Body Positivity
The perfect body.
Rarely does anyone hear this phrase and think of their own body. They think of magazine covers and ads on the sides of their screens. Kids will think of “Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, those kinds of celebrities,” said Emily Daroga.
Bodies are diverse. Bodies come in every shape, size, color, and ability. The message of body-positivity is to love your body because it is yours. Only do to your body what will make you happy. The goal is to work with your body and stop working against it.
Though, we live in a society that is obsessed with image. Every corner of media is covered in tall thin women with large breasts and white skin. And everyone who looks different is told to fix themselves.
“It affected my confidence [growing up] because I didn’t fit that image,” said Emily Daroga.
The media plays an important role in lives, and seeing someone relatable on TV can really make the difference for kids who are unhappy with their bodies. “As a kid there was really no one on TV I could relate to,” said Jill Eichhorst.
Amber Richard said that she learned when she was young that “looking like a Barbie,” was attractive, and it greatly influenced her view of herself in a negative way. People are trying to fit an impossible image. Were Barbie a real person she would not be able to stand upright due to her proportions, yet this is what people consider pretty.
As a culture it’s incredibly important that we do not alienate people for being human. Some companies have already begun to make the change to acceptance such as the new Dove commercials that feature a variety of different looks.
People are forced to feel inadequate when they are not ‘perfect.’ But, let’s be honest no one looks like the girl on the magazine cover; the girl on the magazine cover doesn’t even look like her. These photographs are altered to fit a cookie cutter image of what a human should look like. What corporates overlook is that the beauty of humans is in diversity.
As cheesy as it may sound, people are beautiful. Each person is different from the next.
Other Resources for increasing awareness and positivity are listed below:
www.stophatingyourbody.tumblr.com
