Well folks, it's that time of year. Halloween has passed which can only mean one thing... the holidays are here!!
The holidays are my absolute favorite time of year, for a multitude of reasons: getting in some quality time with family (a serious issue when you're a college student living away from home), exchanging gifts, the lights, the music, the feeling in the air, and, of course, the amazing food! My mom and I have been Christmas cookie fanatics for as long as I can remember. Every year we buy all the Christmas cookie magazine publications and try to bake our way through them before the big day arrives. And for as long as I can remember, I have spent the holidays stressing more than any other time of the year about my weight and my body.
For the few of you out there who have no idea what I'm talking about, breathe a deep sigh of relief. For the 98% of you who, like me, have been in a love-hate relationship with your diet for years, the holidays are just an extra source of stress, emotional and otherwise; not only is there a multitude of incredible food around that you don't usually have, you're often going to parties and other social gatherings with people you haven't seen in a while and, of course, as a chronic dieter, you're once again hoping to impress everyone with an incredible body transformation. Not by coincidence, every women's health magazine on the shelves right now has some feature or another on how to "control" yourself during the holidays. Tips range from eating before every party so you're not "tempted" by the food offered, all the way to wearing clothes that are slightly too tight so you're feeling just "tubby" enough that you're too embarrassed to eat. I don't know about you, but that does not sound like a fun party to me.
Then, on the opposite end of the spectrum, there are those of us who deal with the deliciousness of holiday food by letting ourselves go entirely, binging over and over again with the plan of simply waiting until January to deal with our food problems. There is, after all, the opportunity to resolve once again to "lose the weight once and for all" come January 1st.
Here's the deal: the holidays are supposed to be the one time of year you can get together with those you love, relax and enjoy yourselves together, and believe it or not, part of that enjoyment includes eating. Indulging in a few holiday meals with your friends and family should be a source of pleasure, not one of stress and anxiety. While there is no need to partake in the American notion that Thanksgiving is not a success unless you've eaten to the point of making yourself sick, neither is letting yourself off the hook for a few meals going to lead to any kind of dire consequences, besides perhaps a little apprehension about consciously breaking from your "diet."
I know we're all at different points in our journey towards body acceptance, but no matter where you are, try to have some compassion in your heart for yourself this holiday season. Keep in mind that the stress you're feeling over your body and your eating has nothing to do with what your body actually looks like, or how beautiful you actually are. That, and let yourself enjoy that peppermint bark, eggnog latte or second helping of stuffing without worrying about your food log or your waist. I hope that by now you're all trying to break away from the constant dieting, but if not, take the first steps this holiday season by letting yourself enjoy a few meals without worrying about calories, fat, carbs, or anything in between. The holidays are a time of celebration, so I can't imagine a better time to celebrate the fact that you are beautiful and amazing just the way you are, and no slice of pumpkin pie with extra whipped cream is going to change that. In fact, it might even make you just a little better! #
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Today, I found definitive proof that I'm right about this whole-body-image-being-depleted-by-the-media thing! While I was surfing around looking for blog inspiration, I found a study just published by Durham University, based in the United Kingdom, which found that body preference can be radically changed simply based on the images you see of others regularly.
Let me explain. It's long been apparent to body-acceptance proponents and scientists alike that the effect of the "thin ideal" in advertising has played a substantial role in breakdown of self-image in women everywhere as well as in the creation of eating disorders. What's new about this research is that it resolves the issue of what came first: a preference for thinness among the general population, OR the mass use of thinner-than-average women in the media. Researchers enlisted 100 women to view pictures of models at various sizes. The more images of thin models the women viewed, the more they preferred thin bodies. Here's where it gets pretty revolutionary: the more images of average or even plus-sized models these women viewed, the more likely they were to accept these bodies as just as beautiful as much thinner ones. It gets better: even among women who "strongly" preferred thin bodies over any other type before the beginning of the study, by the end they were "significantly less keen" on thinner body types and some even began to prefer normal and plus-size bodies!
Here's what this means: the cultural obsession with extremely thin female figures could be drastically altered, or even eliminated altogether, if advertising began to flaunt much more "full-figured" women. According to the study above, we each see over 2,000 images a day in advertising alone. 2,000! Think about it like this: when was the last time you saw an ad that featured a women who was anything more than skinny? Can you even remember? Even if it was only a few days ago, that means that you've processed thousands of images of thin women since you saw that ONE image of someone who looks more like you. But just imagine: what if for every thin model you saw, you saw one normal-sized woman and one plus-sized woman? Do you think you'd still stand in front of the mirror and pick your body apart for all its flaws?
With that in mind, here are some photographs of absolutely stunning normal- and plus-sized models that will hopefully counteract at least a few of the super-skinny images you've seen today. Instead of just scrolling through, take a few moments to really process each image. According to Durham University, it may be a major step (and an easy one at that!) towards self-love and body acceptance.
