In a pair of sweatpants, a colorful, shiny jacket, and his trans-pride Converse, Taylor Wold took a walk down the runway in the San Luis Obispo Guild Hall on June 15.

Currently between his freshman and sophomore years in high school, Wold was one of 18 who strutted down the catwalk during the The Body Positivity All Gender Fashion Show presented by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance's (GALA) Queer Youth group.

"It celebrated body positivity, and I saw a few of my friends get really happy about feeling so respected and getting celebrated for being themselves," Wold said. "Not everybody sees beauty in the same way, and everyone is their own type of beautiful."

The whole point of the show was to give people who don't fit societal stereotypes about gender and beauty a place to shine. Normally, Wold said, body positivity is restricted to the "ideal" body types. Most of the world doesn't fit into that box.

GALA Executive Director Michelle Call said the organization wanted to put on a production that would help LGBTQ youth who are affected by negative body image feel better about their mental health. It's something they can look back on when they might not be feeling that great.

• Photos By Jayson Mellom
• WALK THE WALK Drag queen Juicy CuntWhore was one of 18 who strutted down the runway at The Body Positive Fashion Show in June to celebrate all genders, all body types, differences, and ways of being.

Call points to the 58 percent of transgendered youth in San Luis Obispo County who have seriously considered committing suicide in the past 12 months as one of the reasons something like body positivity is so important.

"I had one person tell me that this was the first time that they felt that looked good in their body in maybe their whole life," Call said. "We're definitely going to continue with the body positive programming."

SLO Tease Burlesque gave GALA the funds and helped them put the show on, and at least 100 people showed up to support, including families with chidren.

"There were a lot of tweens in the audience," Call said. "It was really a community event." Δ

Reach Editor Camillia Lanham at [email protected].