"People say incredibly kind things to me every day but what really gets me is when people who look like me tell me that seeing me be weird and wonderful and semi-nude on the internet has helped them to feel that they don't need to be ashamed about themselves," she says. "The idea that I could be helping people err away from the active [fat-phobic] negativity is incredible to me, though it doesn't surprise me. All the power I have these days is from the fat people in my life, I can only hope to have that same influence on people around me."