I am currently worshipping at the altar of Beth Ditto - plus-size, way out-there lead singer of "The Gossip". Simply put - she is all the things I didn't give myself permission to be at that age and something I aspire to now in terms of honesty and emotional and physical rawness. Some of the things I admire:
1. She recently appeared with "The Gossip" at the Fendi Fashion Party and appeared with Karl Lagerfeld, the uber-skinny bitchy designer who is notorious for his weight loss and subsequent fat-hatred.
2. She was selected by NME as the coolest person in rock and placed at number one in the magazine's annual "Cool List." They cited her non-conformity as the reason for her selection; she is a lesbian, outspoken advocate of gay rights, unapologetically plus size and in a relationship with a transman.
3. She has refused to play in-store at fashionable Topshop stores, citing her dissatisfaction with their clothing not being available in her size. She went as far as to offer to design clothes for them saying "Give me the job. I want to design. I want to make clothes for big girls-big boys. I want you to make big sizes."
4. She is the 2008 Glamour Award International Artist of the Year.
5. The Gossip will be on David Letterman on April 16!
6. When asked how she would respond to catcalls on the street, she responded:
"I have been 130 pounds as well as 215 pounds. I have had blonde, strawberry blond, green, pink and purple hair and none of that has ever exempted me from having lewd comments flung at me in the street. This happens to all women , and it can be really upsetting, but we shouldn't feel hopeless about it - I really believe that if men and women start communicating about this, it's something we can tackle together. First things first...we have to stop referring to this as a "catcall". Women aren't cats, we aren't pets, we are just people trying to cross the freaking street to get an ice-cream cone."
I love this woman!!
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