Body Wars vs Body Love

“Nothing can be said, to pacify the war raging in your head” Powderfinger - Think It Over

A friend of mine recently won a media award for three articles she wrote for the online disability community called DiVine. Carly suffers from a chronic and confronting skin disorder called Ichthyosis. About a year ago she was brave enough to start her blog, Tune Into Radio Carly, putting herself and her challenging condition out there for people to see. To educate people about what it is like to live with such a condition every day, both medically and socially. One of the articles Carly was awarded for was titled Love The Skin You’re In.

She wrote:

A few people have told me they would hate to look like I do. They said they could not cope with looking so different. They could not cope with the comments and stares. I think this is a reflection of their own personalities, not my appearance. I think their insecurities come from how the media emphasises and defines external beauty and perfection.

I think that Carly is right. As a society, the world today is obsessed with physical perfection. And there is no doubt that this obsession is perpetuated by the media in various forms. The average age of girls first beginning a diet in 1970 was 14. Today the average age girls are starting to diet is 8. 70 million people, mostly teenage girls and women under 25 have an eating disorder. Most will never recover. About 20 percent will die within 20 years of onset.

Recent studies in the US have brought to light some shocking statistics. After viewing photos of fashion models, 7 out of 10 women felt more depressed and upset than prior to viewing them. Young girls are more afraid of getting fat than they are of nuclear war or cancer. After viewing pictures of various body types 30% of women selected an ‘ideal’ body that was 20% underweight and a further 44% chose an ideal body that was 10% underweight. So let’s get this straight. Almost 75% of women had a perception of an ideal body that was at least 10% underweight!

Yes, I know we are all gasping at these statistics. But let’s get down to be the nitty gritty. Let’s be honest. Maura Kelly at Marie Clarein the US ignited a lot of controversy over an article she wrote about whether or not “fatties should be on television screens making out”. Disgraceful yes, that someone would think that “fatties” should not be able to be seen showing affection. But in all our self righteousness, I’d bet a lot of money that everyone reading has at some point had a judgemental thought about someone else’s appearance even if they never vocalised it.

I have thought to myself “how did they get like that, and don’t they want to do something about it?” when I have seen a grossly overweight person who is completely out of breath sitting or standing still. I have watched Biggest Loser and been glad I am not that fat. I have seen people with eating disorders and been glad I don’t look like them too! I have seen overweight or obese young girls in the latest fashions like skinny jeans or really tight short shorts and wondered if they actually looked at themself in the mirror that morning.

And further, we have all, at some point, had critical thoughts about ourselves. “Gosh my bum looks big”. “If only I could lose 2 more kilos” “My arms are so flabby” “I wish I had bigger boobs”. In today’s world, it is so easy to be dissatisfied with how we look, and to be judgemental of others. We are confronted constantly with picture perfect fashion models and movie stars everywhere we look. Even when we read an article in a magazine about Body Love and celebrating diversity of body types and appearances, the very next page often has an underweight bikini model or an article about the latest fad diet, or a new procedure for getting rid of cellulite. Even a show like The Biggest Loser which is supposed to educate about healthy eating and healthy lifestyles, truthfully just educates many young people to be scared of getting fat, or promote self hate in those who are already overweight and are subliminally being told by the show that it’s not ok to look this way.

It is important that we all have realistic attitudes about how we can look, and that we show ourselves kindness every now and then. Whether it be by buying a new outfit, or getting a haircut or just doing something nice for ourselves.