World of BIG
Model of the Month
Magnoliah Black
BIG: What is your profession?
Magnoliah Black: Burlesque Performer and Fat Activist
BIG: Are you a BIG Beautiful Woman?
Magnoliah Black: Yes, I am a BIG Beautiful Woman and a force of nature.
BIG: How do you support BIG Beautiful Women and/or BIG Handsome Men?
Magnoliah Black: As part of the troupe Rubenesque Burlesque and as a solo artist I perform on mainstream stages where my body is not the norm. Taking off my clothing and reclaiming my sexuality on stages that primarily showcase smaller bodies or what society deems as the “norm” is a powerful one. Heather MacAllister said, "Any time there is a fat person onstage as anything besides the butt of a joke, it’s political. Add physical movement, then dance, then sexuality and you have a revolutionary act."
I find this to be true. I have seen the shocked look on people’s faces when I come from behind that curtain. I notice the recoil or the muffled giggles but a still put on one hell of a show and I win every single time; either by continuing on in the face of hostility or by shattering someone’s belief that this body is not sexy, beautiful or worthy of attention.
As a dancer, singer, model, blogger, and speaker I live my very fat life in the public eye. It’s my activism. A siren song to fabulous fatties everywhere to reclaim space and remake the lens through which the world sees us and how we see the world as well. It is also a very satisfying slap in the face to the naysayers who believe that I should treat this body as a cage and wait for a certain weight for life to begin.