Tess Holliday is "comfortable" calling herself fat.
Tess Holliday
The 34-year-old model isn't "OK" with people using her weight to insult her but she's accepting of the fact she is "plus size".
She said: "I think words do matter -- there is power in words. I'm OK with being called plus size, I'm OK with being called fat.
"If someone is shouting that I'm fat in the street in a derogatory way, then obviously I'm not OK with that, but I'm comfortable using the adjective fat to describe myself, because I am fat."
Tess is proud to have been a trailblazer for plus-sized women and thinks she's also helped to make society "more accepting" in general too.
Asked if she feels part of a movement that has liberated women, she told the Sunday Times magazine: "Absolutely. I've been doing this for a decade, and when I first started you didn't see women like me on the covers of magazines, you didn't see pop stars like Lizzo dominating stages and winning Grammys.
"You didn't see any of that -- so, yeah, I've been a part of a movement that has changed the social climate for everybody to be more accepting in general.
"Not only if you're plus size, but however you choose to live your life and present yourself and your body. Self-love is for everyone and we all need it!"
However, Tess doesn't feel like she's a role model, but she is "grateful" to be in a position to speak out on the issues that matter to her.
She said: "I don't consider myself a role model, but I do feel grateful that I have a platform to talk about topics that a lot of people aren't willing to discuss or are afraid of.
"I'm grateful that I have the space to talk about the issues that face marginalised groups as well, because every voice helps. I'd rather it be me than someone who is not authentic, using it for their own social gain and not for the benefit or advancement of society in general.
"I'm not perfect and I don't have all the answers, but I always try to be transparent about that."