Philomena Kwao Quotes
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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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I think, for so long, women of different sizes have been pigeonholed, and with every campaign, it's always an adaptation of making fashion but for plus sizes. Sometimes it's in a little bit of a negative way, and plus is always a little bit slow to be fashion forward.
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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 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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I think the fashion industry and the media industry in general have a responsibility to make sure that they celebrate the rich differences in all our backgrounds to make sure we don't fall into the trap of reducing beauty to one specific mold.
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Because of social media, it's bridged the gap between the advertisers and fashion and allowed people to find their group. It really widens what people are viewing and allows brands to see what the public wants to see.
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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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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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I believe I'm beautiful because I'm me. I also believe that if you can find beauty in everything, you can allow that to change your mind-set, and doing so makes you a happier person.
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I try not to assign labels to myself. Sometimes I shop in the plus section, and sometimes I don't. I feel we attach too much significance to labels, and ultimately, it doesn't really matter.
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I think the real problem is all the negative connotations people have with that term. They think, 'Oh my God! I don't want to be 'plus-size!'' But people attach too much significance to terms. We can't let these terms define us or our beauty.
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My goal is always to help other women with programs that help them live better lives, especially is areas where health care is missing. Both of my parents are from Ghana, where there is a need for health care in the smaller villages.
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You cannot determine someone's health by the BMI alone. There are many factors that contribute to the health on an individual. If we're going to start using BMI to police straight size models, what's next? The plus size industry? To be honest, if it was down to BMI alone, most plus size models - including myself - wouldn't be working.
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There's not many models in the U.S. that have my depth - like, really dark skin - that are also plus size. Skin color has been one of those things we haven't really, really addressed on a large, widespread scale.
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I have a green juice every day because it makes me feel more awake; it makes my skin healthier.
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Fat is fat. This goes back to the word 'plus.' We describe things. We are humans, and we need to describe things.
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Celebrate the things that make you individual and unique, and realize that there's no one in this world that looks like you.
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While education is hugely important, the ways in which women are portrayed in their communities are equally important. Portraying women as victims keeps women in a captive space and denies them of their agency: their ability to fight back and take ownership of their situation.
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I'm from Ghana, in West Africa, and all the women in Ghana absolutely love shea butter. We use it for everything, head to toe. I've used it all my life.
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Beauty, to me, is not a physical thing. It's a feeling.
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I love technology. I love the Internet.
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My mother was born in Ghana, but she moved to the U.K. when my sisters and I were born.
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If a brand wants a specific girl, they want a specific girl, wherever you are.