[BE W EL L] S E L F - L O V E
Body Positive
A Joyous Rebellion By Marissa Heyl
Illustrations by Diane Pereira aka Red Milk Crone
Appreciate and Love Your Body
62
A bevy of curvy women with candy-colored hair and chic cat’s-eye shades revel in the sun at a jubilant poolside soiree, skin rolls out. They’re dancing without abandon. These women are gloriously living in their bodies and enjoying life, free from judgment. It’s a scene of pure jubilation from Aidy Bryant’s “Shrill” in which her character, Annie, attends a “Fat Girl Pool Party.” Though self-conscious about wearing a swimsuit in public, she eventually accepts the invitation. We see her liberated, gleefully dancing, swimming and doing handstands in the pool as if releasing her inner child. I’ve watched this scene many times, and it always brings tears — a liberation of a group of women who, like myself, have avoided the pool since puberty.
