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The Fourth Wave: Charli Howard
Other | Wednesday 25th July 2018 | Roberta Micallef
Body positivity today no longer means taking pride in unrealistic beauty standards. Model Charli Howard is urging the fashion industry to take a hard look at its high-standards and lack of representation. Women no longer sit silently, being told what to do and how to look - and being a model means being more than just a pretty face.
Adwoa Aboah and Charli Howard are just two of the many women reinventing what it means to be a model.
Charli Howard gained recognition in 2017 when she took to social media to express her rage at an ex-modelling agency that had let her go saying she was “too fat” to be a model. Her post went viral and prompted other modelling agencies to work with her.
"I refuse to feel ashamed and upset on a daily basis for not meeting your ridiculous, unattainable beauty standards"
Howard has established a modelling career that so many women weren’t able to have in the past. Her experiences have rightfully culminated in forms of activism and advocacy for body positivity. She launched the All Woman Project with fellow model Clémentine Desseaux who had shared similar experiences.
The inclusive organisation promotes a healthy, diverse and 100% photoshop-free body image in collaborative campaigns as well as spreading body positivity through organised events and workshops in communities where body image and self esteem is most challenging.
"We believe size, age or color doesn’t limit us as models or as women." - All Woman Project
Howard isn't simply preaching for things to change, she has made it happen by building space where others told her there was none. In her debut memoir Misfit, Howard speaks honestly about her eating disorder and anxiety. Influencing many girls who might be going through the same experiences, Charli is a beacon of hope in self acceptance and a changing, more accepting world.
Follow her movement on Instagram | Twitter
