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“Impossible.”
“Hi, have you met me? I’m the girl who sat across from you at Jay’s Pizza in the middle of the dinner rush, narrating my first biblical encounter with Sean in enough detail that the family sitting near us got up and left. The one who professes her love to everything with a pulse the minute I have a sip of alcohol. You think I’m going to survive weeks of filming without embarrassing myself? Or you all, for that matter?” Everly stretched out her arms to indicate Becca and Ellis, and by extension, their mother.
“None of that’s embarrassing. It’s you. And it’s going to make the audience, and Jazzy and Stanton, love you. It’s why we love you.”
“Not my mom.”
Becca waved her off. “She doesn’t count.”
Everly snorted. If only that were true.
“Oh my god.” Becca slapped her arm, then pointed at the wall above the TV. It was full of art that Everly had made over the years. Most of the frames held little caricatures that the two of them used to send each other when Becca had moved hours away to New Hampshire to live with her grandmother while her mom was deployed. They’d sketched out little comics every week to keep each other updated on their lives. Sometimes, when she and Becca wanted to make fun of Ellis without him knowing,they’d draw scenes on scraps of paper and pass them to each other across the couch while watching TV. “You could do the Collective.” Becca pulled up the calendar app on her phone and then counted on her fingers. “The timing should work out if filming starts soon.”
The Cape Cod Collective was the premier art event in southeastern Massachusetts. There was a huge craft show and contests and a gala, and creators from all over had booths to showcase and sell their work. After years of dreaming about participating, Grandma Helen had helped Everly secure a booth four years ago. But then she was diagnosed with cancer, and she died a month before it opened. Everly couldn’t imagine doing the Collective without her, so she’d given up her booth. And never tried again.
“I know you’ve always regretted not doing it junior year. This could be your chance. You know Helen would want you to.”
Everly narrowed her eyes. “That sounds suspiciously like the rationale of someone who nominated me for this.” It made total sense. No one was more aware of Everly’s love for the show than Becca.
Splotches of red seeped over Becca’s pale cheeks. A clear sign of guilt. “Oh my god, I wish.”
“Uh-huh. Thank you for the early Christmas and birthday present.”
Everly’s heart was racing. Could she really apply for a booth at the Collective again? It seemed like exactly the kind of eventOTPScould use for her episode arc. And it would force her to stop hiding her art. Give her a reason to draw again for the first time in years.
Becca shook her head. “No, Ev. Seriously, it wasn’t me.”
“Of course it wasn’t.” Everly flashed her a teasing grin. The nominator’s reveal was one of the biggest surprises on the show, so Becca probably had to sign a bunch of NDAs and couldn’t admit anything until after all the episodes had aired.
Her friend sighed in surrender.
Bagel had rolled over on his back, letting both of them scratch hisbelly. Joy settled into Everly’s limbs. Being on the show would be scary. She’d be putting herself out there, giving strangers a chance to peek into her life, judge her choices, judgeher.
But Jazzy and Stanton focused on the best parts of each guest, inside and out. They redefined beautiful so everyone could fit within it. Everly wanted to be a part of that. She wanted the chance to spend time with people who intimately understood what it meant to live in a body like hers. She wanted to let herself be an artist again.
She’d seen firsthand (well, via the TV screen) howOn the Plus Sidecould transform a person’s life.
She just had to let it.
ENTERTAINMENT NOW,
BUZZ-WORTHY TV EDITION
“MEET THE STARS OFON THE PLUS SIDE,THE MAKEOVER SHOW
THAT’S POSITIVELY PLUS-SIZE!”
Samantha Quain, Media Desk
Not sinceQueer Eyehas a makeover show created such a stir in the world of reality TV asOn the Plus Side,following its premiere on VuNu three weeks ago. In a world where fat is viewed as ugly and unhealthy, the show and its two stars are working hard to unpack and reimagine the way plus-size people are seen by encouraging self-love and acceptance, and leaving conventional ideas of beauty and success behind. A novel concept in an industry so focused on cookie-cutter perfection.
So who are these champions of body positivity?
Jasmine “Jazzy” Germainehas worked as a beautyconsultant in the fashion and entertainment industry for a decade. Five years ago, she started her #fatisfab movement across social media, styling herself and other plus-size women in hand-sewn replicas of couture to remind the world that beauty comes in all sizes. The hashtag blew up, eventually becoming one of the main spaces where influencers from across numerous industries discuss their experiences with fatphobia and how they overcame them, as well as celebrating body positivity and fat liberation. These days, when not filming episodes ofOTPS,Jazzy travels the country as a speaker and media consultant for fat representation. HerOn the Plus Siderole is to help the guest with makeup, hair, and fashion. As she says herself, “I want our guests to figure out whattheylove, what makesthemfeel good, not what the world tells them they should like or how they should dress. You can’t love yourself until you can actuallybeyourself.”
Stanton Bakshispent his childhood dreaming of entering the comic book industry. After attending art school he landed a job at one of the most prolific comic book publishers in the US, only to be quickly disillusioned by the lack of body diversity in superhero stories. His online campaign to make superheroes fat—because, as he says, superhuman strength does not require muscles—went viral, gaining him thousands of fans, but blacklisting him in the comics industry. Stanton says his shift to the fashion world was inevitable: “With a mother so obsessed withSex and the Citythat she named me after a character, I was bound to follow in Carrie Bradshaw’s footsteps—or more aptly, Manolos.” He’s thrilled to be part ofOn the Plus Side,working with guests on their career aspirations. “As a fat man, an Indianman, and a gay man, I have unique insight into the ways that our various intersections affect us in the workplace, and I hope to help our guests figure out how to achieve their goals and break through the many walls that get put before us.”
CHAPTER 4
