One of the best things to come out of social media is the focus on body positivity. One of the most prominent bloggers in that space in India is Neha Parulkar.

She recently teamed up with Femina for a social experiment, as part of their ongoing series trying to understand how our society reacts to people they consider ‘other’ and how it makes their life unfairly difficult in different aspects.

As part of this experiment, Neha, who is also a plus-size model, went to a Mumbai mall and tried to find dresses and activewear in her size. Describing herself as a “troubled child who is a confident model today,” She told Femina, “I stopped eating everything that kids usually love. I was fat-shamed, and it changed me as a person. A happy-go-lucky kid turned into a sad, grumpy one.”

She ended up working out and gymming early in life, trying to fit into the beauty standards. “I was hurt and demotivated, but gradually learned to stand up for myself. I wanted to be a person who was in love with herself,” she explained. When she told her family and friends she wanted to be a model, she was mocked. “The stereotypes don’t end. It’s assumed that if a person is overweight, they must have a disease, or eats all day. For clothing, it’s assumed that plus-size women can’t wear shorts, swimsuits, or body-hugging clothes. We are made to believe that certain kinds of fashion are not for us.”

In the mall, she had trouble finding clothes in her size, which was somewhat expected. “There are eight to 10 racks of different kinds of silhouettes and styles for regular sizes, but the plus-size section has only one rack—that too with black, plain, or loose dresses. They are being inclusive, but in a wrong manner.”

She opened up about how modelling hasn’t been a cakewalk for her either. “Once I was approached by a brand that wanted to do a show with plus size. When I told them I was a size-22 model, they said they only want to work with size-16 models. This is India; size 16 doesn’t even qualify as plus,” she said. Another issue is that plus-size models are not paid. “LFW doesn’t pay plus-size models because they think they are giving us an opportunity to be seen. On the same ramp, a regular model may make a lakh, but we are not considered equal professionals.”

Her family and friends are slightly more encouraging now, and she is hopeful for a better future. “We are far from achieving the kind of inclusivity we see abroad, but in the next 10 years, I see a revolution happening since this generation is more accepting. If you can’t be inclusive, don’t shut us out. If you can’t be supportive, don’t put us down.”

Watch her talk about the Femina experiment in this video:

Plus-size model Neha Parulkar talks about inclusivity in fashion | Interview | Femina

As the country celebrates a legal milestone, we at Femina have decided to conduct a social experiment to understand what it takes to be a person ‘different’ from the majority-what it takes for a transgender person to find accommodation; for a dark-skinned woman to find a suitor; for a disabled person to access public places, among others.

H/T: Femina

Feature image source: Neha’s Instagram