Thickleeyonce – Plus-Size Model, Photographer, Influencer, Entrepreneur & Body-Positivity Activist – South Africa

Lesego “Thickleeyonce” Legobane is one of the clearest examples on your list of somebody whose public work genuinely revolves around the body. She is a plus-size model, photographer, influencer and entrepreneur who became particularly prominent for challenging conventional ideas about what an African woman is “supposed” to look like. She has worked with major fashion and beauty brands, including Calvin Klein, and has developed her own clothing and fashion work. Her message is strongly connected to body acceptance, self-confidence and challenging fatphobia.

Her attitude toward nudity and sexuality is best understood through body autonomy and body positivity, rather than assuming she advocates pornography or any particular sexual lifestyle. She has explicitly discussed being comfortable showing her body and has argued that women shouldn’t have to conform to conventional beauty standards before they are allowed to feel attractive. She has also talked about the importance of representation for fat women and other marginalized bodies. KAYA 959 She has discussed LGBTQ+ issues in the context of body-positivity and discrimination as well, but that should not be confused with a declaration of her own sexual orientation. Her politics are similarly better described through documented social-justice and representation concerns than by assigning her a party affiliation.