

"It's the skimpiest bathing suit I've ever worn in my life," says Mancuso, 27, who grew up wearing jeans and hoodies even in the summer. Raffela Mancuso had been a body image activist and content creator for a few years before Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand Skims reached out to send her a few swimwear pieces, which she recently posted videos and photos of herself wearing. "Having a space where you don't have to worry about how other people perceive you or think of your body is just so liberating in so many ways," Mejia says. The organization puts on events including plus-size clothing swaps, happy hour meetups and later this month, a plus-size pool party inspired by Aidy Bryant's show "Shrill." A 2019 episode about a "Fat Babe Pool Party" was the first time many plus-size viewers saw a group of people who looked like them donning swimsuits without a second-thought. While experts say finding people online who reflect the confidence you aim to embody is helpful, Mejia wanted to recreate that online camaraderie IRL. I wanted people to feel more in community with each other."
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"I had a couple of plus-size friends that were afraid to go our or meet new people or try new experiences because there's a certain judgment for people that are plus size. "Whenever I would go out, I wouldn't see people that looked like me," she says. She previously was able to find online communities for plus-size people, but real life was still more isolating. Mejia founded Plush DMV, a Washington, D.C.-area "inclusive, safe space for fat folks to meet, have fun and make friends," almost four years ago.

"It can be mentally and emotionally taxing to wear clothing that reveals the parts of our body we're uncomfortable with." Plus-size pool parties and the power of community "This time of year brings up a lot of body image issues for people of all body sizes," says Ivy Felicia, a body image and holistic wellness coach. But there's a growing movement of plus-size influencers throwing out old ways of thinking that their bodies need to be covered up, and instead just dressing to celebrate their bodies. For many, it's a time of increased anxiety around clothing items that show off more arms, legs and stomachs than winter clothes. Memorial Day unofficially kicks off the summer season with beach trips, pool parties and outdoor happy hours. I didn't really have a chance to establish my sense of style." "I was going to the women's section of Macy's or Kohl's and maybe splurging on Lane Bryant, but I was 14 or 15 wearing middle-aged women's clothing," says Mejia, now 36 and a style and culture writer. Mayra Mejia was about 14 when she realized there weren't many clothing options in her size that made her feel good in her body.
