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Plus size figure skater with unreal moves is inspiring girls everywhere

So many kids have been told they can't figure skate because of their body shape. The doubters were clearly wrong.

Canva Photos

This figure skater is something else.

Is there anything more beautiful and graceful than ice skating? It's got the gorgeous aesthetics of gymnastics and dance combined with an almost other-worldliness as the skaters glide and fly around the ice. There's a reason people can't seem to look away from the rink when the winter Olympics roll around every couple of years.

However, the sport of ice skating comes with certain expectations of what the skaters body should look like. For women, most high level skaters are almost always extremely petite and slight. It stands to reason that this body type must be a requirement to perform at a high level, right?

Wrong. Laine Dubin is one skater who's out to prove that there's no "right way" for an athlete to look.

Dubin, most recently a student at Quinnipiac University where she was a standout on the skating team, began posting videos of her routines online in 2018. Believe it or not, she didn't set out to start a body-positive revolution—she just wanted to document her progress and free up some space on her phone,

But almost instantly, she began to develop a following. No one had ever seen anyone like her pulling off the moves that she could, all with so much personality and showmanship that sucked people in. Not only that, but Dubin displays outstanding power and grace on the ice. If you've only ever watched the "prototypical" Olympic skaters perform, what Dubin does almost looks impossible. It's really amazing to behold.

One clip in particular recently went mega viral to the tune of over 30 million views:

@lainedubin
THE WINNER TAKES IT ALLLLLLLLL🏆🥇 🎥 @Emma #figureskating #figureskatingtiktok #iceskating #iceskatingtiktok #plussizefigureskater #figureskatingtiktoks #iceskater #figureskater #adultfigureskater #adultsskatetoo

Dubin has undoubtedly found her people on social media. The responses to her videos could bring tears to your eyes. Not only are viewers in awe of her skill on the ice, they find so much hope and inspiration in what Dubin is doing:

"Ok but as a bigger Asian girl who has always dreamed of ice skating this made me tear up 😭 so proud of you"

"I NEVER see plus sized rep in figure skating, YOU ARE INCREDIBLE THIS IS SO COOL!!"

"the fact no one knows how absolutely impressive this is especially with girls our size I love ice skating I've been a fan forever the power and strength you need to pull your up and spin like that"

"wait! someone with my body type figure skating?!!! like a GODDESS may I add, this makes me feel so seen, and like, maybe I could do this with some practice as well!!!!!???"

"As a plus sized girl who had the idea of figure skating shot down, thank you for making the lil girl in me happy and I'm so damn proud of you. You're awesome."

Comments just like these roll in on Dubin's videos every single day. But that doesn't mean that general attitudes across the sport are ready to change.

Women skaters, especially, are mercilessly mocked, fat-shamed, and picked apart by viewers, coaches, and even judges of the sport. Five-time Olympic medalist Tessa Virtue has dealt with people nitpicking her body her entire career, calling her either too fat or too muscular. Bronze medalist and two-time US National Champion Gracie Gold had to take a hiatus from the sport to get help with an eating disorder. One of the most promising young figure skaters in recent memory, Yulia Lipnitskaya, was forced to retire at just 19 due to anorexia along with injuries.

There are a lot of factors that contribute to this major problem. The norm is for female skaters in competition to wear incredibly skimpy dresses and outfits that accentuate their form and technique, which would make anyone self-conscious about their body. Canadian skater Kaetlyn Osmond adds that less body mass also helps them achieve sky-high jumps on the ice.

@lainedubin
the greatest thing you’ve ever seen since sliced bread🍞 (thats a joke people) #figureskating #figureskatingtiktok #iceskating #iceskatingtiktok #plussizefigureskater #figureskatingtiktoks #iceskater #figureskater #collegiatefigureskating

Dubin is living proof, though, that a plus-sized body can be athletic, graceful, and beautiful. It means so much to all the kids who think they shouldn't bother pursuing their love of the sport because their own body type will never allow them to fit in.

“It’s just people seeing representation in the media of themselves being represented first,” Dubin told US Figure Skating in 2023. “That’s what will make people feel validated and that’s what will lead to change with body inclusivity in the skating space.”

