New Delhi: Aashna Bhagwani is a body-positive content creator and a plus-size fashion and lifestyle blogger. Over the years, she has inspired many women to appreciate their bodies irrespective of size, colour, and appearance. Along with a base of 237K followers on Istagram, she was awarded the Cosmopolitan Blogger Award for the Best Body Positivity Influencer in 2021 and has been lauded for advocacy for inclusive fashion and body confidence.
Having started her blog ‘Beyond That Bouffant’ in 2014, Aashna has worked with a number of brands, carving her niche in the body-positive sphere. Her content talks about how to redefine self-love, bashes regressive stereotypes on unrealistic beauty standards and unconditional love.
In a conversation with ABP Live, Aashna shared her inspiration behind starting her blog, the reason why Ashley Graham is her role model and also left a message for all plus size women out there.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
Can you share with us your journey towards embracing body positivity and becoming an influencer?
I started my blog in 2014. I wanted to show that women should be able to wear want they want, irrespective of their size & appearance. I knew that so many of us get bullied and face taunts to look a certain way. I wanted to show that big girls can do everything and that was my inspiration behind starting my own blog and being a content creator.
What inspired you to start advocating for body positivity and promoting self-love and acceptance?
I was always the chubby kid and because of that I had faced my fare share of bullying but I also did love fashion and styling a lot. Growing up, I never stopped myself to experiment which gave me confidence. When I started talking about plus size fashion on social media, I started connecting with audience who had shared similar experiences like mine. That was when I started to talk about self and confidence.
How do you define body positivity, and what does it mean to you personally?
Body positivity is a social movement focused on the acceptance of all bodies, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities. Personally, body positivity has had a huge role- I feel no one should be judged based on their appearances and equal opportunities should be given to all regardless of size.
While growing up, did you have complex about your weight and all?
Absolutely! Even if I didn’t in the beginning, society made sure I did. It was a long journey where bullying and taunts were a part of my everyday life.
You have inspired women to appreciate bodies of all sizes, colour and appearance. How long did it take for you to break the shakles and inpire other women.
I think personally for me it was one day at a time. Since I have been doing this for so long, my audience has seen me grow emotionally and mentally. Career wise, I was always very honest about my journey and somewhere along the way that resulted in me inspiring other women which I am truly grateful for.
Your role model is Ashley Graham, what quality of her inspires you the most?
She was the first face in international media that I saw. A women who looked like me, embraced her personality and achieved so much with utmost confidence.
How long do you think it will take for the society to accept all body types?
I would like to say we have come a long way- but there’s still a long way to go. We need to start at home. I feel you first get body-shamed at home, then school, then with peers, and then college followed by work. As a society, we need to make efforts. It’s important to build confidence in our generation and it’s important to create awareness about bullying. We need to and should do better for our generation.
Nowadays, most brands have plus size outfits, in fact there are few plus size brands as well- do you think this is making plus size people inclusive or exclusive?
I started talking about size inclusivity in 2014 and at that time the industry was extremely closed off and there was nowhere to being with. But now I definitely see a difference, but there is still a long way to go. Brands need to stop exploiting ‘body positivity’ and still only make sizes upto 2XL. We need more sizes, we need better representation, we need more seats at fashion weeks, we need models that look like real people. Because every body type can have the purchasing power but not very brand makes clothes for them. There is still a long way to go.
Are there any misconceptions or myths about body positivity that you would like to debunk?
A few myths that I would like to debunk are that it does not promote obesity, while It promotes inclusion and having a better relationship with your body. Negative body image can put one at a higher risk for mental health conditions, including eating disorders.
There are a lot of factors which makes a woman put on weight, but what others see is just those extra kilos and the endless comments often makes one feel bad about their bodies- what message would you like to give so that the women can begin to love their bodies?
Life is never the same and our weight is going to be too. Fluctuations happen but it’s important to ground yourself – consistently check in with yourself and your mental health and work on habits that aid that process. I work in the world of social media and it can be really mentally draining at times. The constant comparison and scrolling can definitely impact your mental health. Always remember our worth so not defined by our weight.