Skinny Island: Prologue

From it’s very beginnings, the Body Positivity movement had had a greatly mixed reception. While the movement was meant to liberate women from the idea that a thin standard demanded they starve themselves to be considered beautiful. Little by little, society’s focus shifted away from hazardous levels of weight loss and became more accepting of more curvaceous body types. In many cases, the health of the now curvier or outright fatter person was a common gripe from the movement’s opposition. Very often they would attempt to link cancer and heart failure directly to what they considered obesity and warned that to accept weight gain and heavier bodies as attractive was to essentially murder them in slow motion.

The counterarguments to fatphobia were successful and potent. It was clear that those who attacked plus size models and fashion only did so when it came to women, almost completely ignoring fat men and focusing on pushing women to be thinner. Their claims that their concerns were about health were refuted time and again by those who pointed out that smoking, drinking, reckless sexual activity, illicit drug use, and anorexia were all accepted behaviors. The difference, they said, was that up to a certain point, most of those “unhealthy” things didn’t directly or immediately affect a woman’s physical appearance much, and that was why they too didn’t have flocks of almost entirely men screaming that those behaviors needed to stop. Moreover, people who maintained a relatively fit lifestyle so long as they exercised and still be healthy despite being medically obese. The only way squishy, jiggly , soft fat was if they didn’t have the muscle to carry it.

Over time, this became generally this had become seen as more normal, though the criticisms of fat women never stopped. Anorexia was no longer at epidemic levels and “thick” was vying to be the new standard for beauty. Fashion magazines focused less on weight loss tips and more on curves. Plus size celebrities became more and more famous  glorifying their size. Actresses no longer needed to be bone thin to work in Hollywood. Generally, everywhere, curves were making a comeback.

Maybe it was because plump thighs and heavy breasts were seen as sexy. Maybe it was because getting fat was easier and more enjoyable to do than to try to stay thin. But whatever the reason, the long-standing dominance of thinness was for the first time in 100 years on the decline.

….Until a certain news report went viral.

A plus size female reporter named Alana West who was known for her coverage of body positivity fashion shows and her own plump, curvaceous figure returned from an investigative story into a controversial resort that called Skinny Island. The resort owners claimed that the unhealthy Body Positivity movement had ostracized and demonized thin women, cutting them off from living happy, healthy lives. According to them, forcing women and young girls into obesity was a horrible thing, and in order to combat the dying of the shining standard of skinny supremacy, an island resort was created as a safe haven for those that believe nothing tastes better than skinny feels. Once there, the visitors would be allowed to live a pro-skinny, luxurious life that would assist in self love and acceptance of a thinner body as well as build into them “fun and healthy habits” that would encourage them to lose even MORE weight once they came home. On Skinny Island, obesity was stricly not tolerated, allowing thinness and “true beauty” flourish.

Alana was well known online as a sex symbol and global advocate for plus size beauty. Granted this likely had to do with her generous bust and tendency to take part in whatever beauty and fashion event she was covering, it still meant that Alana West was largely a household name. Her beauty inspired several deepfakes and porn edits, but more importantly, her fierce stance against the thin default and outspoken delight in her chubby bimbo body had inspired multiple generations of women to love themselves.

(1)

After over 2 months undercover, Alana West returned to the studio having completed a full investigative report on the cult mindset of the hideously misogynistic “Skinny Island Thinness Resort.” But the woman who had gone to the island in secret had vanished and a new one had returned in her place. This Alana West had come to the studio raving about the greatest experience of her life and how it had helped her escape the unseen confines of her societally ingrained obesity by losing over 50 pounds during her stay. Alana now sported a trim and admittedly stunning figure, and with it vigorously extolled the virtues of thinness and constant, perpetual weight loss. The investigative report had become nothing more than a massively publicized advertisement for the island and the importance of being thin. Alana issued public apologies for every positive thing she’d ever said about being fat, destroying in one fifteen minute segment everything she’d worked to build over 6 years. She went on to gush about her continued plans to lose even MORE weight and properly combat Fat Acceptance as the face of “Skinny First,” a movement dedicated to the restoration and spread of the skinny standard of beauty.

(2)

The broadcast was almost immediately blasted across every news station, plus size forum, fashion reddit, feminist page, and internet article. Alana West was the girl who brought skinny back.