The way she's racking up millions and millions of views, it's fair to say she—along with other plus-sized skaters—could have a real, tangible impact on the next generation of skating athletes.

Keep up with Dubin and watch her progress, play, and fashion on TikTok and Instagram and visit her Linktree for even more.

This article originally appeared in April.

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body positivity

Finally, a plus-size character on TV whose story isn't about her weight.

'There has not been one line in this entire show for the entire season that addresses my weight.'

Plus-size representation on TV needs a lot of work.

It's rare to see characters who aren't thin in lead roles. But even when we do, those characters are often defined by their size, with stories revolving around weight loss struggles ("This Is Us") a continued barrage of fat jokes ("American Housewife"), or thin actors wearing fat suits in flashbacks ("Friends," "New Girl").

This is one reason why Paula Proctor is so damn awesome.

Photo by Scott Everett White/The CW.

If you missed the memo, Paula is the hilarious paralegal BFF to the series' star, Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom), on The CW's critically acclaimed musical romcom "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." Every week, the character, portrayed by Broadway alum Donna Lynne Champlin, challenges a status quo that says plus-size characters aren't deserving of the same complex, nuanced storylines their slimmer counterparts receive.

In an interview with Bust magazine in 2016, Champlin opened up about why playing Paula has been so refreshing.

On the show, viewers have watched Paula struggle to balance family commitments with law school, iron out relationship woes with friends, and get swept off her feet by a man that's (gasp!) not her husband. She's also one of few characters on TV to have had an abortion and not be punished or shamed for it. A storyline we haven't seen unfold, however, is one involving Paula's weight.

As Champlin explained to Bust:

"There has not been one line in this entire show for the entire season that addresses my weight. And we're always eating real food — donuts, burritos. We're always drinking. That's a huge thing for us that we're really eating. We're not sipping [cups] of shit that have nothing in them."

Photo by Scott Everett White/The CW.

"My type is middle-aged woman, not thin," Champlin said. "I look like the average American middle-aged woman. The only TV roles I've ever had were for the secretary, the cop, the nurse. The acceptable nonsexual place for a middle-aged woman to be on TV. They would be 1-2 lines and that was it, and never be a series regular. That was unheard of."

Thanks to actors like Champlin and roles like Paula, we've seen progress on plus-size representation on TV. But we have a long way to go.

Actors like Champlin or Melissa McCarthy — now a true, money-making Hollywood star — have certainly helped open doors for other women who aren't a size 2 or 4 or 6 or even an 8. The average American woman is a size 16.

Even when those doors are open to plus-size actors, however, we still "treat them like crap," Jezebel pointed out. Comedian Rebel Wilson's career has taken off in recent years, for instance — but her weight is often the butt of her jokes. Chrissy Metz worked her way into the hearts of millions starring in NBC's "This Is Us," but her character's opening scene was her staring quietly at a sweet treat in the refrigerator, fighting the temptation to take a bite.

That's why Paula's presence on "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" is truly making a difference to viewers of all sizes.

Photo by Scott Everett White/The CW.

When Paula donned a fitted, red dress in one musical number, the power of representation spoke loud and clear.

"The internet exploded with plus-size women saying, 'Where the fuck did you get that dress? It’s amazing,'" Champlin told Bust.

GIF via "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend."

"What I loved about it, is it was tight. There was no apologizing me and hiding me. The boobs were up, and the dress was tight, and that thing sold out online in a matter of minutes."

— (@)

If TV writers are smart, they'll not only include more plus-size characters in their shows, but they'll also swap those tired fat-shaming, weight-centric storylines for more powerful, fearless, red dress scenes like Paula's.

Lena Dunham is glad you can see her cellulite on Glamour magazine.

Lena Dunham will be the first to tell you she used to have a potbelly, rabbit teeth, and knock-knees as a kid.

She didn't mind — but she cared that others did. People thought she was "funny looking."

"I didn't hate what I looked like," she explained in a recent Instagram post. "I hated the culture that was telling me to hate it."

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Endometriosis Foundation of America.

Dunham, creator and star of HBO's "Girls," has long been an outspoken — albeit controversial — champion for body positivity and women's rights. She's found herself in hot water on more than one occasion (and has plenty of non-fans to prove it), but still — it's difficult not to celebrate the underlying message of her Instagram post on Jan. 3, 2016.

