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. #
So interesting! I kind of became obsessed with looking at photos of "normal" sized Robyn Lawley once I discovered her. I had this cognitive dissonance because I usually avoid photos of models of photos on principle, but I felt better about my body after looking at these photos, like I was re-wiring my brain in some way after all those years of looking at one kind of beautiful.
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