Chubby women suffer discrimination on the runway – Sarah Day

Sarah Day is a multi-talented lady, doing her best to carve a niche for herself in the entertainment industry. She is a model, actress, OAP and social media influencer among other things. She spoke on her career in this exclusive interview with ORJI ONYEKWERE.

You said that plus size ladies gain more attraction and attention from men because of their big and curvy nature. What do mean by this?

Every African woman has the tendency of being a plus size, especially when child bearing comes on stream. Most people work it out after they’ve given birth. Sometimes you see a lady that is size 8 and by the time she gives birth, she might be size 12. Our society has made us to believe that every lady must be slim for her true beauty to come out, but as true African women, you are not defined by your size; by being a size eight or seven or 10, it’s the qualities that define who you are as an African lady.

My job here is to promote the plus size community and a lot of people are like, ‘I need to be slim for me to beautiful or do certain things or dress in a particular way’. But I am here to tell the plus size ladies that regardless of your size you can put your mind at something and you will achieve it. We are naturally beautiful, big, bold, curvy and have that carriage.

Last year, I did an entry for GTCO Fashion Week. I took that bold step because I have never heard or seen plus size people on the runway but I decided to try my luck to see if it was going to happen. They responded, but I was not picked because there was no provision for plus size ladies.

It’s important to note that there should not be segregation against the big or fat people. People say, ‘fat’ should not be the adjective to be used, but chubby. Regardless of the fact that some of us are well-endowed, we are proud of it. We are proud because when you’re with your man, he can hold you, hold on flesh and walk proudly. I am not saying that the slim size ladies are not loved by their husbands; you are beautiful with your size.

A man can love you because of your size. These days many ladies are talking of buttocks enlargement and boobs enlargement. Even as a slim lady, maybe size 8 and you want to grow your buttocks, you have to move to size 10 or 12. It’s not possible for your backside to be big and your body is very tiny. It’s hard for you to see a South African woman that has a flat tummy because most of them usually have massive backside. Even with workout, some of them still have big stomach. Even those that have done surgery to improve their backside, you will notice that with time, they will still add weight. So, there is pride in being a plus size lady.

That’s why most of them go to the gym and they watch what they eat to maintain that shape. The essence of putting out the plus size content is to encourage the plus size ladies because there are a lot of plus size ladies that don’t know how to carry themselves, that is why I am here to encourage them.

Those that organise beauty pageants exclude plus size ladies because some of them may not look good in their bikinis or swim suits with their big belly and wrinkled body. Can you model in a swim suit with your size?

Yes. I have pictures I took as model and I have walked down on the runway before. The slim community just wants to put everybody in the same box because it’s a slim person that is modelling, she has to wear a fitting cloth. As a plus size lady, there are some plus size clothes you will wear that will cover up the whole body. Regardless of what you’re wearing, the most important thing is for you to dress in what you are comfortable in. There are some comfortable swimsuits, the plus size can wear that will bring out their beauty even better than the slim person.

Someone brought out a clothing line that plus size ladies modelled and a lot of people did not patronise this. We like to live in delusion. You feel you can work out if you want to wear this particular swim suit, and I can get to this shape but the question is, will you be able to maintain it. In 2020/21, I started a weight loss journey and I jumped to size 14 and last year, I noticed that I became a size 18.

It is one thing for you to decide to lose weight and it’s another thing for you to do what works for you. Know your body type and do it. Last year, I have to take out time to say can I do this. My own take is that you have to get something that you are very comfortable with. Comfortable clothing and colours that match your skin, comfortable clothing that will speak your style.

Tell us more about your acting career, and how you came into acting?

I have always wanted to be in the limelight. I have always wanted to be on TV, though I worked with Wazobia Media from 2018, Wazobia TV from 2020- 2021. I worked there as a co- producer and at a point, I was presenting some shows. That was when I thought about it that I can do more.

From childhood, I have been going for drama production in the church, going for rehearsal and later I told myself that I can actually try this. It’s been an experience for me, though my face is not prominent in the movie industry but I have learnt a lot from those that I have worked with. There are few movies I have featured in. I have been in Big Law and Revenge Series on African Magic.

I was one of the main cast of ‘ My Siblings and I’ on African Magic. The movie industry is not really favouring a lot of people especially with the cost of living; people are not being paid well. Most of the up and coming actors have always put in so much efforts in their craft but we are not being paid what we deserve. Today, anybody can shoot a content and upload it on the social media. So, they just gather people whether they know how to act or not and create content. Acting goes beyond facial expressions. It takes emotions, character and attitude to interpret your role properly. Sometimes I watch skits or what people put out and I am like, what is this?

So, how did your journey into broadcasting start. Are you still with Hot FM?

Not really, but I have a programme I anchor for them. Presently, I promote content for them not as an OAP because I have other things that I do.

So, for now your focus is mainly on your acting?

Yes, I have focused on my modelling and acting career plus my content creation.

You are a social media influencer but your fan base is small. Why?

Yes. I am working on that. I don’t just want to draw people to my page and I can’t give them quality content. It’s not about having large number of followers without having anything to give them at the end of the day.

Concerning how I ventured into the media industry, I studied language with French as my specialty and I graduated in 2017, from Ekiti State University. I have always had this passion for the media especially when I see people that talk. When I was growing up, I had always wanted to be a lawyer because I just want to defend the people. When the opportunity for law didn’t present itself, I said okay, let me see what I can get in this industry.

READ ALSO: Delta Assembly passes Persons Living With Disability…

I know that the entertainment industry is where I can make it and be free to showcase whatever I can as a model, an OAP, or actor. I also do red carpet hosting. Getting into what I did not study in school, I decided to do some media training. I graduated from National Broadcast Academy under FRCN in 2020. I also did basic presentation and ran a programme on media studies and I graduated last year. It’s in affiliation of UNILAG

Are you in any relationship?

No. I am very single, searching and willing to settle down, if he comes.

Your projection in the entertainment industry?

I don’t think I have thought about where I will end up in the industry. Sometimes I look at coming up with a talk show where I will get women together to come and talk about their struggle of being a plus size. Sometimes, I begin to think of how long I will I continue that. I will say let me put more time into my acting career but the next day, I will wake up and say this or that radio station want me to come and do this. I am sure I can cope, coupled with the fact that the media industry is no longer the way it supposed to be anymore because a lot of things are now easy. You can do a lot of things with your phone. People feel that this person is out there and they can call the person to do what I want him or her to do and pay him off. They employ agents to do the work. A lot people don’t employ people anymore.

I don’t want people to know me just as a plus size fashion influencer. I want them to understand that I have a career beyond that. I have career in acting, modelling, an OAP. For the presenting part of it, that’s one thing I can do for a long time and I hope in next three years, people will see and say this person knows what she is doing.

QUOTE:

I am very single, searching and willing to settle down, if he comes.