Kelly Harp was aghast at the news and was immediately rallying her friends to talk about it. As a woman who herself had just gotten used to feeling comfortable in her own body, the 400 pound blonde was stunned by her hero turning coat and even showing off a miraculously thin, sexy body.

Xiang Liu was the local leader of the BoPo Club at the local university. For years she’d watched as her body fattened from fit, curvy cheerleader to 320 pound Chinese bimbo bombshell. She was well known to enjoy her size and even made a decent amount of money selling videos of herself eating and weighing herself online and openly advertised her nude content everywhere she could. Needless to say, the news that a former bbw icon was suddenly preaching thinness and trashing her old supporters was a shock that would need to be addressed at the next meeting.

Valentina Alonso had never felt all that beautiful. It wasn’t that she hated herself for being fat, but at 380 pounds and sporting a sort of emo-goth aesthetic, she’d never garnered the kind of attention that she needed in order to feel pretty. She was surprised at the news of Alana West declaring war on fat, but that wasn’t what had bothered her. As someone who had tried and failed multiple times to lose weight, Valentina immediately questioned how it was that Alana had lost 60 pounds in just 2 months. It didn’t make sense that a plus size model and advocate would go undercover and up losing almost 2 pounds of fat a day every day unless she spent the entire time on a treadmill and never eating. Even then, where was the loose skin? Where were the saggy boobs? Where was the deflated cellulite body of a woman who had lost a third of her body weight in a couple months?

Together, the three of them had all come to the same solution: Public protest.

Since fat bodies were supposedly not allowed at the island, they each booked a trip together over the summer break in order to record the treatment they received just for being obese and not hating themselves for it. If they stayed together at all times, they would be far too difficult to remove and even harder to target with any personal attacks. Once everyone saw what a hustle Skinny Island was, the place would be shut down and the dangers of returning to the days of starving models would be averted.

When they arrived at the island, each of the women were stared at by virtually everyone there. They huffed and waddled in the heat, but grinned at each other as they knew that their plan was already working. Still, the reception staff was remarkably kind and professional, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the women checking in to the resort hotel were each three to four times the size of everyone else there. A charming and incredibly sweet Indian woman who couldn’t have been more than 120 pounds had explained the facilities, amenities, and check in procedures to them in full. Valentina had expected to go in swinging at anyone who looked at her wrong, but the woman’s immediate kindness and sweet demeanor disarmed her, convincing the heavyset hispanic girl NOT to take her frustrations out on simple employees.

(3)

The girls had full access to everything: Food, pools, the beach, the gyms, and any classes and group events at any time. The only thing they were asked to do was to keep a diary and journal their experiences on the island. An idea, they realized, would be perfect for logging anything and everything they could to tear the place down in case their camera footage was taken away from them on the plane home.

It took no time for each of the girls to doll themselves up for a fat-friendly beach photoshoot. Each of the girls strode quickly onto the beach with their own goals burning their minds.

Xiang was the first to jump in front of the camera, posing sexily in front of it and running her hands through her thick, long hair and flashing her signature pink streak and matching bikini. She was bound and determined to show the islanders that just because she was fat didn’t mean she had to be ashamed of her body or hide it in any way. If she was going to beat this place, it was going to be because her ideals of beauty and acceptance would shine through and hopefully save some of the poor women, teens, and even little girls from believing that being attractive and loved had a weight limit.

(4)

Kelly was next up and flaunted her massive, blonde body as aggressively and confidently as she could out of spite for those watching. It was her plan to be in their faces. Every flabby roll and belly jiggle would stick in their minds, haunting them. They came to be locked in a skinny echo chamber, but that only made her stand out more. They would live, eat, and breathe fat as long as she bothered them until eventually, inevitably, one of them did something stupid and she captured it on camera or audio recording.

(5)

Valentina was far less concerned with the ordinary resort patrons watching her and more interested in the mystery. Something was going on here. Was it brainwashing? Was it a cult? Whatever it was, she thought, it DEFINITELY had to do with surgery, otherwise Alana couldn’t have lost so much weight in so little time with no visible physical drawbacks. There was an operating room and most likely agents chosen to subdue women like her and her friends. She knew she would have to be on her guard. Valentina continued to pose, but did so in a manner that allowed her to scope out any suspicious individuals talking into hidden receivers or out of place objects with concealed cameras.

(6)

The girls were proud to see that after their photoshoot and subsequent group cheer that they had gathered a loose audience comprised of both guests and staff alike. What they hadn’t expected was the rapturous applause that followed.