If you’re looking for anything related to size acceptance, you need to read the great lists that Stef Jones maintains.
I figure that everybody knows about the big stores for plus-sized men and women, so I won’t bother to mention them. I don’t know if everybody has found stores like Holy Clothing, who make comfy clothes in a huge range of size that feel wonderful and fit very nicely. (My sole gripe: I’ve only found one style that has pockets! Give me pockets, people!) They’re probably listed on most of the FAQs, but I’ve had such a lovely experience with their clothes that I had to mention them.
I don’t know if this site is in the FAQs. While I was pregnant I found it even more difficult than usual to find nice clothes, because many maternity stores didn’t carry plus sizes. I wish I’d had access to the Plus-Size Pregnancy web site back then!
In Print
I truly enjoyed Lynne Murray’s mystery books featuring plus-sized heroine Jo Fuller, Larger Than Death, Large Target, At Large, and A Ton of Trouble. While I have been practicing size acceptance for many years now, Jo Fuller is the first fictional character I’ve encountered who truly does the same. The dialogue between the Jo and all the people pushing diets at her really rang true for me.
Shortly after reading Murray’s books, I ran across Such a Pretty Face while browsing the shelves of the Science Fiction & Mystery Bookshop in Atlanta. Doug Beekman‘s cover caught my attention immediately—it’s beautiful! Then I saw that it was edited by Lee Martindale, someone I remembered encountering (and respecting) in the size acceptance newsgroups. At that point I probably would have bought it no matter what, but the theme of the anthology cinched it—every story features a person of size. I finished it within 48 hours of getting it, and it was wonderful. As usual with any anthology, I enjoyed some pieces more than others. I think Demon Bone by Teresa Noelle Roberts had to be my favorite story. The poem Fat Is Not A Fairy Tale by Jane Yolen and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough’s tale Worse Than The Curse were awfully good, though. Paula L. Fleming’s Polyformus Perfectus left me wishing it were the beginning of a novel rather than a short story.
One of the reasons I kept putting off updating this section of my site is that I just didn’t want to remove the paragraph about Radiance, which was one of my very favorite publications ever. I’m still terribly disappointed about it going out of business, and I know it wasn’t my fault because I subscribed from almost the very moment I learned of its existence and bought subscriptions for a few other people. It covered so much more than fashion! One of the many delightful things about Charis Books was that they could always be counted on to have copies of Radiance (at least until they were sold out).
Charis still carries New Moon which isn’t specifically a publication about size acceptance, but does encouraging girls to develop positive, healthy body images is one of the things they do. Our girls loved the magazine until they outgrew it. I’m looking forward to buying a subscription for my granddaughter as soon as she’s old enough for it.
Finally, I absolutely love the Barbarian Guide to Diet and Exercise.
Larry Dooley of Warlord is now deceased.
I’m so sorry to hear that. Is anyone keeping the business going?