Woman of the Week: Whitney Thore
Though she be but big, she is fierce!
By Emma Bartley
Whitney Thore was born on April 14, 1984 to Glenn and Barbara Thore in Greensboro, North Carolina. Whitney grew up dancing and participated in many theater programs. Beginning at around the age of ten, Whitney had negative thoughts about her body and how she looked. At 90 pounds, she was completely normal, but viewed herself as ugly and unworthy. She grew up with eating disorders directing her life.
When she went into college, she gained one hundred pounds within the first year. She still felt the shame about her size and was also ridiculed by others because of it.
Whitney finally realized her humanity and her importance when a man physically beat her for being obese. She began to recognize that she did not deserve the ridicule and was just as much a human as the next person. She decided that whatever she had said “no” to before because of her weight, she had to say “yes.”
Whitney said yes to posting a dance video titled “A Fat Girl Dancing” in 2014. It went viral and Whitney was called by large media outlets like the Today Show and ABC News, wanting her to promote her message of positive body image and self acceptance.
In 2015, TLC aired My Big Fat Fabulous Life, a show that chronicles Whitney’s life and promotes her body positivity campaign.
Whitney has made her own blog to continue her campaign on “no body shaming.”
Whitney Thore is an inspiration to us all because of her self acceptance and her message to help others. Please check out these links:
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