Below are excerpts from some of the hundreds of messages that I've received in the mail since starting my "I am" page. I have removed names and left just initials to protect the anonymity of the senders.
"I can totally relate to you. The shame, the taunting in the halls at school (instead of moos, i got beeeeast drawn out like a moo). The whispering at restaurants or on the street. All of it. I always hated myself and found myself very unattractive. But I am learning that curves can be sexy. I can be sexy, even beautiful. A lot of that I have the Internet to thank and women like you who post your stories and your pics for the world to see. And such beautiful pics. You are a beautiful woman, beautiful face and beautiful body. Thank you for doing what you do. You are a wonderful human being and you are doing so much for people like me. Strangers on the Internet." - C.
"I would just like to say.. reading your site brought tears to my eyes.. I'm a
single 25 year old overweight Mother and I can relate ALL TOO WELL with a lot
that you had said in your site.. I found it funny, just tonight I was telling my
mom how "when I was thin, I didn’t take a second thought to making rude comments
to overweight people, and now that I myself am on that opposite end of the
spectrum.. I realize how bad I hurt people.. maybe its karma?? maybe It was
meant to happen this way to me.. regardless.. no one TRULY knows the hurt it
causes inside when you're overweight.. and made fun of UNTIL you're in that
position yourself. Thank you for your site.. I hope you don’t mind if I post
that link in my live journal. It was beautiful and inspiring.
All my love" - C.T.
"Thank you for those words. Amazing. i know those feelings, all of them. my
tears are ones of happy ones now. thank you so much for sharing that.
beautiful..." - A.
"Let me just say bravo to you for your wonderful work. I am also a 41 year old fat woman and photographer. I have alsos done some self portrait nudes and I know how difficult it is to do this and find the right words to go along with the images. I want to commend you on a wonderful body of work that will inspire all of us to find our inner beauty." R.G.
"thank you, your website is refreshing, and you are beautiful. a much braver
woman than I ." -N.
"As one who used to do some of those cruel things you mentioned, and finally in
my late-20's/early-30's "grew-up" and realized that beauty comes in all shapes
and sizes and is NOT defined by Holly-weird. I have done my best to atone and
actually SEE women for what they are, Children of a Loving Heavenly Father...
and if I cannot love them unconditionally, then how is HE going to judge me?....
I love my participation in social events with women of all shapes and sizes and
only when I am reminded of my past, as your website so gently did, do I
strengthen my resolve to continue living the way I am, as I LIKE ME THIS WAY,
and would not go back for anything!
So, in short, Thank You for your courage to express yourself and if we ever meet
in person, I would be honored to speak and socialize with you.
All the best," -M.R.
"Your website is amazing! I
read it last night...and I just sobbed. I related to its every word.
Your pictures were absolutely stunning. You are beautiful.I am so glad there are
brave women in the world like you who are not afraid to thumb their noses at
society's shallow values.
I admire your Earth suit of this lifetime. You are beautiful both inside and
out." - K.
"I found your i.html that someone posted on a community in livejournal and was absolutely taken aback! What a stunning and artistic way of expressing your comfort with who you are, and just how beautiful you are. You are an inspiration, and I truly hope that I can someday come to accept myself for the person I am in such a manner. " - J.
"What an awesome writting. YOu make me proud to be a woman who is comming out of her shell and finally able to be comfortable with who and what i am a beautiful woman who is overweight. THank YOu Thank YOu so much u r beautiful." - G.S.
"Thank you for creating such a beautiful piece. I have struggled my whole life with weight, and experienced almost everything you wrote about. It meant a lot to me, to see someone turn the heart ache into a candle in the storm.... You are a beautiful person." - M.
"Absolutely beautiful! Wow! The tears flowed from my eyes for sure. You have described my life as well. Only in the last couple years have I grown to think of myself as beautiful as well. I am grateful every day for the people in my life who can also look into my heart and beyond everything else. And thankful also for the groups of people who also love and help all other BBW's out there." - D.
Dear Laura .....
"I am proud of you. I know you do not know me. I belong to a BBW group in
Seattle Washington. Someone in that group posted your page called I AM. They
also warned that you might not want to read it if wearing make up that was not
water proof .... and boy was she right. Thank you for puttig I AM up online to
be read ... I am 38 and a BBW. I think I may have had an easier time accepting
the term BBW than you but I have a hard time seeing myself at beautiful as it is
not a word I have heard often. I was 5'6" and prob a size 10/12 most of my life
but was teased by family and school mates though now looking back on it I was
not fat by any means then. Once I turned 18 things started to change and it took
about 10 years to find out that I had PCOS. It is very hard to lose weight, and
I too have not had a loving relationship with my body, my mind nor food. I am
doing better though .... Anyway I just wanted to say Thank You for expressing
yourself." - C.
".........an admirer, in the truest sense. All through my adult life, i too have listened to remarks from my male friends about dating Big Beautiful Women. Those poor souls, they don't get it and they never will. If you judge the book (or the person) by the cover you are sure to miss out. If all you desire is some eye candy hanging off your arm, chances are that is all you will get. For whatever twisted reason, the pressure always seems to be on the women to be 'thin', while we men seem to get away with those extra pounds and are accepted as such. So sad, really. If we all took the time to get to know someone rather than judge based solely on appearance we would be so much further ahead. Spiritually, intelectually and personally we would all be better people and the world would be a much nicer place. As a great man once said, "I have a dream....." Love your site, please keep it going." -M.
"This is beautiful and you sound beautiful too! Some of the most wonderful, amazing and loving people I've known were larger than many, and at a weight that probably could cause preventable health issues. Besides the health risks, it is awful how society has an image of what beauty is. The core is what matters most, as we will all be old someday should we live so long, and have many wrinkles and possibly health problems. We will slow down and be less spunky. Someday we will all be gone. These are the days! Live each day to be happy and ignore rude and ignorant people, see them as little spoiled kids who have little consciousness and probably grew up with parents of the same mentality. Feel above that stupidity and live each day to the fullest, be happy!" - L. L
"Even though i'am not a large woman, *far from it* my sister-in-law and best friend for 16 years are both very large and they are the greatest people i have ever known. I know personally the struggles that my sister-in-law and my best friend have gone through for many years and they are beautiful people and i cant imagine life without either one of them, and would not trade them for anything in the world. Thank you for opening eyes of many i hope. thank you." - T.B
There really are So many more but I just thought I would post a few so that everyone could see that we're not alone in our feelings and our struggles - we have an ENORMOUS (pardon the pun) family out there who shares with us...
-Laura
Please click here to read a bit about the "who" and the "why."
All content copyright 2005 Laura J. Judd.
email: laurajudd@moonspheres.com