How did Cheyenne Diamond create a safe place for plus sizers on Twitter Spaces?
Photo: @stretchmarkmami / Instagram
If you suffer from restless nights and find yourself surfing Twitter or Instagram like I often do then you know all too well that amazing things are happening on the internet — especially on late nights. However, on the late night of Tuesday, October 12, I discovered an interesting Twitter Space called #FattySpaces. Intrigued by the name of the space and sheer curiosity, I decided to join.
Launched in November 2020, Twitter Spaces is where live audio conversations happen. When I joined the conversation that night I was excited to hear from so many powerful plus size women who were sharing experiences in topics ranging from sex work to body positivity. That night, Cheyenne (@louiefattons), host and founder of #FattySpaces was joined by Nikkole (@iconickbeauty), Nikki (@nikkicallowayy) and of course Justice (@justicetierney) who recently was featured as Shapely’s Fatshionable Style Icon back in October. The conversation was so intriguing as the ladies spoke about confidence and the importance of setting boundaries.
However, what was most touching and interesting was a young lady from the Long Beach area, where Cheyenne is also from, shared how she was experiencing negative things at home as well as dealing with anxiety and depression. She explained that she was also being treated poorly by her family and was struggling to create boundaries for herself. Everyone listened to the young lady and many of the listeners and hosts even offered her advice on how to create boundaries for herself. Cheyenne quickly offered to meet up with the young lady which she generously accepted. In this moment of massive empathy, we all witnessed the importance of finding a community and people that you can relate to, especially during tough times.
Thus, I am happy and honored to chat with Cheyenne about #FattySpaces. In this interview, Cheyenne graciously shares why she created #FattySpaces and its origin.
Tell me about yourself and how you found yourself on social media?
Photo: @stretchmarkmami / Instagram
On Instagram, I go by @/StretchMarkMami, something I’ve been calling myself from 2015. I love myself, I love my stretch marks, I love my body and I embrace that. From Instagram, I transferred that persona to Twitter and I’m on my third account now (she laughs) because of how passionate I am about body positivity and defending fat Black femmes to the fullest. Like, I’m very gung-ho about creating a space that guarantees to people that they will be supported mentally, physically, and emotionally — I’m going to have your back. Now that I have that opportunity on Twitter and I’m less reckless and smarter.
I have learned to tone it down and have created popular threads supporting body positivity like ‘If you are fat Black femme post your best selfie,’ or my partner thread in which both have gone viral. My last Twitter account had 5K followers and now this one just hit 4K but I’m super excited about where I’m going and headed and the inspiration I’m putting out into the world. I feel like people are connecting with me and see that even if they think they can’t that they actually can do and be anything. I have always been a cheerleader, loud and spunky. For the girls and by the girls!
I also believe that because I was raised by Black femmes, that it has definitely changed my perspective on love and success. I know now that happiness is likely to be achieved no matter your size.
How do you exist and advocate on social media in a positive way while identifying as a queer and plus size Black woman?
I try to focus my energy on positivity and people who are like-minded and of course energy. I’m very huge on energy and if our energies do not align or if my intuition gives me a whiff of bad energy. I can not and will not allow myself in there. Foremost I’m Black first, then you see me and I’m also fat, and on top of that I’m Bisexual. Therefore, the intersectionality of all three makes it a lot harder. I feel like finding community was the easiest part of me navigating social media and my life. If I’m not surrounding myself with people like me then what am I doing? I can’t learn or grow, if I don’t meet others like me or those who differ. Finding community has been the biggest part of me being grounded and avoiding the toxicity that sometimes exists on social media. The community I’ve found has allowed me to learn how to ignore the negativity.
Why did you create #FattySpaces on Twitter?
I was on Clubhouse for a while and that was okay and nice but I wanted my own thing. I wanted to talk to people that I have connected to already. Also, in a previous account I posted myself in the Doja Cat Collection and it went viral. However, when it became viral I was also met with an overwhelming amount of hate in which I felt I couldn’t engage anymore. So I finally, had the opportunity to try Twitter Spaces, so that I can talk to people who wanted to talk to me and about the hate I experienced from my Doja Cat Collection post. Boom, #FattySpaces was born and I hosted my first space in early April.
In the space many of my friends joined and expressed that they were sorry that I experienced all the negativity. However, I didn’t care because I was happy to talk to my friends and see if they ever experienced any thing similar. The first session went on for hours. It was nice to hear the stories from other fat Black femmes, enbies (non-binary people) or plus size men who are able to join and resonate with the dialogue and share. The community of it all and knowing it isn’t just me having these experiences was reassuring. Plus all the DMs I receive after hosting a #FattySpaces session has been most rewarding because people share how the space has connected with them on an emotional level.
What has been your highest audience attendance on #FattySpaces?
To date the highest listeners we have had is 150 people however, I hope to continue to grow and excited about its future.
“I feel that you don’t have to be an influencer with thousands of followers to be influential in any type of way or make a change.”
What else have you gained or learned from #FattySpaces?
I learned that it’s hard as a Black fat femme when your experience is very different to others. So for other people to validate that same experience and to know that we all have at some point felt less than in a skinny circle, difficulty finding a costume or even just dating and how to navigate through love as a fat person is great and validating.
How else are you making a difference?
I feel that you don’t have to be an influencer with thousands of followers to be influential in any type of way or make a change. I also find that in other plus size spaces that I have joined that they don’t want to push the envelope or dig deeper. I find that there is a lot of dialogue but no solutions. That’s what makes #FattySpaces different because we identify the problems and take action.
Thus #FattySpaces, is about connecting plus size people and allowing them to exist in a safe, fun and friendly platform. As well allowing people to learn from others on how to be more confident, or creating boundaries all while being fat. To learn more about #FattySpaces, connect with Cheyenne and tune into #FattySpaces on Twitter every Tuesday at 5:30 pm PT.
