Woman Recreates Outfits To Show The Double Standards Of Fashion Trends, But Not Everyone's Convinced

Meet Brooklyn Allen, a 23-year-old part-time retail worker, and part-time social media aficionado.

Recently, Brooklyn saw a number of thin women participate in a trend on TikTok where they recreated popular Pinterest looks. So she decided to take part herself.

"My intention when recreating these outfits is to wear them exactly how the original model did and show how they look on my body," Allen told Bored Panda. "I'm trying to show women who are my size that we can wear these outfits and look good! I do the best with what I have and sometimes the outfits don't turn out well. In that case, I talk about society's standards and how hard it is to find items as a plus-size woman and how our treatment is entirely different from thin women's."

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"I'm sure I wasn't the first plus-size person to do it, but I felt like with my specific body type and size, I could help a lot of my followers understand that they can wear anything they want and look great doing it," Allen told BuzzFeed.

"When I refer to a flat stomach as an accessory, I am in no way being mean or bitter!" Brooklyn explained. "I'm completely okay with thin women using what they have, but I just want people to understand that it’s not the same for fat women. Our fat stomachs are systemically considered an imperfection, while a thin stomach is something that society would see as an elevation to an outfit."

Allen thinks that "fat women don't have the privilege of accessorizing with their fat stomachs unless they want stares and rude comments."

Brooklyn aims to highlight what she believes to be a double standard in the fashion world that "has to do greatly with systemic fatphobia."

"I don't like the word 'flattering' anymore, because I've noticed that what's considered 'flattering' on fat women is clothing that hides our bodies," she said. "Fat women have been ridiculed for ages for wearing crop tops, short skirts/shorts, and just anything that shows skin. Whereas skinny women are celebrated in these items because it shows off their thin bodies — which there's nothing wrong with, it would just be nice to not be treated differently as a fat woman."

When it comes to TikTok as a whole, Brooklyn thinks the platform has done a lot of good and a lot of bad for the body positivity movement. "On the good side of things, I have met some of the most loving, accepting people that I now consider friends. And on top of that, I have such an amazing following that truly gets me and relates to me!"

"On the other hand, I think TikTok has pushed a lot of women who would barely be classified as mid-size to the forefront of the movement, which isn't what the movement was made for. Of course, everyone can be body positive, but I think it’s important for smaller-bodied creators to advocate for the women who are on the larger side of the spectrum and push for their representation."

"The body positive movement was started by fat black women and was meant to give them representation because they lack(ed) that!" Brooklyn said. "I think we have tons of work to do with putting the bodies this movement was made for as the face of the movement, really uplifting them, and giving them the representation they deserve."

Brooklyn said the reactions her TikToks have received are mixed. "I have a great support system and tons of followers who understand my intentions and meaning behind the series. They get that I'm always just trying to start a conversation and advocate for fat women."

"Some people on the other hand take it as a personal attack, and that's never my intention. They think that 'some things just don't look good on fat people', and prove my entire point with their responses."