This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Conn chapter.

Welcome to the Her Campus UCONN Body Positivity Blog!

This blog has been created as a space for complete and utter body positivity, a place to champion every type of body and a place for loving and celebrating ourselves unapologetically. This blog is purely about loving who you are, right now, each and every day, and everything that comes with that.

To start off, it’s important to define what body positivity actually means, and what better way to do that than by giving you a Top 10 List of fierce body-positivity experts and activists that are taking social media (and the world!) by storm. Follow them on social media for inspiration, tips and general body positivity goodness.

1. Tess Holliday

Tess is an amazing role model and a Queen of the body positivity movement. As the largest plus-sized model EVER to be signed to a mainstream modeling agency, Tess has some serious pull in the fashion world. She has modeled for the likes of Torrid and H&M and was the creator of the #effyourbeautystandards hashtag on Instagram, which has been used by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world to celebrate their own bodies on social media. Follow her on Instagram for updates on her modeling career, pictures of her gorgeous husband and constant slayage.

2. The Musical Performers: Beyonce, Demi Lovato & Nicki Minaj

Beyonce, Demi and Nicki are three amazing female performers who are also very vocal about body positivity and loving oneself. Beyonce (a.k.a. human perfection) and Nicki consistently speak up about loving your body, the power of feminism and are quick to point out how ridiculous many societal expectations for female beauty are, particularly for women of color.

Demi has left her days of Camp Rock behind her and moved into full-fledged super-stardom. She has a killer voice and is one half of the power couple that includes everyone’s favorite That 70’s Show Character, Fez. Demi has also been extremely vocal about her mental health struggles, as well as her struggles with maintaining a positive body image, and speaks regularly about how mental health is very much tied to body image, and vice versa. Follow Beyonce, Demi and Nicki on Insta, Twitter, Snapchat etc for consistent #Flawlessness.

3. Winnie Harlow

Winnie is a gorgeous international model who competed on the 21st cycle of America’s Next Top Model and is currently living it up all over the world. Winnie also has a condition called vitiligo which causes areas of her skin to lose color, and though this condition is something that differentiates her from other models, Winnie never allows it to define her in a negative way. Instead, Winnie has embraced her body and become a role model for girls and women everywhere who don’t fit the traditional mold of “beauty” (and honestly, who does?). Follow Winnie on Instagram for gorgeous photos, updates on her modeling career and serious inspiration.

4. The Comedians: Mindy Kaling, Amy Schumer & Melissa McCarthy These three completely bada** women are taking Hollywood by storm…

Mindy has her own absolutely hilarious show on Fox called: The Mindy Project,

Amy has an equally funny show on Comedy Central called: Inside Amy Schumer

and Melissa has been in multiple blockbuster movies including her most recent: Spy.

Mindy, Amy and Melissa are laugh out loud funny, feminist, and continuously celebrate body positivity. Amy and Mindy constantly speak up for women on TV and in real life, including themselves, taking down body shamers and continuously celebrating a woman’s right to her own body, and Melissa continues to pioneer leading Hollywood roles for plus-sized women, and has recently started a clothing line called ‘Melissa McCarthy Seven7‘ that carries sizes 4-28. Follow Mindy, Melissa and Amy on Insta, and make sure to tune into their shows and movie projects!

5. Gabi Gregg

Gabi is the beauty and brains behind the fashion blog gabifresh.com, the style maven has appeared in the likes of Glamour Magazine, The New York Times, Seventeen Magazine and on websites like Refinery29 and xoJane. Besides creating a fantastic blog filled with style ideas for every body, Gabi has also pioneered the hashtag #fatkini on instagram (a hashtag that reclaims the word ‘fat’ in a positive way and has allowed thousands of women to celebrate their bikini bodies) and works tirelessly to combat fat shaming in the fashion industry. Follow this fashionista on her blog, and Insta.

6. Honor Curves

Honor, an unapologetic beauty is the mind behind the instagram account @HonorCurves. Besides posting hilarious memes and absolutely gorgeous selfies, this six-foot-one bombshell understands the power of loving every inch of your body freely and openly. Honor also posts a lot of post-workout selfies and workout ideas that don’t include demeaning images and body-shaming hashtags. Instead, she chooses to focus on her progress and her health, not on trying to reach unattainable and dangerous body “goals”. Follow this body positive babe on her Insta.

7. Loey Lane

With over 500,000 subscribers on Youtube, plus-sized fashion, beauty and lifestyle vlogger Loey Lane has accomplished no small feat. In addition to posting fantastic makeup tutorials, style hauls and try-on videos, Loey also posts a lot of enlightening commentary on our societal expectations of beauty, particularly for plus sized women. Her most popular video: “Why Fat Girls Shouldn’t Wear Bikinis”, which has over 8 million views, is a sharp and witty commentary on the state of our society in which women are continuously bullied both on-line and in real life for their clothing and swim-suit choices, particularly plus-sized women. Loey’s candid and unapologetic views are refreshing for a society that so often attempts to silence views that differ from the accepted norm. Follow Loey on her mega-popular Youtube Channel as well as on Insta.

8. Body Positive Campaigns: Aerie & Lush

A positive or negative body-image, more often than not, is created by the media influences that we see every single day. This is why, when major brands introduce campaigns that highlight body-positivity, it is a major win for both the company and the consumer.

Aerie’s #aerieREAL campaign as well as Lush’s recent “Go Naked” campaign were both introduced with the intent to celebrate real bodies, free from photoshopping. Though Lush’s campaign has faced some backlash for its realness, this move has truly separated both brands from their competitors in the best way. Follow Aerie and Lush on Insta for more information on their brands and their body positivity.

9. Nadia Aboulhosn

This triple threat (fashion blogger, model AND designer) is a unique beauty who has been running an extremely successful fashion blog for the past five years. Nadia has modeled for the likes of American Apparel, Addition Elle and Stylist Magazine, and has also cultivated a huge presence on instagram with over 300,000 followers and fans. Nadia’s main message has always been to rock what you’ve got, and to never hold back. Her absolute fearlessness was captured in an amazing and hugely popular video called #everyBODYisflawless which also features the previously mentioned Tess Holliday, Gabi Gregg and vocals by the Queen Bey herself. The video promotes body positivity, feminism and just general #flawlessness. Follow Nadia on her blog nadiaaboulhosn.com, and on her Insta.

10. The Rebels: Meghan Tonjes & Rupi Kaur

Meghan, a singer-songwriter and Rupi, a poet both made headlines in the past year when they posted images to instagram that were removed by the site. In Meghan’s case, she posted a very body-positive picture of her booty that was quickly taken down by Instagram, and in Rupi’s case, she posted an artistic photo that was attempting to combat the stigma surrounding menstruation.

Both women were clothed in their photos and fought to have them reinstated on the site. They argued that their pictures were celebrating their bodies for all that they were and all that they could do, and that their bodies were nothing to be ashamed of. Their pictures were re-instated (Meghan’s even spawned the hashtag: #bootyrevolution), and both Meghan and Rupi now stand as proud figureheads for the body positivity movement by fighting for their right (and the rights of others) to express themselves, body and soul. Follow Meghan on her YouTube Channel, Check out Rupi’s amazing poetry in her newest book: Milk and Honey, and find both Meghan and Rupi on Insta.

The Top 10 Fiercest Body Positive Babes on Social Media

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