In honor of tonight being the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, I propose a toast/idea. A toast to love your body instead of believing the lies that society (and this show) may teach you. Now first of all this post is NOT to rant or criticize or judge the models who walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, because they are worthy, beautiful and enough just like every single other woman in this world. However, this post is written in hopes to spread some love and light. We've, as a society, decided that physical beauty is of the utmost importance and that internal beauty is second best. We've written expectation after expectation for not only physical characteristics, but personality characteristics for women that are exceedingly long. We've allowed this diet-obsessed, physical appearance/thin-obsessed culture to rule most everything we do. Society has created us a list similar to this. As a woman you must: have perfect, radiant skin, white teeth, toned arms, a flat, lean, toned stomach, a thigh gap, long, volumized hair, you must be quiet and not speak your opinion too loud, you must stay small and be sexy but not too sexy (also we've ruined the term sexy), you must be confident but not too confident, and the list goes on and on and on. Come on guys, this is exhausting!! And this worries me. The fact that our diet-obsessed culture could continue to grow worries me. It worries me for little girls, women my age and women older than me. These models that surround is in magazines, in fashion shows, on billboards are enough to create unrealistic expectations. This was true for me. I would see these women who were 5'9-5'11, stick thin, had flawless skin, volumized hair and then look back at my 5'2 body and think, "Wow, how can I look like that instead?" That question and thought worries me because I know that I'm not the only one who has ever thought or acted on that thought.
But...what if we said no? What if we loved our bodies for just simply being our bodies and said no to all the expectations society set before us? What if we loved our bodies DESPITE the fact that society may be telling us that we're not allowed to. What if we pushed the mute button on society telling us that we're not good enough. What if instead of listening to the fact that our body needs to be reshaped or redesigned, we would believe that bodies come in all different shapes and sizes. Because the reality is, they do. Bodies are different shapes, sizes, and heights and one is not better than the other. Although thinness is expected, it doesn't have to be accepted. You are good enough, you are beautiful enough and you are simply enough. You don't need to be a certain weight, a certain height or look a certain way to be good enough. Let's erase the list of expectations society has set for women. You are beautiful. You are strong. Your voice is heard. Your story is powerful. You are enough. You are loved. You are worthy.
Society might tell me that this picture is too much, that it shouldn't be shared. That my stomach should be flatter and more toned, that my hair shoud be thicker, my teeth whiter, my arms more muscular and my legs more toned. But guess what? Forget those expectations. I LOVE MY BODY AND I AM EXCITED ABOUT LOVING MY BODY BECAUSE I FOUGHT HARD TO GET HERE.
Go love your body today, you powerful woman!!
Sincerely,
Me
But...what if we said no? What if we loved our bodies for just simply being our bodies and said no to all the expectations society set before us? What if we loved our bodies DESPITE the fact that society may be telling us that we're not allowed to. What if we pushed the mute button on society telling us that we're not good enough. What if instead of listening to the fact that our body needs to be reshaped or redesigned, we would believe that bodies come in all different shapes and sizes. Because the reality is, they do. Bodies are different shapes, sizes, and heights and one is not better than the other. Although thinness is expected, it doesn't have to be accepted. You are good enough, you are beautiful enough and you are simply enough. You don't need to be a certain weight, a certain height or look a certain way to be good enough. Let's erase the list of expectations society has set for women. You are beautiful. You are strong. Your voice is heard. Your story is powerful. You are enough. You are loved. You are worthy.
Society might tell me that this picture is too much, that it shouldn't be shared. That my stomach should be flatter and more toned, that my hair shoud be thicker, my teeth whiter, my arms more muscular and my legs more toned. But guess what? Forget those expectations. I LOVE MY BODY AND I AM EXCITED ABOUT LOVING MY BODY BECAUSE I FOUGHT HARD TO GET HERE.
Go love your body today, you powerful woman!!
Sincerely,
Me