In promoting the final season of her show, Dunham and the other "girls" were on the cover of Glamour magazine — without Photoshop.

"Thank you to [Glamour] for letting my cellulite do the damn thing on news stands everywhere today," Dunham wrote.

The magazine confirmed with Upworthy that none of the women on the cover were photoshopped.

Photo courtesy of Glamour magazine.

The February 2017 issue was also "100% produced by women" — an initiative to allow more women to be the visual and editorial creators behind the content women read and consume (makes sense, right?).

"Every story and every photo, from first page to last, was created by women," according to Glamour.

The magazine publishing world has a lot of work to do in making sure every woman — regardless of dress size, body shape, and skin color — feels like there's a place for her in it.

It was just last April when the same Glamour magazine bungled the concept of plus-size labeling, including actor Amy Schumer under the genre without her approval. The comedian said herself she wears between a size 6 and size 8, while plus-size clothing starts at size 12.

It was a move that, as editor-in-chief Cindi Leive later clarified, wasn't the intended implication, but the damage was already done.

Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for The Critics' Choice Awards.

"I think there's nothing wrong with being plus size. Beautiful healthy women," Schumer wrote in her response. "[Glamour] put me in their plus size only issue without asking or letting me know and it doesn't feel right to me. Young girls seeing my body type thinking that is plus size? What are your thoughts? Mine are not cool glamour not glamourous."

Dunham's cover is a small victory within an industry that's slowly but surely evolving for the better.

"Today this body is on the cover of a magazine that millions of women will read, without photoshop, my thigh on full imperfect display," Dunham wrote in her post. "Whether you agree with my politics, like my show or connect to what I do, it doesn't matter — my body isn't fair game. No one's is, no matter their size, color, gender identity, and there's a place for us all in popular culture to be recognized as beautiful."

Family

50 years ago, today's size 00 was an 8. This viral post shows why vanity sizing must end.

"Stop believing the social normatives about who and what you should be."

Deena Shoemaker was going through her closet when she realized something odd: She had several pairs of pants in drastically different sizes.

It wasn't that she had gained or lost a lot of weight recently. Despite the varying sizes on the labels, each pair of pants fit her exactly the same. Shoemaker is simply a victim of something that plagues millions of people around the world: arbitrary clothing sizes. Some brands are "true to size" while others "run small" or "run large." Still others use "vanity sizing" like double- or triple-zero to make sizes seem smaller than they are.

Finding six pairs of pants that fit her the same in a range of sizes from 5 to 12 opened her eyes to just how ridiculous our clothing size system truly is. And as a mentor coach at Youth Horizons, a nonprofit organization that supports at-risk kids, Shoemaker knew that teen and tween girls felt her frustration magnified tenfold.

She decided to share photos of herself wearing the pants to show just how absurdly unstandardized clothing sizes are.

She wrote the post as a letter of support to the girls she's worked with over the years, many of whom struggled with body image issues:

"I've have girls sob in my arms and ask me, 'if I were skinnier, would he have stayed?' I've counseled girls who were skipping meals. I've caught some throwing up everything they've just eaten."

She goes on to explain why she's not happy with the sizing discrepancy that exists across clothing brands:

"When you resize a girl's pants from a 9 to a 16 and label it 'plus size', how am I supposed to fight that? ... How do you expect me to convince her that she doesn't need to skip dinner for the next month because her pant size didn't *actually* go up by seven digits?"

Finally, she implored any girls reading the post to recognize that clothing size does not determine their worth as a person:

"My dear beautiful girls, my size 2 girls or my size 18 girls, your size doesn't determine your beauty; your life does."

There's truth to what Shoemaker found in her own closet: Clothing sizes have been jumping all over the place for the better part of a century.

Photo via iStock.

According to a report from Time, over 50 years ago, model Twiggy wore a size 8. Today, writer/comedian Mindy Kaling wears that same size. These two women have two very different body types. What used to be a size 8 is now considered a size 00.

