I Won’t Be Ashamed Of My Giant Thighs

A woman has spoken out about how social media helped her embrace a condition that had held her back all her life. Jennifer Williams, of Los Angeles, has struggled with Lipedema – which causes an abnormal build-up of fat – since she was around 10 years old. But it was only in the last few years that the 44-year-old actually learned what condition she had and began showing off her larger figure in Instagram shots. Jennifer, who works in the medical field, told Barcroft TV: “There are so many people trying to shame me saying I look like melted yogurt, I’m ugly, I shouldn’t be promoting obesity. I don’t think I’m promoting obesity. I’m just promoting self-love and self-acceptance.” Jennifer’s big transformation only began when she started an Instagram account in 2017 and learned about the condition which had caused her to have enlarged thighs since she was a girl. “I started following other women and saw people with my legs,” she explained. “They started talking about Lipedema and I started doing research.” Jennifer found out about a conference being held in April this year by the Fat Disorders Research Society, and decided to attend. It was there she was finally diagnosed with Lipedema. “It felt like such an inclusion,” she said. “Like finally, there's other people like me, I’m not just a freak by myself with my legs huge and every part of my body smaller.” She now models in revealing clothing on her Instagram profile ‘@statuesque_babydoll’ and has made contact with other women who also suffer from Lipedema. She said: “I always covered my arms, covered my legs. Just wore basic stretchy black bottoms and a t-shirt. But now I’ve got like four or five bikinis. I’ve accepted everything and learned to accept myself. It’s given me such self confidence that I feel like I can wear anything and show anything.”