Philomena Kwao Quotes
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I grew up in the U.K. and now reside in the United States, and my family is from Ghana.
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Plus-sized women have been told for so long to cover up. Whether it's with a one-piece, a tankini, a bikini with a skirt, high-waisted things, we're always told to hide these things that society calls flaws.
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Women are hit especially hard in regions of ongoing conflict. Before, during, and after conflict, women bear the brunt of the consequences of war. They are left as the providers and guardians, responsible for rebuilding their country one family at a time.
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We have spent so many years looking at images of another beauty ideal and so many years taking in magazine covers and films that represent a beauty standard that we'll never meet. People don't realize that there are makeup artists and hairstylists behind the scenes - even in something as simple as a 'candid' Instagram photo.
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As a woman of color and curve model, I never imagined when I started modeling that I would be featured in the pages of 'Sports Illustrated.'
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When I finally discovered the 'Sports Illustrated' swimsuit issue, I browsed through archives and saw a picture of an incredibly stunning model, Damaris Lewis. Her images inspired me, and I imagined being in the magazine myself. Never in a million years did I dream it would actually happen.
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I try my best to stay healthy by paying attention to the ingredients in foods and trying to make sure my food is organic and not full of sugar or preservatives. I also try to do at least 30 minutes of cardio every day in the gym.
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One misconception I think is wrong is that being a larger size means, somehow, that you're neglecting your body, or you don't look after yourself, or you don't love yourself enough to lose weight. We've been saturated with the idea that to be happy you must be thin, or to be healthy you must be thin.
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I think it's just that the fashion industry can only accept one thing at a time. It's like, 'OK, well, if we're going to add plus, then let's keep it hourglass and white.'
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If I'm feeling really, really crappy, it sounds so cliche, but if I wake up extra early in the morning and do some sort of physical activity, I usually feel a little bit better. Or I do other things that make me happy.
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It isn't hard to see how the lack of representation affects the self esteem of many women world wide.
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I think that we need to allow words to be words. If my self-esteem and my self-worth linger on words that are used to describe me, then you have a problem in itself.
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Women of all ethnicities, complexions, and sizes want to be able to wear makeup and nice clothes. No one wants to go out and feel like they're substandard or that there's only one mold that they don't fit.
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You can't say you're inclusive when you only have one plus-size, hourglass white model.
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Women need to be empowered to shape their own livelihoods and become CEOs of their own lives. They must be allowed to take control of important life decisions that are so often decided by others.
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Magazines don't go far enough to be inclusive and have at least have one model representing every major skin tone.
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It's refreshing when plus-size styling is exciting and pushes boundaries rather than safe and boring.
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Women I've met in different countries have told me that seeing my face in magazines gives them the courage to love themselves.
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Before I went to boarding school, I had never read a fashion magazine. I grew up on a council estate in London, and fashion magazines were a luxury item that weren't even on my mind. The closest I got to a fashion magazine was my cousin's 'Top of the Pops' magazines, where we would learn the lyrics to every song and put posters on our walls.
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Fast fashion, whilst having increased the accessibility of stylish clothes for millions, has unfortunately resulted in many horrific practises, such as child labour, that exploit millions of people around the world in poorer, developing countries. This something that has to change, and we can all start by reflecting on where our clothes come from.
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Growing up, I had body confidence issues, not really so much because of size but my skin color. I had trouble recognizing that the depth of my skin tone is really beautiful because whenever people referred to a beautiful black-skinned woman, you'd see Beyonce and Rihanna.
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When you model, you don't really have control over your image. It can be a good thing, it can be a bad thing. It can be a good thing in the sense that, actually, you have to get reintroduced to yourself. You don't always get that opportunity in your normal life. You can kind of hide from yourself.
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'Sports Illustrated' has set the standard for what a swimsuit model should be. For a magazine that has that much influence to include models of different body types on their pages shows that they're breaking down old beauty ideals while opening the doors of diversity and inclusivity.
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Much noise has been about size diversity but not enough about skin tone diversity. It's time for this to change.