Hello plump lovelies! Our feature for this week is extra special, because we'd be tackling more questions than the usual, and more personal ones.
I've been seeing this beautiful girl in church (Victory Pioneer) every Sunday, and every time she sings and worships, she just has this sweet, charming personality that makes you want to introduce yourself and be friends with her.
Finally I was able to muster the courage to do so by messaging her on Facebook (DORK ALERT!) and I just told her that I wanted to feature her in our blog because she's frikkin' awesome and Danah and I are her fans. :D Thankfully she accepted and granted us this favor. :)
OUR FEATURED PLUMP PINAY OF THIS WEEK IS DJ PATTI MALAY!
As she answered the questions for this interview, she just continued to fascinate me with her take on body issues and how down-to-earth she is. She's just really an amazing woman and her charm and sassiness will inevitably make you drawn to her.
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How old are you?
I just turned 30 years old!
What's your size?
A U.S. size 16.
Who is your style icon?
Who is your style icon?
I love Carolina Herrera and Audrey Hepburn, they never get old. I also like Katherine Heigl a lot--there was a time when she wasn't very skinny and I actually thought she looked better. She always looks nice on the red carpet. I also like Drew Barrymore. She looks so easy-going and effortless.
Favorite store?
Locally, I've found a lot of great stuff at Zara, Dorothy Perkins and Topshop. There are also some nice pieces in Bayo and SM Department Store is always a good place to go! Lately, I've really enjoyed having stuff custom made. There are a lot of up and coming designers that can do tops and bottoms or even evening wear at very affordable price points (my favorite lately is Reian Mata and Veejay Floresca).
Favorite piece/s of clothing to wear?
I can't really say I have favorite pieces. I love color, though, and am a fan of crazy color combinations! And shoes, of course. My feet can't stand heels for very long but pretty shoes are always in style.
How do you want people to see your style?
Favorite piece/s of clothing to wear?
I can't really say I have favorite pieces. I love color, though, and am a fan of crazy color combinations! And shoes, of course. My feet can't stand heels for very long but pretty shoes are always in style.
How do you want people to see your style?
I've always made an effort to buy pieces that will last or will go with a lot of what's already in my wardrobe. I'm not the trendiest person and gravitate more to what's classic and transcendent. I don't make an effort to stand out either. Comfort comes first to me and as long as I'm not an eyesore to other people, I think I'm good to go! A friend of mine always said dressing well doesn't necessarily mean dressing loudly.
Where do you get your confidence from?
Where do you get your confidence from?
God! Without Him, where would I be? I can't even think of the alternative!
What makes you feel beautiful and sexy?
I'm not going to lie and tell you I don't like compliments! I absolutely love them. But I don't base my identity or feeling of self-worth on them. I have a lot of days where I don't feel beautiful or sexy at all. But when I have good days, I know it's usually because I'm happy from within. It's hard to be really beautiful if it doesn't come from inside.
Have you ever been "discriminated" or scrutinized because of weight? How?
Of course. Especially in my industry. Once in a while, I would get invited to try out for things, commercials, TV shows, what not. I'd get rejected for one thing or the other. I'm aware that a lot of the time it's because of my weight.
How did you respond in this situation?
I used to feel bad about this but I don't anymore. I know that God has a place for me and I don't need to struggle so hard for it.
I used to feel bad about this but I don't anymore. I know that God has a place for me and I don't need to struggle so hard for it.
You told me you used to have an eating disorder. What kind of eating disorder did you have? What made you turn to inflicting this kind of sickness on your self? When did this all happen in your life?
What made you stop torturing yourself from losing weight? How did you come to accept yourself? :)
Yeah, I used to have bulimia. I never had to go see a doctor for it, I sort of just recognized the signs myself. I would binge eat (like order as much food as I can and consume it quickly) and then soon after, force myself to vomit it out. This happened pretty regularly but more often when I was upset (stressed or problematic about something). I had always turned to food for comfort and it was easy to do so again and again. I felt like food, unlike some people in my life, had never disappointed me. Food never hurt me, food never disrespected me or made me feel small. I had always been hurt by people but felt safe running towards food all the time. I was in my early twenties when this was at its worst. The pressure to be thin was also pretty high and so that made the bulimia worse.
It stopped when I decided I wasn't going to let the pressure to be thin or to be perfect or to be OK rule my life. I realized that there were other ways of dealing with problems and issues... and binge eating and then purging was not the best way. I didn't wait until I got sick to realize this. I'm just thankful to God that He allowed it, kept me safe the whole time, and allowed me to see the error of my ways and guided me towards wisdom. I also realized that I was lovable no matter what size or shape I came in... and not because I saw myself as lovable through other people's eyes... but because I saw myself as lovable through the eyes of the Lord. It's so cliche but true. When I realized my true identity, as a daughter of God, made wonderfully and fearfully, I realized how pointless it was to root my self-esteem on what the world said I should be. This is not to say that I've come to accept that a little plump is the way I always will be. I still think that I have to be at my healthiest so I can continue living the life God wanted me to live. But healthy doesn't equate to killing myself counting calories or clocking in hours at the gym. Healthy means being in shape at any shape!
It stopped when I decided I wasn't going to let the pressure to be thin or to be perfect or to be OK rule my life. I realized that there were other ways of dealing with problems and issues... and binge eating and then purging was not the best way. I didn't wait until I got sick to realize this. I'm just thankful to God that He allowed it, kept me safe the whole time, and allowed me to see the error of my ways and guided me towards wisdom. I also realized that I was lovable no matter what size or shape I came in... and not because I saw myself as lovable through other people's eyes... but because I saw myself as lovable through the eyes of the Lord. It's so cliche but true. When I realized my true identity, as a daughter of God, made wonderfully and fearfully, I realized how pointless it was to root my self-esteem on what the world said I should be. This is not to say that I've come to accept that a little plump is the way I always will be. I still think that I have to be at my healthiest so I can continue living the life God wanted me to live. But healthy doesn't equate to killing myself counting calories or clocking in hours at the gym. Healthy means being in shape at any shape!
What's your message to other Plump Pinays? :)
I know the world can be cruel, especially to those of us that don't fit the mold of what normal beauty is. We just have to remember that our worth doesn't come from other people or what they think of us... God loves you and made you uniquely and wonderfully. There's no one else like you in the world! That's definitely something to be proud of. ;)
Told ya she's frikkin' AWESOME. ;)
Catch DJ Patti on air every Saturdays at 10am to 2pm on the radio show SHAKEDOWN at U92 FM (92.3).
Zaftig Lovin',
Stacy