When was the last time you gave yourself permission to just exist? Not shrink, not apologize, not mold yourself into what somebody else needs—but to simply take up space?

Dr. David Johns sits down with trailblazer Tess Holliday—one of the world's most recognized plus-size models, the first of her size to be signed to a major agency, and creator of the viral "Eff Your Beauty Standards" campaign. Today's conversation centers on her latest work: Take Up Space, Y'All: Your Bold and Bright Guide to Self-Love, co-written with Kelly Coon.

While marketed as a guide for teens navigating social media, body image, and toxic friendships, this book is essential reading for anyone who has ever felt they needed to make themselves smaller. Tess brings her full self—as a mom raising a 20-year-old and a 9-year-old, as someone who grew up in rural Mississippi without the resources she desperately needed, and as a woman who has spent over a decade breaking barriers in the modeling industry. From discussing mutual aid and community care to naming joy as resistance, this conversation reminds us that in a world telling you to shrink, taking up space is the most radical thing you can do.

SHOW NOTES & RESOURCES:

Purchase the Book:

• Take Up Space, Y'All: Your Bold and Bright Guide to Self-Love by Tess Holliday and Kelly Coon
• Available at independent bookstores nationwide
• Find your local bookstore: bookshop.org

Learn More:

• "Eff Your Beauty Standards" campaign: Search #EffYourBeautyStandards on social media platforms

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