Just because I'm not a "perfect" size and I don't have the "perfect" body, why should I feel less than worthy to exist?
The answer is: I shouldn't. And neither should anyone else who is less than perfect. (And really, what is perfect anyway? An ideal of what TV, movies, magazines and video games have deemed worthy? How many of those women actually exist?)
This idea started with the Dove campaign a couple of years ago. Here was a company who was willing to lift the veil and expose the magazine industry for what it was. It allowed women to embrace themselves as themselves and not worry about anybody else. They even had a campaign for older women, which was brilliant.
Recently, Lands End did a Swimsuit Confidence campaign in which they encouraged women to post pictures of themselves in bathing suits. For those of you who are unaware, Lands End makes a wonderful assortment of bathing suits that fit real bodies. They even sell their two piece suits seperately for those women who are bigger on the bottom than the top (or vice versa). They also make mastectomy swim suits. I fully support Lands End for their efforts.
The deciding factor of this blog post was a meme I've been seeing for the past two weeks: What I Wore Wednesday hosted by The Pleated Poppy. Every Wednesday, Lindsey, and dozens of women who link up with her, post pictures of themselves wearing outfits they wore the previous week. Every woman boldly shows off what she wore the previous week. Granted, these meme is for the fashionista which I clearly am not, but what it stands for is so much more.
Driving home last night from a Mary Kay party, I've decided that I am very definitely a woman and I'm going to enjoy it. I don't have to be a frumpy woman just because I happen to wear double digit sizes. I can be pretty. I can be well put together. I can be happy. I can be fun. And none of these thing depend on a number on the scale, the size of my clothes, or whether or not I compare to other women (I don't nor them to me).
In the words of Popeye: "I yam what I yam."
{{clapping}}--well said. Amen sista!!!:)
ReplyDeleteI wish I could look at it this way. I do have days that I feel this way, but then another day I'm thinking about how to lose the weight. Why can't we just be happy with the way we are? A lot of it is the media talking about healthy eating, losing weight, and exercising. We are constantly bombarded with this stuff which makes us feel inadequate. I know I SHOULD do all this...but I just don't WANT to! It's a constant struggle. I'll keep your words in mind. Maybe they'll eventually sink in.
ReplyDeleteThis was an excellent post and it definitely spoke to me. I think you know more than a lot of people online how much I have struggled with myself...not just because of physical appearance, but the "appearance" I give because of the things I have physically/emotionally. I agree with you wholeheartedly though. Just because we weigh more than we should, just because we're not bone thin, have bleached blonde hair, perfectly white and straight teeth (which are more times than not veneers), etc etc etc doesn't mean we can't be beautiful by our OWN rights. I really believe that once we all as women embrace ourselves fully and accept who we are and what we look like and quit trying to change it all, we will be a world full of confident women who are HAPPY and peaceful. There certainly wouldn't be all the bullying, backbiting and all of that going on!
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