Loey Lane is a relatively well-known YouTuber who is a body-positive activist and makeup/beauty guru. The 25-year-old Georgia native is a beauty blogger and vlogger whose content focuses mainly on beauty, fashion and body positivity.
While she is known for being a plus-size model who strives to help other people feel confident in the skin they’re in, she also shares personal experiences with her followers to be a more relatable role model and to express the type of treatment that many people in society face based off their physical appearances.
Today, there is a huge emphasis on men and women to fit into a certain mold. Whether it be certain music types people are supposed to be into, a certain look everyone is expected to achieve or an oddly specific “ideal” weight, there are endless expectations for everyone that are wildly unrealistic and, in most cases, unattainable.
In recent years, celebrities such as Nicki Minaj and Kim Kardashian have influenced a new social trend of being curvy, but even their bodies are an unattainable expectation for women. The focus has shifted from having a sickeningly thin body to an unrealistically large butt, tiny waist and huge breasts.
This new trend is just as unhealthy as the skinniness trend was in previous years because the only way to achieve this type of body is through plastic surgery or God-given genes. Yet, millions of women hold themselves to these standards instead of embracing the beautiful bodies they already inhabit.
Lane has made it her mission to show women the beauty of their own bodies. Not only does she help people understand and fall in love with their bodies, but she also calls out retail stores who refuse to make their clothing in plus sizes. Through this, Lane helps plus-sized women find retailers who do sell their sizes to make shopping a more enjoyable experience for them. For example, Charlotte Rouse has recently expanded their sizing options to fit plus-sized women, and Lane gives reviews about their new clothing on her blog, “The Curvy Diaries.”
In one of Lane’s YouTube videos, she discusses the issues that she’s had with her weight in previous years. Like many, she’s experienced bullying due to her physical appearance. Lane’s message to her viewers is profoundly moving, especially when she says, “I was at my lowest point. It was in that moment that I knew I had to make a change for myself, and for every person who had ever felt like this.”
Lane’s powerful words resonated with millions of her viewers. One viewer commented on her video, saying, “Thank you, Loey, for showing me that I am not alone in this feeling.” Another viewer had a similar response: “I knew I couldn’t be the only one feeling this way, but I always felt alone anyway. Thank you for bringing light to a serious issue.”
In another video Lane posted titled, “Why Are Fat People a Joke,” she discusses the disturbing trend of making fun of people who are overweight for exercising, for dancing and expressing themselves, for eating and for basically doing anything anyone else would do. This trend is particularly disturbing because hateful comments geared toward people that may be overweight can have a detrimental impact on their mental health and emotional stability, along with their motivation to continue doing the things they love.
Within this same video, Lane also describes how many videos that are related to body positivity and loving the skin you’re in are blatantly mocked. She expresses utter confusion and disgust at the idea that people who are attempting to send a positive message to others who are struggling with their appearance are ultimately shut down instantly.
Lane poses the question: “Why? Why is this a trend? Why do people feel like others should not be happy?” She states, “to make fun of the way a person looks, in my eyes, is about as lazy as you can get.”
This video raises the bar for Lane’s viewers, and for society in general, in the way that it makes people want to call one another out for this type of hurtful behavior. No one should be bullied, made fun of, harassed, etc., for the way that they appear. People should be looked at based on their choices, decisions, values and personalities.
Loey Lane has been able to connect to her viewers in a way that a lot of YouTubers have not. She has reached out to millions of girls to let them know that they are not alone in their struggle of body positivity and that loving yourself for who you are should be encouraged, regardless of one’s appearance.
Many YouTubers are focused on advertising a product to their viewers or demonstrating how to use a new makeup brand, but Lane has taken it a step farther by addressing a serious, modern-day issue. She wants the world to know that this trend of humiliating people based on their appearance has gone on for way too long and needs to end.
Loey Lane is the type of person everyone should strive to be like.
