When you picture a French woman, what comes to mind is normally a rake thin beauty, pouting around her vowels, sipping bordeaux and smoking a Gauloises.

But it turns out that the image of sultry, skinny so called perfection has been one of the most oppressive for French women themselves. In France, where style rules, a plus sized woman comes up against even more prejudice than in the UK, according to an interview with Stephanie Zwicky in the Times.

Stephanie would know all about it; she recently featured in French fashion Bible Elle magazine. Before now, a BBW appearing in such an iconic magazine would be unimaginable, but, as Ms Zwicky, who is Swiss, explains, her inclusion is another step on the road to size acceptance, even in one of the least accepting cultures there is.

The battle isn’t won yet - Stephanie has explained that there has been plenty of harsh criticism of her size since featuring in the magazine - but it’s a great indicator of growing appreciation for women of size. Roll on next month’s issue, we say!

For those who love a larger lady, there could be some hope of dating a celebrity, as the queen of British comedy Dawn French is single once more.

Whilst we here at CuddlyDating.com of course sympathize with Dawn following her split from fellow comedian Lenny Henry, we’re pleased to hear that their separation is amicable and the two are dedicated to maintaining their friendship.

Dawn, 52, first made UK audiences in the UK roll with laughter during the 1980s as one half of the comedy duo French and Saunders, as well as in her own blackly comic series Murder Most Horrid, before cementing her fame with the hit sitcom The Vicar of Dibley.

Since then, Dawn has starred in more hit comedies Little Britain and Jam and Jerusalem, as well as feature films Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and The Chronicles of Narnia.

As well as that, she’s a great example of a foxy plus size lady; even hip young TV presenter Dermot O’Leary has confessed to harbouring a little crush on her. Look out, fellas!

We love ladies who are proud of who they are and ready to show the world that big really is beautiful!

Big girls everywhere can take inspiration from Nancy Hayssen, a plus-sized model who is challenging media stereotypes about what size you have to be in order to be sexy.

It’s a cause close to our heart here at Cuddly Dating and we back what she’s doing, which is why we are delighted to tell you about Nancy’s great new competition to win an all expenses paid trip to Hollywood and a fabulous make-over. The competition is all part of Nancy’s Sexy at any Size website. Check it out and enjoy finding out about the competition, as well as getting loads of fashion tips and information on the glamorous world of plus-sized modeling.

CuddlyDating.com members know that women of all shapes and sizes are beautiful, but some less fortunate people don’t. That’s why we’re all delighted that V Magazine has decided to publish a fantastic issue this month, packed full of photos with gorgeous BBW models.

The magazine’s “Size Issue”, out this month, features photographs of five hot, curvy models shot by Solve Sundsbo, Norwegian fashion photographer.

We’re not just talking a coy nod towards the larger ladies out there, with plus-size girls in jeans and sweaters. Some of these photos feature BBWs in lingerie or topless, and in one, model Tara Lynn appears naked but for some painfully pretty shoes and a little makeup.

It’s great to see BBWs finally taking some of the modelling limelight, and here at CuddlyDating.com, we just can’t get enough of them!

If there’s one thing we hate here at CuddlyDating.com, it’s feeling intimidated on the nightclubbing scene. How many of us have headed to a club for a great night, only to feel different, separated and shunned by the so-called beautiful people sipping their drinks delicately and gyrating on podiums? Watch any scene in a movie or drama set in a club; we’ll guarantee you’ll never see a plus-sized person working it on the dancefloor.

Well, all that’s changing, and we’re glad! Club Bounce is the world’s finest plus-sized club. Taking place at the PCH Club in Long Beach, CA, Club Bounce caters to Big Beautiful Women, Big Handsome Men, and the people who admire them. With top DJs and awesome settings, it’s become a great success, thanks to club promoter Lisa Marie Garbo (descendant of the iconic Greta).

The beauty of it is that whilst Club Bounce is an event where people of size can come together, be proud and feel accepted, the club night does not practice the same discrimination other nightclubs are famous for. Just because it’s aimed at the BBW and BHM communities doesn’t mean that anyone is excluded; the point of the night is size acceptance, so anyone, whether big, tall, skinny or short, can come along and get their mojo on, regardless of what category they fit into.

It’s about time!

Check it out here: http://www.clubbounce.net/home2.html

Girls, we know that for centuries, women have been trapped in a struggle to look just-so, depending on what the look of the moment is. Most of the time, that look has involved being a size 10, wearing the right clothes, and using the right make-up and cosmetics. Well, there is a cosmetics campaign out there that we at CuddlyDating.com can really get behind.

Dove’s Campaign For Real Beauty is, for once, a cosmetics campaign that, rather than convincing women that they are hideous and need to apply more and more cosmetic junk to cover up, instead encourages women to think of themselves as beautiful and buy products to properly care for themselves. How? Well, look at Dove’s images policy. Yes, of course, some of the pictures are doctored minutely, in order to meet professional photography standards. Besides this, however, the images used by Dove to sell its products is extraordinary; the women used in Dove ads are of all ages, all sizes and all ethnic origins, breaking the traditional mould of the white, size-zero, blonde, 16 year-old model.

It doesn’t stop there, either. Dove’s website, www.thecampaignforrealbeauty.co.uk, also includes cool stuff to help women and girls boost their self-esteem and try to see their body more positively, with self-esteem quizzes, FAQs on body image, and all sorts of other positive goodies. Additionally, Dove has created the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, which provides much needed funding for charities such as B-Eat that tackle low self-esteem issues in girls and women.

In short, it’s barrier-breaking, it makes women feel special; it’s awesome!

Since exploding voluptuously onto our stereos and TV screens with The Gossip in 2007, Beth Ditto has become an inspiration to plus-sized, and actually just about any-size women the world over.The big lady with the big voice is a punk reaction to image-obsessed pop; rocking out in daring outfits, railing against the Bush administration and generally putting on quite a show of strength against traditional pop-princesses everywhere. Where do you go from there?

Well, you bring out your own clothing range, that’s where. Ditto recently launched her own clothing line at UK plus-size store Evans, bringing some much-needed punk pizzazz to the traditionally straight-laced store. Check out the awesome outfits at http://www.bethdittoatevans.co.uk/. We’ll bet that you would never have thought of wearing stuff like that with such panache, right? Well, if Beth can do it, why can’t you?