Ebbi Nicole noticed the difference between her and the other women in her family from a young age. She was considered the full-figured one, while they all were primarily thin. It’s something she said contributed to her having extremely low self-esteem.
“I use fat as a reclaimed word, and it’s just an adjective,” said Ebbi Nicole. “I think we can take power away from its negative connotation.”
“I was the chubby kid in class, the smart kid in class, and the nappy-headed kid in class that wore glasses,” Nicole said. “It caused me to grow up in a low self-esteem, low self-worth state.”
12 years ago, when she was a student on the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia, she met other women who shared the same struggles as she did with having confidence in themselves and their body shape. She said she was shocked and didn’t understand how she could see women who were so “fly” and couldn’t see their awesomeness.
She saw a need to have conversations like that, which motivated her to create her for-profit Fluffy GRL Movement, a fat-positive lifestyle brand and community designed to elevate and educate the curvy girl experience through storytelling, educational programming, and corporate sponsorships.
In a way, Nicole has found Fluffy GRL Movement to be the therapy she didn’t know she needed. It originally was a space where she wanted to bring other full-figured women together to feel safe and have a space to feel included and have conversations about their bodies. However, over the years, she realizes it helped her and her confidence flourish.
“It’s a space to re-educate the community and our world about what it looks like to be a fat woman in society,” Nicole said. “I use “fat” as a reclaimed word, and it’s just an adjective. I think we can take power away from its negative connotation.”
Nicole’s first job out of college working for what she thought was an organization committed to women empowerment is another part of the reason why she launched the Fluffy GRL Movement.
While working there, a black woman colleague asked her what she wanted to do with her career, and she responded that she wanted to do Public Relations in an on-camera capacity.
Taken aback by what she said, that coworker told her she couldn’t be “fat, Black, nappy-headed, and not wear suits, but expect to be in front of the camera.”
“I took that as motivation to keep going with Fluffy GRL because we need to prove people like her wrong first and foremost,” Nicole said. “She internalized that, and for her, there was no other place for us.”
Nicole said Fluffy GRL Movement has evolved tremendously over the years from hosting fashion shows, a summit, and partnering with Lane Bryant for the event Bust, Gut, and Giggly Stuff (programming designed to educate plus and curvy women about shapewear and bra fittings) to a clothing swap and Curves N Waves Pool Party.
Tonight, August 5, and Saturday, August 6, for the first time in the history of the Fluffy GRL Movement, Nicole is hosting GRL Weekend, which amplifies and continues the organization’s mission by welcoming the fluff community, including ‘“fluffs (women who are visually plus size by societal standards),” “fluffettes (curvy girls who don’t have much arm or midsection fat),” and “fluff supporters (allies of the fluff community who don’t identify as plus size).”
“Fluffy GRL is self-identifying,” Nicole said. “Here at Fluffy GRL, we are an inclusive community, but we center the plus and curvy experience.”
GRL Weekend kicks off Friday, August 5, 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at Aloft Cortex St. Louis with The Candid Convo Kickoff, a panel discussion about health and weight featuring therapist Erin Grumpley, Rena Michelle, plus size fitness instructor and owner of Curvy Gang Fitness, and Natural Curvy Terray, a plus size skater, model, and influencer. Also, there will be a performance by R&B singer Katarra Parson and a cocktail hour.
Day two of GRL Weekend is Saturday, August 6, with the yearly anticipated Curves N Waves Pool Party at Collinsville Aqua Park from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. Nicole said she rented out the entire waterpark for women and women-identifying folx only. DJ Sweet Tea will hold down the 1s and 2s, special performances, and the VIF (Very Important Fluff) area is sponsored by Dove. VIF includes gifts, special activations, and more. Joyce Bogan of Be My Guests events is decorating the venue.
“We have dope events in the Midwest,” Nicole said. “We don’t always have to travel to Atlanta, New York, and Texas. It’s important to tap into what is in our own background and make it our business to buy locally.”
Tickets for GRL Weekend are on sale on Eventbrite.
Nicole is the founder and chief flufftivist of Fluffy GRL Movement, a fat-positive educator, and a content creator. Learn more about Fluffy GRL Movement by visiting https://www.empowerthefluff.com/.
