Tess Holliday poses in a black bikini in celebration of fat people who are ‘erased’ from history

Tess Holliday is using her social media platform to talk about the erasure of fat bodies from history — while also embracing her very own.

The model and body acceptance advocate took to Instagram on Oct. 24 to share photos from her recent visit to AIRE Ancient Baths in London, where she was clad in a black bikini. Holliday captioned the photos, “Fat bodies have always existed, they’ve just tried to erase us from history. We’ve always been sensual, beautiful, strong, & capable. I don’t post photos like this to be like, ‘look how hot I am (but also plz look away)’. I post pics like this because I refuse to let them write us out of the story.”

The mom of two shared that fat people are “living beautifully complex lives, just like everyone else.”

She concluded, “So don’t get it twisted, you can live whatever life you want RIGHT NOW no matter what your body looks like. I want these cheeks to inspire y’all to live your lives unapologetically, today, tomorrow, & every day after that. #effyourbeautystandards.”

Holliday’s message is an echo from a September Instagram post, in which she criticized the media for sharing photos of her eating while at Disneyland, rather than showing photos of the rest of her “great day” with her family.

“To my community of fat folks/those that struggle with your body image: y’all are seen, valued, and appreciated just as you are RIGHT NOW,” the model wrote at the time. “We live joyful, active, and fulfilling lives… just like everyone else. No matter who you are or what you look like, no matter what you can do with your body or how you choose to dress, y’all are worthy of love. Don’t let morons like the @dailymirror / @dailymail or anyone else tell you otherwise.”