May 16, 2019
The Confidence Collective
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It took a long time for me to accept the fact that my body is not
the body that clothing stores or designers make clothes for.
It took me a long time to accept the fact that bodies come in
different shapes and sizes.
And it took me even longer to be OK with my body being
different.
Body image healing is hard work- it involves things like:
-exposing yourself to body diversity. Brands like Target were under
fire a few years ago for photoshopping photos to only represent
thin women with thigh gaps. They've finally turned a corner and are
now representing different body types wearing their clothing both
in their marketing as well as the mannequin's they're using at
their stores. Being exposed to different body shapes and sizes
helps us realize "wow, other women look like me, and it's all
good!"
-realizing that everything you love about other people and that
everything that people love about you has nothing to do with what
you look like.
-talking about your body in objective ways. Why is it that we don't
gripe about the color of our eyes or natural color of our hair?
Because an entire industry wasn't created to make us feel bad about
it. But, our natural body sizes are no different! I was never meant
to be thin, and accepting that without judgement was crucial into
getting me to where I am today. My body is awkward to dress, I
still don't like the way jeans are made or fit on my body- and it's
honestly all OK.
-The bravest thing I did for myself was say "screw you" to the thin
ideal by throwing my hands up and deciding I was going to take up
even more space and just get jacked. If my legs are never going to
be small and cute- I might as well make them strong af!