Empowering Twitter Thread Celebrates Women's Weight Gain Transformations

We so often see and celebrate people who lose weight. In our society, weight loss, no matter if it's achieved healthily or not, is often seen as a moral good, whereas weight gain is most often viewed as a moral failing. That is wrong in all ways. One Twitter user, who goes by Tay, recently started a thread to celebrate women gaining weight.

She posted on the evening of March 25 and in only two days, it went completely viral. Thousands of women starting sharing their own weight gain transformations and the result is a totally empowering collection of photos of gorgeous women flaunting everything they've got.

We are constantly bombarded with messages that it is bad to gain weight when that is simply just not true. So Tay started this thread to erase the stigma and celebrate women in all their glory. 

In a follow-up tweet, Tay wrote, "This isn't a weight-loss thread. I posted this because I struggled with confidence when I gained my weight (UNINTENTIONALLY). I'd appreciate if y'all stopped posting your weight loss. 

"I'm here to love on my girls who gained weight and aren't really sure how to love themselves rn."

Tay continues, "And also, just because a lot of us gained weight doesn’t mean we are unhealthy. I breathe normally, I don’t have high blood pressure or diabetes, I eat right (for the most part), the number on the scale means S--T."

It's so true.

Fat does not equate to health, and it's such a harmful idea that's perpetuated not only by the media but by many healthcare professionals too. Doctors often write off women's pain in general and black women's pain even more. And many people who are deemed "overweight" are given the advice to "lose weight" when they, in fact, have unrelated health problems that should be thoroughly investigated.

Part of what's so important about this thread is that you have no idea how healthy a person is before or after they gain weight. Perhaps they had health issues when they were thinner, and their weight gain indicates that they're finally healthy. Maybe not! 

Either way, it's all valid and beautiful. 

And Tay reiterated that: "You have no idea what I went through or ANY of these women. Could be intentional weight gain or unintentional. If you don’t like what you see, keep scrolling."

She continues, "I’m not promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. I’m promoting body confidence and positivity."

And I think this thread does exactly what Tay set out to do. She was feeling insecure when she gained weight. That's not her fault. It's ingrained in us from a young age that thinner is better. This thread proves that's just not true. 

"Now is my time to shine!" Tay wrote. "I have no hidden talents to promote, but what I will promote is self-love and loving others. This world is so cruel, be peace and light. Love how you would want to be loved. Live and let live. Respect others how you want to be respected."

She continues, "Wishing I could respond to all of you beautiful women... You guys are loved and appreciated. Don’t ever let anyone bring you down!"