This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Columbia Barnard chapter.
Last year, one of Barnard’s own, Paulina Pinsky (BC ’15), spoke out nationally in the Huffington Post and other journals about what it was like to grow up with an eating disorder. In honor of Body Positivity Week at Columbia (as well as how incredible she is at advocating this issue year-round) Paulina is this week’s Campus Celeb!
This marks the second year of Body Positive Week on campus. What gave you and Liz Orozco the idea to bring it to Columbia last spring? Liz actually approached me with the idea after she read my piece that I published last fall. She was a member of Active Minds and she wanted to create a week that focused on Body Positivity in addition to their Mental Health week. And of course, I was jazzed about it and immediately jumped on board. Unfortunately I did not have a hand in this year’s planning, but I am so excited to see what Liz and Haley Zovickian have done! They are two kick-ass ladies.
What does Body Positive Week mean to you? I like to think I live every week like it’s Body Positive Week. (I know, I’m awful. But I don’t care what you think!) I think that people are sucked into the idea that we have to hate ourselves, and then our bodies take the brunt of most of that hatred. It is actually possible to like yourself and how you look. And it honestly is sad to me that people have a hard time believing that. Last spring I was able to see that hatred dissolve during our events, even if it was temporary. There are not a lot of pervasive messages about embracing ourselves at Columbia. We are constantly striving to be better at everything. But it is important to stop and say, “Heck. I’m pretty great,” and so it was really fulfilling to put on events that fostered that environment.
Support and solidarity are important to recovery, and with the turnout this year and last, it seems the student body is right behind that. Has the administration been supportive to body positivity through services and policies? I wrote a piece about body shaming at Health Services that was well received by the community but not so well received by the administration. It is understandable that they did not love a public review of their practices, but since it was something that most Barnard students have encountered, they needed to hear it.
The Student Wellness Project set up a meeting with Health Services in the spring that was rather unproductive. We got caught in a discussion about how BMI/weight is an indicator of health and that they have to weigh students for that very reason. I obviously do not believe that weight is an indicator of health (I’m an advocate and supporter of the Health At Every Size movement, which many people take issue with), but it was difficult to get the point across that how they were going about these measurements was causing students to feel alienated, whether or not the student had a history with eating disorders.
Also, fun fact! You can refuse to get weighed. Barnard’s Patient Bill of Rights and Responsibilities states, “You have the right to refuse treatment, examination and observation and be told what effect this may have on your health.” So just remember that this is an option!
It can be easy for self-care to get lost among coursework, especially with midterm season now upon us. What’s something simple everyone can do to keep self-care in their schedule? I remain neutral towards my body. A lot of my stress and frustration used to be taken out on my body. I would think to myself, “If I’m thinner, I’ll get perfect grades and a boyfriend and more friends and be prettier.” Obviously, this is flawed thinking. My obsession with my body was keeping me from achieving my full potential. When I look at my body, it is without judgement. It took time to train myself to do this, but now I am able to focus on things that actually matter. And by remaining neutral, I have actually found self love. Believe it or not, I really like how I look.
This isn’t a matter of “false confidence,” though for a while it may be/it had been false confidence. But sometimes you have to fake confidence in order to know what it feels like. And once you realize that being confident feels so much better than being insecure, it’s hard to let go of it. You have to try it on for size before you realize it’s a perfect fit.
Also, sleep! I started crying in Butler last week because of sleep deprivation. Sleep is so important. You can turn into a monster without it. A crying monster in the middle of Butler cafe, leaving your friends very, very confused.
For all the events for this year’s Week, go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/790329314357363/