2005, I heard my English teacher ask “Who is that?” in a shocked to

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

I had three best friends throughout most of school, all of whom were thin. Like most teenagers in our tiny suburban town, their favourite thing to do on we

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