Happy Sunday afternoon everyone!
I don't know about you, but I love Sunday's. There is this great laid back feeling that I get on Sunday, plus it is a day that I usually get to cook and clean a ton. Yes, I am weird and I love both cleaning and cooking.
So for today's post I am going to talk about something that is very close to my heart and something that I have personally struggled with over the years. Self-image. I have always had a hard time with this concept. Starting in grade school, I constantly compared myself to other girls and I could NOT understand why they were all tiny and thin and here I was all curvy and wearing bras. Ever since that time I have always had a poor concept of how I look. It didn't help that I bought into what the media said I should look like and to be honest that image is pretty much unattainable for any normal human being. And that is what I want to focus on for the rest of this post. But shockingly I am not going to spend my time bashing popular culture for bombarding young girls with fake, photo-shopped images (even though that is EXACTLY what they do). I want to address the other side of this battle. The "Real Women have Curves" movement. First, I applaud all those out there who are doing what they can to counteract the unhealthy thinspo movement. Eating and exercise disorders are at an all time high among young girls and that is not acceptable at all. But at the same time, I have a problem with the phrase "Real Women". That insinuates that if you do not have curves you are somehow not a real woman. The fact of the matter is that woman come in every shape and size. Some are tall and skinny, some are short and curvy and then there is everything in between. By stating that to be thought of as womanly and sexy you have to have curves sends just the same unhealthy message to girls. Some girls will never have the voluptuous curvy figure that is posted on these "Real Women" ads and that also leads to damaged self-image and unhealthy habits. We need to celebrate woman. Period. However they look, in whatever way they come. We need to promote health over any certain body type. Not all girls will be skinny, not all girls with be curvy, not all girls will be buff and athletic, but all girls can be healthy and learn how to take care of the amazing body they have been giving. If someone had come up to me in 5th grade and said, "The way you are now is just fine, you are so much more than a body type", a lot of things might have been different for me. And furthermore, I wasn't done growing yet! I had no idea that the body I had then would be a million times different than the one I have now, even without eating right and exercising. There are girls out there who have no idea that they aren't stuck with what they have at that moment. So let's give them hope and encouragement, and the tools to have the best self-image and life possible. Real women don't always have curves and aren't always model skinny. But Real Women are powerful and strong and amazing and can do whatever they put their minds too. Let's spread that message around. And not just to women. Anyone can benefit from hearing that they are amazing no matter what they look like. Have a great week guys and I will talk to you soon!
Katie
Reader feedback: What inspiring message do you think should be shouted from the rooftops?
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