Sharing the news on her Instagram, Tess writes:
“I’m over the moon to finally share. This is totally surreal to see a fat body on the cover of a health magazine. Thank you Self for changing the game with me.”
The folks at Self magazine were just as happy to have her, writing on their Instagram page:
“We’re thrilled to share our first ever digital cover, featuring model, author, and fat-positivity activist Tess Holliday (@tessholliday). From editor-in-chief @carolynkylstra’s editor’s letter
“Holliday identifies as a fat woman, we chose to give her a platform because she has insightful things to say about thriving in a world that devalues bodies of size. We also chose to feature her because size representation is necessary, especially for a national health media brand that can help guide the conversation about what it means to be healthy and how to make health accessible.
“You don’t know how healthy or unhealthy a person is just by looking at them, you don’t know what their health goals and priorities are, and you don’t know what they’ve already done or are planning to do for their health going forward. And moreover, you should know that concern trolling—using a person’s perceived health to justify making them feel bad about themselves—isn’t just counterproductive, it’s abusive.”
