Society is accustomed to seeing slim, conventionally 'attractive' women with older, larger, less 'attractive' men.
Don't believe me? What about Love starring Gillian Jacobs and Paul Rust? Charlotte and Harry from SATC? Family Guy's Peter and Lois or The Simpson's Homer and Marge (yes, these are cartoons, but it still counts)? There are literally hundreds of examples.
Whether the couple is realistic/has chemistry you can actually understand or not, the image of 'uglier' male with 'beautiful' woman is unquestioned.
And what about the other way round? Accusations of 'chubby chasers' and questioning the believability of the romance prevail.
Whilst women are valued for their beauty first, and their intelligence, humour and heart second, and men aren't held to the same standards, these tropes will stay the same.
So, when body positive blogger Jazzy posted a photo of herself and her partner at the beach, the internet took note.
She commented under the joyful picture:
Over the years this man has loved every curve, every roll, and every stretch mark on my body. I never understood why! How could he love something that isn't 'perfect'? How could a man who was 'born fit' love someone like me! I don't have a flat stomach, I jiggle when I walk, hell if I run up the stairs to fast my body claps (lmao)!! But now I see I do have the 'perfect' body!! Every roll, every curve and every stretch mark is put on me just perfect to make both of us happy!!! I love my body and I finally see why he does too!!
The post has got almost 70k likes and despite a few horrible comments (haters gonna hate), the majority of the responses were all about lifting Jazzy up and thanking her for her openness.
Jazzy has been publicly navigating her journey to self-acceptance since May, and her kids are a big part of her inspiration to love herself, she says in another post.
'This little girl is one of the main reasons I want to love my body and be more confident. I would hate to see her embarrassed of her body! I want her to know it's ok to love yourself no matter what size you are!'
She has also explained before how her family loves her so much, including her husband not being able to get enough of her, but has found it difficult to understand why.
Thankfully, it looks like Jazzy is closer to realizing her self-worth as well as her beauty. And it's amazing to see positive portrayal of a couple in love, no matter their shape or size.
