Size Never Matters: Danah & Stacy Guttierez

Both of you are actively endorsing this body positive image on your website, magazines, and TV guesting. The term leaves a lot of room for interpretation. What does it mean to you?  

Body positivity is not having biases on weight and appearance. It's acknowledging that there is health at every size. It's accepting the body one has been given with, and embracing all of its flaws. It does not compare, and it doesn't hate. It's about knowing you have your own beauty and letting that shine through.

What inspired you to launch a blog that reinforces body positive image? I'm sure there were a lot of followers but were there also haters? How did they react and how did you handle such reaction?

We've been bigger than the average Asians, and while Stacy was recovering from anorexia bulimia, we came across a blog that spoke of body acceptance and body love. We felt like it was such a powerful message because it struck a chord in our souls. So we decided to start our own blog here in the Philippines that talked about body issues, the real deal on health and weight, and also on how women are being represented by the media and how it affects all women, both young and old. The reactions were mostly positive, we'd say only 10% would be negative with our posts. At first, it would get to us, but we realized that's why we have this advocacy. Because a lot of people need to be educated on body positivity and the principles and values it promotes.

Moving forward, both of you girls have become celebrities and brand ambassadors for several clothing lines such as Forever 21. Do you think the local clothing industry has done enough to support women of all sizes?

Local clothing brands are trying to expand their brands for the plus size demographic, but they still have certain stereotypes about us, like they still try to fit us in a box (tacky prints, tent-like cuts). I'm grateful they're seeing the market as something worthy to produce clothes for, but honestly, I still haven't seen a local brand that nailed it, fashion-wise. This is why we created our own capsule collection with designer Tina Lirag of New Yorker PVR. We wanted to show bigger women the kind of clothes they deserve.

From your own experience, what factors help people overcome poor body image, especially in light of the pressures they face in our society/culture today?

It's really what kind of images you program yourself with. My sister and I did a media cleanse, which means we stopped consuming anything that made us feel bad about ourselves, media that made us feel like we're not good enough because of our size. We started immersing ourselves in online communities and websites/blogs that promote body positivity, and we surrounded ourselves with women who love themselves in the most genuine sense. The negative self-talk started to dissipate too because then you realize that you also have to forgive yourself for all the crap you let your body go through, and then self-love starts to creep in. It's such a wonderful journey, I trust that you wouldn't want to go back to self-loathing because of how freeing it can be.

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Read the rest of the interview in this issue of EasyUni Guidebook: March 2016 - available in major bookstores and newsstands today.