WHITNEY: You can be fat and beautiful, you
can be fat and funny, fat and smart, fat and talented and nobody thinks that these two
things can be juxtaposed together.
COMM: Self professed fat dancer Whitney Thore
is leading the way for body acceptance, one energetic routine at a time. The radio producer
was catapulted to dam when a video of her was posted online called Fat Girl Dancing.
WHITNEY: I'm just amazed that it's been received
so positively.
COMM: Growing up in North Carolina, USA, Whitney
loved to dance. But weight gain in her teenage years shattered her self confidence.
WHITNEY: All of a sudden I gained 100lbs in
a year, I quit my life, I dropped out of my dance class, I almost failed out of school,
I went out but I felt like I didn't have permission, my body did not give me permission to do the
things I wanted to do.
COMM: As Whitney's weight climbed to 250lbs
her life became a struggle, and she battled eating disorders.
WHITNEY: I wasn't a stretch for me to feel
bad about myself because everyone tells me that fat people are lazy, we're stupid, we're
worthless, we're talentless, nobody wants us, we're not allowed to be sexy.
COMM: After being diagnosed with Polycystic
Ovary Syndrome, Whitney began to understand her weight problem.
WHITNEY: Oh okay there's a medical reason
for a lot of this weight gain but by that time I had already started living like a fat
person.
COMM: After returning to the dance studio
Whitney posted videos of her incredible moves online. Winning an army of fans, and challenging
her open ideas about weight.
WHITNEY: Becoming body positive has been hands
down the most incredible thing that's ever happened to me. I have received messages from
all over the world from men and women and it's not just people struggling with their
weight, it's people struggling with anything you can imagine, and they're telling me that
it's inspiring to them, to see someone to love themselves, and that's mind blowing to
me that loving yourself is so subversive when you're fat.
COMM: Today Whitney is taking her No Body
Shame campaign to the street, to encourage more people to love their bodies.
MAN: She's probably the best dancer I've seen
in a very long time. She's just amazing.
02:22 WOMAN: The message of her promoting like be
yourself and just be happy with yourself, that's just the best message you can giver
anybody to be honest in this life.
COMM: Finally accepting her body has changed
her life and Whitney is inspiring others along the way.
WHITNEY: Six months ago I never would have
come out and danced in the street like this and now I can, I feel great, it's freeing.
I feel just like I'm living my little purpose, just going through life dancing. It's awesome.