This semester I'm enrolled in a Women and Leadership course. I'm currently working on a project for this class about the media and how it effects women's body image. I've created a survey that I'm asking women to take. It's completely anonymous and should only take a few minutes! Please be 100% honest as this will contribute to the data I present. I'm very passionate about this topic and I feel like it's a constant battle for women, whether we like to admit it or not. I love speaking with other women about their opinions.
here's the link: SURVEY
I want to clarify a few of my OWN view points on the matter. I know that some people see me and think "she's small/skinny/normal" - I know this because when I try and talk about body image issues they cut me off immediately and say I don't know how it feels. Or I'm snubbed for speaking my mind on my personal fitness goals or posting progress pictures during my journey to reach those goals.
Why is this my concern if I, myself, live a healthy lifestyle?
Because I still feel or have felt the way someone in another body has when it comes to the pressures of how I "should" look. I compare myself to other women too often. I will tell you the truth - I started being conscious of my eating and exercise habits for the wrong reasons. I gained weight after high school and I just wanted to be skinny again. As my knowledge in health and exercise grew, so did my practice. I realized it wasn't just the fact that I had gained weight that was bothering me. I was bothered because I wasn't looking the way I thought others would find appealing. I was bothered because I felt awkward in this weird, foreign body. I was bothered because I didn't feel good - I was cranky, I was negative, I was tired. Once I changed my lifestyle I slowly started to feel like things were coming together. I stopped going out every weekend, I started going to bed before midnight, I stopped drinking soda every day, I weaned myself away from fast food, I stayed consistent at the gym (even if at first I felt like I didn't know what I was doing while I was there...5 lbs is enough to curl? Right?) I started to get rid of negative influences in my life, and I realized that a healthy lifestyle made me feel so much better inside and out. So yes, I did start for the wrong reasons. No, I'm not at a point where I can tell you that being attractive is not important to me - I probably won't ever be. Yes, I'm going to share pictures of my progress if I want to because I'm proud of how far I've come mentally AND physically. Yes I feel 100x better cutting out crappy food, sodas and drinks from my regular diet, but NO I do not believe in depriving yourself from them! My motto is to find balance in your own life. That balance will be different for everyone.
Do I judge other women?
Sometimes. I know all women do. But I don't judge them because "they are skinny" or "they are fat" I feel sad because I hear so many women make negative comments about themselves and talk about eating better, or working out, or wanting to improve themselves in some way, but they don't make an effort to do so. The reason this makes me sad is because on top of not making the effort, they are mentally harming themselves daily with those negative thoughts so they feel like they are stuck. I truly believe that having goals and reaching them whether they be in health, attitude, mentality, body, growth, spirituality, WHATEVER, gives you the push to keep going further. I think if you work hard enough and push yourself enough, once you see or feel that change in yourself for the first time it will only push you further to reaching your goals. You can't sit around feeling sorry for yourself and making excuses forever. You have to commit to bettering yourself. COMMIT TO YOU. You are the only one who is going to take care of that body, that mind, that soul. Small changes are still changes! Start somewhere today and don't stop!
How am I personally trying to overcome the women's body image issues?
Well, it's a given - I'm not going to like every single woman out there. BUT I don't want to start finding physical reasons about these women to justify why I don't like them. It is so common for us to do this when we have negative feelings about another woman. This may seem like a small issue but I've seen it time and time again. I've decided that if a woman rubs me the wrong way, whether she's a size 0 or a size 18, she will not be fat or skinny or ugly or buff or frumpy. And in my argument to my friends and family of why I don't like her, it won't be because she has a bigger chest than me, more prominent quads, or a smaller waist. I'm going to make myself delve deep, past the surface, and lay out the real dirt on why I'm not too fond of this lady or why she really irked me at work today. The whole point of this is NOT to say we need to all join hands and wear flower crowns while singing Kumbaya. We're not going to like everybody, but just like we shouldn't LIKE somebody for their looks, we shouldn't DISLIKE them for that either.
What I really want to end this post with, is if you are truly happy with yourself, no matter what lifestyle you're living - under a steady drip of Dr. Pepper or a clean, organic diet - then do what makes you happy! But if you feel like there's something missing, something that could make you feel better physically, mentally, spiritually, then empower yourself to set a goal and reach it. Maybe its a small silly goal, but you have to start somewhere. Find that balance, my friends.
That's what's in my (very full) jar.
