Tawana Blassingame is a pioneer for body positivity. As the creator of Queen Size Magazine, she helped pave the way for the underrepresented full-figured community. Tawana also highlights talent across various platforms at the Full Figured Industry Awards, where she is the creator and host. After just celebrating her third annual ceremony this November, Tawana hopes to continue helping people find love for themselves and encourage a more inclusive fashion industry.

I had the pleasure of attending the third annual Full Figured Industry Awards this November and was impressed by the community Tawana fostered together. All the attendees dazzled on stage and I enjoyed seeing them shine. Tawana has a special ability to make people feel seen and appreciated. No good deed went unnoticed. The night was filled with compassion, joy, and beauty from the inside out.

Where are you based?

I am based in New York, but I am not limited to this area. We service the industry worldwide.

What inspired you to create Queen Size Magazine?

I was inspired to create Queen Size Magazine because I love to write. It was a dream of mine to write for a publication, but since I didn’t have the experience to join a publication, I created my own. I ultimately went with an area that I can personally relate to. I have been plus size most of my life, so it is a topic I related it. So, I created this publication to give women who look like me a platform to share how amazing they are in their size.

Tell me about The Full Figured Industry Awards?

The Full Figured Industry Awards is a prestigious ceremony of awards and of distinguished recognition honoring the craftsmanship and commitment to excellence across various platforms spanning the full-figured industry.

With nominees in several fashion and media categories, why was it important to include your six honorees in categories like confidence, advocacy, and outstanding retail brand? What was that process like?

Our category awards go through a nomination and voting process. From that process we have about four final nominees and the winner is announced at the live show. Our Honoree awards (Confidence, Advocacy, Entrepreneur, ICON, Lifetime Achievement and Retail Brand) do not go through this process. We have a committee of professionals that select who these recipients are going to be from year to year. The honoree awards are important because it is a way for us to pay homage to our pioneers in the industry. If it weren’t for them this industry may not be where it is today.

What do you hope to achieve by highlighting this emerging community?

Our industry is more than emerging. This is a multi-billion-dollar industry that has existed for many years. It is only recently that we are being seen and respected in the fashion world. More than two-thirds of women in America wear a size 14 or above. The show was created to recognize and honor the professionals and celebrities within our industry. If not us, then who?

In the fashion and media industry, what is a change that you believe would benefit the plus-size community?

More inclusion. We see a lot of it, but not enough. Not everyone understands true inclusion. You can’t call yourself plus-inclusive and you only go up to a size 18. If you are going to claim to be inclusive, then don’t just sell it; show it. We want to see ourselves in the products. Use some plus-size models or even mannequins in your brands. Don’t talk about it, be about it.

There has been a lot of sparks for the love your body movement. Do you feel fashion is going the right way?

I believe so. We still have a lot of work to do. But progression is better than regression.

While fashion seems to be becoming more inclusive. Social media seems to be becoming more problematic. What are your thoughts on this?

Social media can be a blessing and a curse. There are many opportunities that can come from social media if you know how to use it. It can be fun, depending on what you use it for. But if you are doing business then take some courses to better understand how it can be beneficial to your brand. Or hire a social media manager. I did both (lol)

As a leader and innovator within this community, what advice would you share for younger men and women who have struggled to have a positive body image?

I think there is always a deeper issue than the body image. It is usually rooted from someplace. My advice is always to dig deep and find that love for YOU! Once we learn to love ourselves, the love for your body comes along with it. That love can look like one of two things.

Number One: I love me just the way I am.

Or Number Two: I love myself enough to change some things about me.

Either way, you have to be ok with you and not give a damn about other people’s thoughts.

What position do you see yourself in several years down the road? What projects do you hope to begin or keep working on?

I hope to continue to be in a position to help people any way I can. I don’t have any new projects coming up. I just want to work on perfecting what I have already started.

It has been a crazy few years. Do you think the pandemic has impacted people’s body image?

I think the pandemic has impacted people body’s period! Do I think it has impacted their image? No! I think a lot of people gained weight and most of us are on health journeys. Not to be skinny, but to just be overall healthy and in a better position to fight off whatever the next disease they want to throw at us.

How have you been staying positive?

Drinking my water and minding my business. (lol). But on a serious note, I am typically a positive-thinking person, so it helps. There are many days when I don’t feel like smiling, but I try to remind myself that negative thinking doesn’t make things better, they make it worse and put you in a funk. So, I try to look at the bright side of things.

What is your motto in life?

My motto in life is to “make that dash between my birth date and my death date mean something. I want to leave a legacy of change that will live on when I am long gone”.

To learn more about Tawana, please follow her via the links below :

Queen Size Magazine website: www.queensizemagazine.com

@queensizemagazine on Instagram, @queensizemagazine Facebook, and @queensizemagazine on LinkedIn

The Full Figured Industry Awards website: www.theffias.com

@thefullfiguredindustryawards on Instagram and @TheFFIAs on Facebook

@TawanaBlassingame in Instagram

Images by Philip Drew (@photosbypdrew)