So where did these crazy size fluctuations originate? Simply put, clothing manufacturers thought women would find their actual measurements on clothing unnerving, so they began a practice known as "vanity sizing" to make women's sizes appear smaller. The horrible irony is the same system that was designed to make women feel better about their size is now making them feel frustrated and confused every time they go shopping.

Thankfully, there are people in the fashion world fighting to make clothes shopping a more inclusive, less stressful experience for people with a range of body types.

Melissa McCarthy promoting her brand Seven7. Photo by Paul Conrad/Getty Images.

Companies like ModCloth are doing away with separate plus-size sections in favor of including extended sizes with their main clothing lines because separating larger sizes is a form of fat-shaming. Newer designers like Mallorie Dunn are featuring women of all sizes to model their clothes and show the world they're actually made for anyone to wear. More and more, we're seeing curvy and fat models, actresses, and designers featured in the fashion world.

But we still have a long way to go. No one should feel they have to change their body to fit into clothes — clothes should be designed to fit the beautiful spectrum of body types that exist in the world. Not only that, but clothing should be marked appropriately and practically. Creating new sizes to make customers feel better only makes it seem as though some body types should be hidden or ashamed to be seen.

As long as vanity sizing exists, young girls who are just growing into themselves and learning to be comfortable with their bodies will face frustration when they go shopping. That's why it's vital for them to have people like Shoemaker on their side telling them it's all just bullshit anyway.

As Shoemaker wrote on Facebook: "Stop believing the social normatives about who and what you should be. You are lovely and you are loved. Just exactly the way you are."

"Project Runway" mentor Tim Gunn took his fashion industry colleagues to task for failing American women in a lacerating op-ed for the Washington Post on Friday.

Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images.

"I love the American fashion industry," Gunn wrote in the column. "But it has a lot of problems" — not the least of which is the dismissive attitude toward women deemed "plus-size," nearly 2/3 of all women in America.

"It’s a puzzling conundrum. The average American woman now wears between a size 16 and a size 18, according to new research from Washington State University. There are 100 million plus-size women in America, and, for the past three years, they have increased their spending on clothes faster than their straight-size counterparts. There is money to be made here ($20.4 billion, up 17 percent from 2013). But many designers — dripping with disdain, lacking imagination or simply too cowardly to take a risk — still refuse to make clothes for them."

The timing of Gunn's column — published to coincide with the first day of New York City's Fashion Week — appears calibrated to capture the attention of his fellow industry professionals, who the TV personality charges with disinterest in — or hostility toward — women with larger bodies.

"I’ve spoken to many designers and merchandisers about this. The overwhelming response is, 'I’m not interested in her.' Why? 'I don’t want her wearing my clothes.' Why? 'She won’t look the way that I want her to look.' They say the plus-size woman is complicated, different and difficult, that no two size 16s are alike. Some haven’t bothered to hide their contempt. 'No one wants to see curvy women' on the runway, Karl Lagerfeld, head designer of Chanel, said in 2009. Plenty of mass retailers are no more enlightened: Under the tenure of chief executive Mike Jeffries, Abercrombie & Fitch sold nothing larger than a size 10, with Jeffries explaining that 'we go after the attractive, all-American kid.'"

Gunn even called out his own TV show, admitting that "Project Runway" has "not been a leader on this issue."

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images.

Indeed, contestants on the series routinely complain about having to design for women who aren't professional models, and they have, on occasion, belittled their clients for not conforming to their preferred body type.

The problem with sizing goes well beyond a few persnickety fashion designers.

Women's sizes can be vague and misleading — often by design. Early attempts to create a standard sizing chart faltered as researchers discovered that real-life women's bodies had a strange habit of defying standardization.

That, coupled with unforced errors like excluding non-white women from surveys, unrepresentative sampling, and the proliferation of "vanity sizing" — the practice, common among retailers, of marking a garment a size or several lower than its actual dimensions — can make shopping for the right piece of clothing a daunting experience. Not to mention that many outlets make their extended or plus-size clothing only available online, where trying things on involves waiting four-six business days and a whole lot of luck.

But there's good news! It's actually not impossible to design clothes for women of all body types, and some designers are starting to get it.

