Wow. I am back to dating again. A couple of years ago when my husband told me he was divorcing me, I said to my dad, "I have to do this again? I can't believe I have to do this again!" Dating in my twenties was not easy. As a large and lovely girl I had had a difficult time. I was not short enough, petite enough, or thin enough. I'm also not always demure, either. I laugh a lot, enjoy myself and everyone around me knows it!

In my twenties, I was a member of a dating service. Each month, I would receive a list of six men (first name only) and contact phone number. They would also have my name and phone number. This before the internet dating sites existed. Pictures were not included in the mini-profiles that were sent out. So, during a typical conversation the guy I was talking with he would inevitably ask me what I looked like and even how much I weighed. Now, you know I wasn't going to give out my weight. I'd be stuck with explaining how I was not exactly thin, but not fat. Also, I'm tall (5 foot 7 inches), not petite. As you can figure out, this really did not work out well for me.

A few months after my divorce, I was looking in the mirror and decided I was really quite pretty. In fact, I decided I was fabulous and it was high time I acted like it! After all, haven't you seen large men with beautiful women? So why can't I find a nice guy who will treat me well?

Now, I am back out dating. I have some weeks where I'll have several dates with men who appreciate a woman with a full figure. I find I am generally treated well. I've put a picture of myself on my profile portraying myself as a fun, curvy girl.

I had one date who realized I was wearing a body slimmer (nothing wrong with making sure the curves are in the right places) and said to me, "You are hiding curves from me?" I was flabbergasted. I mean, I knew there were men who liked curvy girls, but I had never actually met one before. I've had other men comment about how they like women with a little meat on their bones.

One of the internet dating sites I have used is SinglesNet.com. They allow you to put up a profile at no charge and featured (paid) members can contact you (and you can contact them). However, you cannot contact unpaid members with that exception of sending "flirts". I found once I became a paid member I made a lot more contacts, but the scammers also came out in full force. This seemed to happen with any dating service I used. This service, as with any service, does send you matches every now and then. I usually did better with allowing the men to approach me first. I do recommend using SinglesNet.com especially if you haven't used an internet dating service before. I found their service easy to use and very reasonably priced.

So my fellow large and lovely single ladies, put up a profile on a dating site with a picture of yourself and see who responds. Don't be afraid to show who you are! You'll find yourself dating some really nice men who appreciate you for your personality and your curves.

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Jeanne Daigle is a fabulous large and lovely who is currently the Resources Manager and African Culture Editor here at BellaOnline.com. She also owns her own bath and body product business.