Let me explain. It's long been apparent to body-acceptance proponents and scientists alike that the effect of the "thin ideal" in advertising has played a substantial role in breakdown of self-image in women everywhere as well as in the creation of eating disorders. What's new about this research is that it resolves the issue of what came first: a preference for thinness among the general population, OR the mass use of thinner-than-average women in the media. Researchers enlisted 100 women to view pictures of models at various sizes. The more images of thin models the women viewed, the more they preferred thin bodies. Here's where it gets pretty revolutionary: the more images of average or even plus-sized models these women viewed, the more likely they were to accept these bodies as just as beautiful as much thinner ones. It gets better: even among women who "strongly" preferred thin bodies over any other type before the beginning of the study, by the end they were "significantly less keen" on thinner body types and some even began to prefer normal and plus-size bodies!
Here's what this means: the cultural obsession with extremely thin female figures could be drastically altered, or even eliminated altogether, if advertising began to flaunt much more "full-figured" women. According to the study above, we each see over 2,000 images a day in advertising alone. 2,000! Think about it like this: when was the last time you saw an ad that featured a women who was anything more than skinny? Can you even remember? Even if it was only a few days ago, that means that you've processed thousands of images of thin women since you saw that ONE image of someone who looks more like you. But just imagine: what if for every thin model you saw, you saw one normal-sized woman and one plus-sized woman? Do you think you'd still stand in front of the mirror and pick your body apart for all its flaws?
With that in mind, here are some photographs of absolutely stunning normal- and plus-sized models that will hopefully counteract at least a few of the super-skinny images you've seen today. Instead of just scrolling through, take a few moments to really process each image. According to Durham University, it may be a major step (and an easy one at that!) towards self-love and body acceptance.
And a bonus, just because you guys are so amazing and encouraging: here's super celebrity Demi Lovato on her latest beach vacation. Pretty sexy, huh? And not a rib in sight!
Every single women featured here is 100% natural and, as far as I'm concerned, 100% gorgeous. So the next time you're beating yourself up because something is too big or too small, too chunky, lumpy, wiggly, or anywhere in between, remember that the major reason you're feeling this way is because you're bombarded with thousands of images every single day that are leading you to believe that that's true. But you know that? It's not. If advertising didn't exist and the only frame of reference you had for how women's bodies are supposed to look were the normal, everyday ones you're surrounded by, you would have realized long ago that we really do come in every shape and size imaginable. And you know what? That's okay. #
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Don't hate, congratulate...
Quick question.
Do you think Kate Upton is fat?
If you answered yes, then you're in the wrong place. See that little red button with an X through it at the top left of your screen? Go ahead and click that right about meow.
If you're still here, then you must be of the persuasion that no, she is not indeed fat.
According to one of the web's most ruthless "pro-skinny" blogs, if you answered no, you're grievously misinformed. Here's what an anonymous writer who goes by the name of Skinny Gossip has to say about this exact picture:
"Huge thighs, NO waist, big fat floppy boobs, terrible body definition – she looks like a squishy brick... lumbering down the runway like there’s a buffet at the end of it."
She goes on to say, "is this what American women are “striving” for now? The lazy, lardy look? Have we really gotten so fat in this country that Kate is the best we can aim for?" She later suggests that a picture of Kate eating a hamburger is "canniablism" because she is clearly "a cow."
Appaled yet?
Wait, there's more:
Here's what she has to say about this pro-body acceptance campaign...
"I’m really glad I can’t read the number on that measuring tape. Eww… can we say fat rolls!? Do you have any idea how much someone has to eat to look like this?"
It gets worse. Not even the thinnest of thin is safe...
"Skinny Gossip" posted this picture of Emma Watson on her blog with the caption...
"She is such a beautiful girl but she would look amazing if she lost about 10-15 pounds. She is only 5’6″ so she isn’t blessed with much height to help her look skinny. She’ll end up like Hayden Panettiere if she doesn’t watch out!"
Oh, and by the way, here's the exact picture of the god-awful fate "Skinny Gossip" is hoping poor Emma Watson will avoid...
Oh, the horror!
-
If you're like me, you should be sitting at your computer reading this in disbelief. If you're like me, you should also be furious. What this blog promotes is pure, unadulterated body-shaming at its worst, and there is simply no excuse for that. "Skinny Gossip" may just be one girl, but this kind of perpetuation of body hatred is far from isolated.
The irony of the matter is that, the girls who are spending their time maintaining these blogs, posting pictures of beautiful, strong, confident women and tearing them to pieces, are the same girls who have been taught by our own society that it is not okay to be anything but skinny. They have been taught that being fat is far and above the most horrible thing a person could be, and so out of fear, not only have they started starving themselves to prevent this from happening (Skinny Gossip brags that by following her own "starvation tips of the day," she has finally reached her goal weight of "5'7 and 100 pounds"), they have gone so far as to start shaming others for their appearance.
While I in no way condone the words of this blogger, or any girl who thinks body-shaming other women is acceptable, I feel that this blog is a symptom of the greater evil: a society that has so completely ingrained a fear of fat in us that we are willing to turn on each other, picking each other apart and preying on others' imperfections to give ourselves a little boost.
