Brianna jacobs

The Belly Dancer (Maria)

 

I hate my stomach. It’s big and bulging. It’s where I gain all my weight. A few years ago, I started gaining weight. Last summer, at my job, two customers asked me if i was pregnant. It hangs over my jeans. I constantly have to adjust my underwear, my jeans, even the loosest leggings, and pull them up over my giant pouch of a stomach. The fat circles around to my back, creating this awful back fat. Because of my stomach, I have no waist. The underwire of my bra digs into my upper stomach. I am sure it’s the first thing people notice about me. My ex boyfriend told me a few months back that I should just lose weight - he said that would be the answer to loving myself. I never hated my stomach more.

     I love my stomach. It’s big and soft and firm. It’s curvy and squishy and fun. I love that I can eat all sorts of food and not be full. I love my appetite for all sorts of different foods, the more exotic the better. I love to belly dance - my tummy loves it when I belly dance. It can do all sorts of rolls and moves that look especially awesome because my tummy is so big. When I began modeling nude for an artist, who is also my best friend, she told me, “I love to draw you. Your body is so interesting.” I never felt more beautiful.

- Maria Demauro