I just had to repost this. It sums up all our beliefs, and most especially the advocacy of this blog. It moved me, it gave me the goosebumps, and I almost cried. Everyone should read this. Everyone should understand this. Please share this article wildfire, because it just might save somebody's dying self-esteem.
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ALL BODIES ARE GOOD BODIES.
There are no bad bodies. The concept of “bad bodies” is a conspiracy.
On average, women see over 400 advertisements a day with glamorized images of what they should look like.
You know what all those images have in common?
They are selling something. Make up, a gym membership, clothes, hair products, restaurants, diet plans, razors, plastic surgery, etc.
There is a reason this ideal exists. It’s to make money. There is a reason that thin has been so culturally accepted as the way to have a “good” body. There is a reason that the beauty ideal - thin frame, even round breasts, long legs, smooth skin, long sleek hair, perfect complexion, made up, and wearing a certain style of clothing - exist for a reason.
The reason, is that if corporations can manage to convince women that they aren’t beautiful the way they are, they can convince them that they need certain things to make them beautiful.
Like diet pills and diet food and a gym membership and make up and cover up and nail polish and spanx and fancy clothes and more and more and more.
It is a conspiracy to make money.
And it’s one of the most successful conspiracies in the world.
You know what else those ads all have in common? They show those women as being happy and successful; having friends, going to parties, having men desiring them, being confident, smooth, and popular. This had led to an abundance of women who deeply believe, consciously or not, that the only way to achieve happiness, is to achieve a certain aesthetic.
It’s not just the media. because this has been so widely spread, and accepted, you hear it everywhere. from your peers, your parents, your teachers, even strangers.
IT’S. NOT. TRUE.
Bodies have become such a taboo, and such a subject of shame for most women, that girls don’t grow up seeing real women’s bodies. Not represented by the media, and not even represented by the women in their lives. I think it’s pretty rare for a girl to grow up seeing all different shapes and sizes of women being represented proudly, and not in the context of “look how disgusting this part of me is.”
So who do they look to, to try to understand what women should look like?
Magazines, tv commercials, etc etc.
So they think that’s what all people should look like. So of COURSE they feel like something is wrong with them. Of course they do.
But there isn’t. There is nothing wrong with you.
The part of your body that you think is just *wrong*, and *deformed*, and *hideous.* Why? Your body is built exactly the way it’s meant to be. It’s your body. And anybody who tries to tell you there is something inherently bad about it is brainwashed.
There are no bad bodies. There are only bodies that are well taken care of, and bodies that are not. If you eat food that makes you feel good, and do things that make your body feel good, then your body will find the weight, the size, and the shape that is best for it.
That might be 90 pounds. 120 pounds. 180 pounds. 250 pounds. More or less. Anything.
So maybe, next time you’re sitting there just thinking about how fat, and ugly, and wrong you are, take a second to ask yourself, why do I think that?
The reason is, because you have been programmed to think that. You have grown up in a toxic environment, where that concept - the concept of good and bad bodies - is everywhere. And just knowing that won’t make those thoughts go away, but maybe, it will give you more perspective. Maybe then you can step back, and say, “okay. this isn’t real. This is actually complete and utter f*cking bullsh*t.”
Your body is a good body.
Your body is the perfect body.
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Source: Stop Hating Your Body tumblr
Plump love,
Danah
Dear Plumpies:First of all as a skinny girl, I want to thank you for promoting the HEALTHY body image.Many websites try to give different ( and by different I mean other than " normal " women ) a false sense of confidence by trashing other women, and I'm glad you're trying to avoid that as much as possible.I'm Yas, one of your international readers, from Iran. Don't ask how many proxies I have to use to round government based blocks and filters to get to read you and other Asian bloggers daily blogs. I have always had a thing for south east Asian countries and cultures, and after discovering street style blogging I managed to take it to a whole new level. To top that off, I have known many Pinay women through out my life ( My uncle married one! ) and I can say Pinay women are the most confident women I have ever seen.Most of the over weight, fat, chubby, fuller, whatever- you- like- to- call- it women, feel like losing weight guarantees their happiness. They feel like weight is the only thing holding them back from living the dream. Let me tell you something, that is not true. I'm almost 5.11 and 120 lbs, back in high school and even some time into my time in university I felt like the most miserable, out of place girl I have ever known. I was constantly made fun of at school over being too skinny. I nearly force fed myself, hoping to get the proportional dreamy fuller body that I thought would get me off the hook of the bullies. It recently came back in the form of numberphobia. I would weight myself ten times a day, and I beat that with a simple mentality : Weight is nothing but a number. No really, it is. I replaced my horrible habit that was turning into a torture with something much better. Every morning, I wake up in the morning, get naked and look at myself in the mirror. If I'm happy with what I see, then thats good enough for me. Unlike what I thought and I'm sure most women still think, strangers won't ask your weight.I guess the point I'm trying to make is, we all go through insecurities. It is not weight related, it's all about what is requested of us. Stores want us to be a certain size and they have showed that by not carrying larger or smaller size. Designers and Makeup artists want us to dress and look a certain way, by over advertising and pretty much forcing their products down our throats. At the end of the day it does come down to just being happy with ourselves. Believing that who we are and what we have is enough, and living for ourselves and no one else.I can honestly say I envy women who are that content with themselves, regardless of their race, nationality or weight.Thank you.Skinny Iranian
PS: I can assure you, you and stacy are seriously two of the top bloggers I know, and I'm a style blog junkie.You have no Idea how important what you are doing is. If I had known about media outlets like your blog during my awkward stage, I would have had a much more enjoyable teenage-hood and there for a more pleasant high school stage. At the end of the day all women need to remember,its all about self acceptance and nothing more.
A society where women are applauded for their ability to become smaller, I have realised, is something that poses more danger than I would have imagined. It is thinness, not health, trimness, not intelligence, that is still portrayed as the true measure of success.
-- Helen Dring
