Alison Stevensons social media presence is what corporate brands that have hopped on the body positivity train to earn profit wish it could be authentic. The comedian and performer, regularly pictured in her underwear , started posting sexy photos of herself about two years ago. Its an effort, she told HuffPost, to not sexualize myself in a fetishy way but to say heres my big belly, but Im still trying to be sexual.

Body positivity real body positivity like Stevensons has found a home for itself in online communities such as Instagram and Tumblr. These sites serve as sanctuary for people to feel empowered and less alone. But Stevenson wondered what bringing that powerful notion into the real world might look like. Something like, say, a strip show featuring women with all different body types?