Designer Christian Siriano, who got his start on "Project Runway," recently created a line for Lane Bryant and has made it a point to work with celebrities of a variety of sizes, most recently "Ghostbusters" star Leslie Jones who, initially, couldn't find a designer to dress her.

— (@)

This season's "Runway" winner — Ashley Nell Tipton — secured her victory with a show featuring all plus-size models. While Gunn had some harsh words for her designs in the op-ed, dismissing her win as "tokenism" — her new J.C. Penney line has been embraced by women who have long sought plus-size clothes made by an actual plus-size designer.

In 2014, a group of designers and clothing retailers told Refinery29 that, while plus-sizes are often associated with higher cost of manufacturing, a lack of fashion-forward choices might be partly to blame for low sell-through rates.

Hopefully, Gunn's op-ed can serve as a wake-up call for the rest of the industry.

Photo by Frazier Harrison/Getty Images.

If anyone can convince more fashion designers to "make it work" for the majority of American women, it just might be this guy.

Family

Leslie Jones couldn't get a dress for her 'Ghostbusters' premiere, so she took to Twitter.

The 'SNL' star was turned down by multiple designers before getting a yes.

Leslie Jones is pretty hilarious.

GIF from "Saturday Night Live."

The 48-year-old comic has some serious Hollywood experience, too. She’s been doing comedy since she was in college, she stars in the all-female version of "Ghostbusters," and her recent rise to stardom on "Saturday Night Live" has made her a household name.

Yet, somehow, the comedian couldn't get a dress made for her own premiere party.

She was (validly) frustrated, so she took to Twitter about her struggle to find someone to design a high fashion dress for her to wear at the "Ghostbusters" premiere.

— (@)

Her tweet caught the eyes of designer Christian Siriano, a former winner on "Project Runway."

“I love Leslie and can’t wait to make her something fabulous to wear. I dress and support women of all ages and sizes,” Siriano told Time in an e-mail.

Siriano is known for his body-positive designs, so his offer to work with Jones isn't surprising. He has created dresses for actresses Danielle Brooks and Christina Hendricks, and he also has a line at clothing store Lane Bryant.

Jones at an Elle comedy event. Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images.

As it turns out, Jones' situation is unfortunately pretty common for Hollywood's women of color and plus-sized women.

It's a problem that Siriano alone can't solve. For many Hollywood women who don't fit the bill of what society deems "worthy of high fashion," finding someone to design a dress for big events can be near impossible.

Singer/songwriter Beyoncé spoke about those challenges when accepting an award at the Council of Fashion Designers of American Awards:

"Starting out in Destiny’s Child, high-end labels didn’t really want to dress four black country curvy girls, and we couldn’t afford designer dresses and couture. My mother was rejected from every showroom in New York. But like my grandmother, she used her talent and her creativity to give her children their dreams."

The problem has been called out by other women, too. Actress Melissa McCarthy was forced to ask five or six designers to design an Oscars dress for her until finally getting a yes, a ridiculous task for someone going to a show to be celebrated.

The problem doesn't just exist for awards shows either. From being heavily clothed on a magazine cover to being called "less classically beautiful," many women have long been treated as though they are not beautiful enough.

Jones' reaction was brave and important. And it also called attention to something else:

If fashion industry leaders don’t start listening to the outcries of the women they’re ignoring, those women may stop supporting their work.

And if those women stop supporting their work, others may follow.

It looks like we might be moving toward progress in inclusive fashion.

With more folks like Christian Siriano stepping up, we’re a few steps closer to creating a more inclusive industry. Plus, fashion bloggers like Gabi Fresh and Nicolette Mason are making waves in the industry, and recent campaigns like the JCPenny's #HereIAm (which celebrates plus-sized women) have been highly regarded.

So maybe — just maybe! — we’re headed to place where a variety of body types are visible and accepted in Hollywood. Thanks for standing strong, Leslie. Can't wait to see your dress!

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Remembering comedy royalty Ivan Reitman, who taught us how to laugh at ghosts - Upworthy ›

Family

Why I worked on an incredible new campaign to shut down body-shamers.

It's time for plus-sized women to be seen in the fashion mainstream. This campaign gets that.

Plus-size women have been asking for more clothing options since the beginning of time (an exaggeration, but only sort of).