Ladies. Do you really think criticizing another girl makes you better than her? If you're following this blog, then you agree with me that our society needs a change, one that will allow us to learn how to love our bodies as a whole, instead of denigrating them until they're only a collection of flaws.
Well here's some cold, hard truth coming at you: that movement not only starts with you, but with how you treat others. I don't care if you'd never actually tell your lab partner she has some gnarly cellulite goin' on. If you are thinking it, even though it isn't even about you, the only thing you're doing is perpetuating feelings of body shame and body hatred as a whole.
For a self-love movement to really work, it has to include not just your self, but everybody's self. And that means putting an end to the body hatred you're keeping alive not only in yourself, but also in the judgment of others. Just as you have to practice looking in the mirror and accepting yourself exactly as you are, so you need to practice letting go of the negative judgments you make about others. If you genuinely believe that every woman has the right to feel beautiful in her own skin, it has got to start with you, and not just realizing that you yourself are a beautiful, powerful and incredible woman, but that all the other lovely ladies around you are too. That is the only way we're going to achieve any unity in this movement, and that is the only way we're ever going to make any real, lasting change. #
Do you think Kate Upton is fat?
If you answered yes, then you're in the wrong place. See that little red button with an X through it at the top left of your screen? Go ahead and click that right about meow.
If you're still here, then you must be of the persuasion that no, she is not indeed fat.
According to one of the web's most ruthless "pro-skinny" blogs, if you answered no, you're grievously misinformed. Here's what an anonymous writer who goes by the name of Skinny Gossip has to say about this exact picture:
"Huge thighs, NO waist, big fat floppy boobs, terrible body definition – she looks like a squishy brick... lumbering down the runway like there’s a buffet at the end of it."
She goes on to say, "is this what American women are “striving” for now? The lazy, lardy look? Have we really gotten so fat in this country that Kate is the best we can aim for?" She later suggests that a picture of Kate eating a hamburger is "canniablism" because she is clearly "a cow."
Appaled yet?
Wait, there's more:
Here's what she has to say about this pro-body acceptance campaign...
"I’m really glad I can’t read the number on that measuring tape. Eww… can we say fat rolls!? Do you have any idea how much someone has to eat to look like this?"
It gets worse. Not even the thinnest of thin is safe...
"She is such a beautiful girl but she would look amazing if she lost about 10-15 pounds. She is only 5’6″ so she isn’t blessed with much height to help her look skinny. She’ll end up like Hayden Panettiere if she doesn’t watch out!"
Oh, and by the way, here's the exact picture of the god-awful fate "Skinny Gossip" is hoping poor Emma Watson will avoid...
-
If you're like me, you should be sitting at your computer reading this in disbelief. If you're like me, you should also be furious. What this blog promotes is pure, unadulterated body-shaming at its worst, and there is simply no excuse for that. "Skinny Gossip" may just be one girl, but this kind of perpetuation of body hatred is far from isolated.
The irony of the matter is that, the girls who are spending their time maintaining these blogs, posting pictures of beautiful, strong, confident women and tearing them to pieces, are the same girls who have been taught by our own society that it is not okay to be anything but skinny. They have been taught that being fat is far and above the most horrible thing a person could be, and so out of fear, not only have they started starving themselves to prevent this from happening (Skinny Gossip brags that by following her own "starvation tips of the day," she has finally reached her goal weight of "5'7 and 100 pounds"), they have gone so far as to start shaming others for their appearance.
While I in no way condone the words of this blogger, or any girl who thinks body-shaming other women is acceptable, I feel that this blog is a symptom of the greater evil: a society that has so completely ingrained a fear of fat in us that we are willing to turn on each other, picking each other apart and preying on others' imperfections to give ourselves a little boost.
Ladies. Do you really think criticizing another girl makes you better than her? If you're following this blog, then you agree with me that our society needs a change, one that will allow us to learn how to love our bodies as a whole, instead of denigrating them until they're only a collection of flaws.
Well here's some cold, hard truth coming at you: that movement not only starts with you, but with how you treat others. I don't care if you'd never actually tell your lab partner she has some gnarly cellulite goin' on. If you are thinking it, even though it isn't even about you, the only thing you're doing is perpetuating feelings of body shame and body hatred as a whole.
For a self-love movement to really work, it has to include not just your self, but everybody's self. And that means putting an end to the body hatred you're keeping alive not only in yourself, but also in the judgment of others. Just as you have to practice looking in the mirror and accepting yourself exactly as you are, so you need to practice letting go of the negative judgments you make about others. If you genuinely believe that every woman has the right to feel beautiful in her own skin, it has got to start with you, and not just realizing that you yourself are a beautiful, powerful and incredible woman, but that all the other lovely ladies around you are too. That is the only way we're going to achieve any unity in this movement, and that is the only way we're ever going to make any real, lasting change. #
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