I read something on Twitter recently from a body positive blogger saying that body positivity is only for people with non-straight-sized bodies. I have to disagree; not against the spirit of the conversation, but against the specificity of it. We live in a society that conditions us to hate our bodies. To hate them; to improve them out of a vitriolic, inherent disgust. I hate my body, too, but I’m coming around to love it in items like this Linda set from indie maker Na-Na Underwear.

I bought this set as a treat for myself this summer: the Na-Na Underwear Linda bralette, suspenders, and thong. (Price of the 3-piece set during a sale: $95 USD, including shipping.) The detail is incredible; hand-sewn in the Ukraine by creator, designer, and sole seamstress Anastasia.

Photos: a collaboration between Epiphora and I. Lip: Maybelline Matte Ink in Philosopher. Lashes: Esqido Unisyn Love & Peace.

The Na-Na Underwear Linda set

The attention to detail in these pieces from Na-Na Underwear puts me in a state of awe. There are little ribbons covering the points of connection. Little flowers are sewn on top of the rest of the design, giving it 3-D realism. Even the seams, stitched in a tight zig-zag, flex like a luxury piece. The suspenders stretch easily downwards, accommodating for multidirectional comfort in a dual-layered design: side structure on the outer layer, and front structure from the lower layer.

I don’t own anything else this feminine, but I’m kind of revelling in just how playful the Linda set is. I’ve gotten both more and less feminine this year, toying with the idea of gender. It feels brisk: have you ever stood at the front of a fast-moving ferry and leaned backwards into the wind? It’s almost the opposite of a Titanic-esque scene; more elemental and far less romantic.

Think of it this way. It’s the middle of summer, and you’ve spent all day sweating in the heat. And then just after noon, you’re on a ferry and there’s a fine mist in the air; an ocean wind so brisk that you need to throw on another two layers. The mist makes your eyes tear up, because it’s so tempestuous on the water, so you turn around – and it’s almost like the wind catches you, and you could do anything. 

(You are the wind, and there is no one freezing in the water.)

My recommendation with Na-Na Underwear is to buy on sale, use code RAE15 for an extra 15% off, and size up. I bought this set in a S-S-85B (32B equivalent), and the suspenders are a good fit, but I would have been more comfortable a medium thong and 90B bralette.

Why body positivity is so important

There are things that I hate about my body. My boobs are too small, my flesh is too soft, my ass isn’t round. My arms are hairy. When I wake up, my jaw clunks around and my muscles ache. My continued survival is dependent on a constant intake of pills, injections, and IVs.

Body positivity is simple: a love and acceptance for all bodies, no matter what size or colour; despite any ailments or disabilities. Beauty is a societal construct that exists simply because we continue to acknowledge and glorify it. Body positivity helps fight eating disorders and body dysmorphia, and I have never for a second disagreed that it was an incredible thing. Over the past ten years, there’s been a radical shift of societal change, with campaigns from brands like Aerie using unretouched images featuring models of all a wider range shapes, sizes, and medical conditions.

So many people are affected by how much they hate their bodies, and I agree that it’s important to embrace the fact that bodies are so varied. But there’s a lot of overlap between the body positivity movement and the fat positivity movement, and many are still ready to reject the idea that body positivity is relevant to non-fat bodies. I have been told time and time again that I don’t have a place in the body positivity movement because I’m skinny, East Asian, and I often read as heterosexual and cisgendered – and the critics aren’t fully wrong, either.

How to make space in the body positivity movement

It’s more important, I think, to make space in the body- and fat-positive movements for folks who aren’t straight-sized. To listen more closely to people who truly are marginalized because of the way they look. But that doesn’t mean that societal pressures of the narrow constraints of beauty don’t also apply to skinnier builds – we just need to not be jerks about it.

What’s important is that we recognize our privilege when it comes into play. For instance: I’m advantaged in society because I am not confined to a wheelchair, and can enter inaccessible spaces when needed. I’m advantaged in society because I’m hot. Body positivity is still relevant to me, but I am not disadvantaged without it.

I still wake up and want to peel my flesh off of my crippled body. I still require space in the interactions that endlessly reify the idea that only some bodies are beautiful. But I need to make space.

I need to magnify the voices of my peers; to use my privilege to publicly recognize that fat bodies are beautiful. That Black bodies are beautiful, that First Nations bodies are beautiful. And to help give voice to people on the outskirts of what is considered societally acceptable.

I need to not pull shit like this: talking about body positivity while posting retouched images, with the hair of my arms softened and the indents of my lingerie stretched back outwards, flush with the lines of my body. (With the weird little bump at the end of my tailbone flattened out.)

Follow me on Instagram to view the unedited versions of these images. Find this set at Na-Na Underwear and get 15% off (including off of sale prices) with code RAE15.