As singer/songwriter Mary Lambert said:

“I don't know how many times I've walked into a store and quickly walked out, promptly reminded that 'I'm not allowed in here.' What does it say when a store refuses to even acknowledge that I exist?”

Singer/songwriter Mary Lambert. All images used with permission from Jes Baker.

Many of the first “fatshion” blogs started eons ago. They were adored for taking the very little that was available and turning it into something creative and stylish. These individuals were inspiring “fatshion” pioneers, and we owe them for the radical space that has been carved out for all the plus fashionistas today.

Now our options are increasing (thank you Ashley Nell Tipton for bringing us sequins in size 34 this fall!). And even though we still live in an overwhelmingly straight-sized clothing world ... I’m diggin’ the forward motion.

Fashion designer Ashley Nell Tipton.

If you told me when I first started blogging that my plus-size body would eventually be represented in a mainstream clothing campaign, I would have jumped for joy ... and then stopped to give you a long, skeptical stare.

After all, four years ago I was creating my own faux ads featuring my shape and size while asking, “Where is the positive representation of fat bodies in the media? Don’t you know that we’re worthy of visibility too?”

Yet, a few months ago, I was asked to work on JCPenney’s "Here I Am" campaign, which was created to put plus-size bodies and their stories front and center in a straight-sized world, and it turned out to be a media game-changer.

Jes Baker is here to stay.

This campaign — and the response to it — is a prime example of how America has started to shift our marketing strategies. While exclusivity has been the most successful business approach for decades, keeping plus-size clothing — and people — in separate sections or separate stores, it looks like we might be moving toward inclusivity instead. What a wild concept! And when it comes to clothing ads, I couldn’t be more pleased.

Working on JCPenney’s #HereIAm campaign was an indescribable joy for a lot of reasons. Really.

To shoot the video, "Project Runway" winner Ashley Nell Tipton, singer/songwriter Mary Lambert, fashion blogger Gabi Fresh, yogi Valerie Sagun, and I all met in Dallas a month ago. We spent our time basking in the empowering energy that only comes when bad-ass fat women’s stories are finally viewed as crucial to the mainstream body image conversation.

I’ll be real: Dallas in the summer is a nightmare for someone used to dry Arizona heat, but the lamentable humidity was easily overshadowed by the fact that as we moved from location to location (sometimes singing karaoke and sometimes drinking way too much coffee), the crew would follow us. They celebrated both our existence and our opinions. We had a cheering fan club on set every time.

Stylist and blogger Gabi Fresh.

What. A. World.

Additionally (and perhaps most importantly), we were explicitly asked to speak our truth without compromise. For me, this is a both a non-negotiable part of representation and an exciting opportunity.

It’s always a gamble when a large company asks you to collaborate with them.

All too often, your story is requested when the narrative has already been written and there is no chance of deviation; the bottom dollar has already been decided.

There’s always the possibility that your story will be warped into something that portrays fat bodies in a defeatist, defensive, or dispirited light. I’ve watched this happen too many times, simply because our world currently feels most comfortable with stories that have a defeatist, fat-shaming frame, even though it’s not representative of real life.

This is a chance you take every time you are filmed and the footage leaves your hands and enters an editor’s office.

Yogi Valerie Sagun.

So I held my breath for a month, hoping that JCPenney meant it when they said they wanted to celebrate us our way in their new ad campaign. And PRAISE THE BODY-LOVIN’ GODS, because they totally did. After watching the newly released video, I smiled ... and started breathing again.

I’m hyper-aware that as a culture, we still have a long way to go when it comes to actual inclusivity, visibility, and body equitability. I’m overjoyed to have been part of JCP’s campaign, but we still have so much work to do.

When we start to add different kinds of bodies into online feeds in a positive way, my hope is that we will start to see all bodies (and I mean all) portrayed in the media in a beneficial way.

If you can add just a few body-diverse Facebook pages to your feed today, you'll be helping in a small way. Because representation can turn into respect, which will ideally lead to more opportunities. And eventually, I believe that these three things will create a world that prioritizes equality. This is where we need to be headed!

#HereIAm is one bold and lovely step in that direction, and I am fortunate to have been a part of it.

You can watch the empowering video here: