"I love every curve, every roll," Mckenzie told me yesterday. "If I'm 350, I'm still going to carry that like I'm 150 pounds because I have that confidence to believe that I'm beautiful the way God me."
"If somebody comes to me and says something like, 'Why would you strut around in lingerie when you're a fat girl?' I would say, 'Girl, you don't know how I look in lingerie. I look good.' "
You have to love that kind of confidence in a woman.
Because, truthfully, most of the rest don't have it. A study by Nutrisystem revealed last week that most women would rather go without sex for the entire summer than gain 10 pounds. The female respondents also admitted that they would rather shed 10 to 20 pounds than get promoted at work.
Clearly, no one bothered to poll Mc-kenzie or the other plus-sized beauties who'll be competing against her on Sunday. The contest, in its 11th year, is all about embracing the beauty of plus-sized women. No size 6's need apply. To enter, you have to be at least a size 14.
"I am very comfortable with who I am and what I look like," said Karen Montgomery, a social worker for the Department of Human Services, who won in 2003.
"We do not have to conform to what society says is beautiful," added Montgomery, who weighs 220 pounds and is 5 feet 6.
Yeah, but I have enough overweight relatives to know that it's not easy being plus-sized in America, which is ironic considering that nearly two-thirds of American women are either overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The average clothing size for American women is size 14, a size many designers continue to balk at creating clothing for, even though the demand is clearly there.
There's a huge disconnect between Madison Avenue and Main Street. Designers and stores push the tall, willowy model aesthetic. But the average American woman weighs 164.7 pounds.
