This week’s theme focuses on body image, which is a topic that has been and remains a very important subject to me. People come in all shapes and sizes. That is a fact. Yet somehow body-type is portrayed as a binary – petite:plus-sized.
I am a 19 year old, size 6-8 (depends on the day and the store) woman that has been a bystander to the body-shaming that occurs constantly in society. This includes previously body-shaming myself.
I do not classify myself as “thin”, nor do I classify myself as “fat”, but I am healthy. It took me almost 19 years to finally see myself for what I am – a young woman allowing the images I see in media to pressure me to feel a certain way about myself. That wasn’t okay with me. I am not Lauren Conrad, nor am I Melissa McCarthy. They are both beautiful women, but I am me.
Weight is such a controversial topic that I love talking about, and I feel like more women should feel comfortable talking about it and feel safe doing so. It mind-boggles me how people become so obsessed with their weight and allow it to affect them physically and emotionally. Maybe this all began with the American fitness craze of the 1920s, but nevertheless, it has become a global phenomenon. This magical number on the scale, that tells you how heavy you are, can make someone feel completely horrible or great about themselves. This is why I stopped using the scale. Instead, I go to the doctor and see if my health is in order.
That is the purpose of weight – it contributes to your overall health, and well, existence. The scale just reflects a number. Depending how high or low the number is, it will always have connotations associated with it and that is not fair to the person producing that number.
We are people. We are meant to have a number associated with us, but that number does not define our self-worth and it should NEVER influence one’s happiness. It is just a number.
The way that women are portrayed in society is controversial. If a woman does not have the physique of a Victoria’s Secret model, for example, then she is automatically classified as bigger. So doesn’t this make majority of women “plus-sized” then? I am not body-shaming fit women, but I am raising the point that they do represent an aspired body-type.
It is important to note that these women, as do all women, have a unique body. We shouldn’t be shaming this, we should be celebrating it. Not every woman needs to look one certain way. That would make for such a boring world. Instead, we should keep ourselves healthy and make that our main goal. We should keep ourselves motivated by our own health and happiness, not an image of other women we strive to look like.
This is why I mentioned Lauren Conrad and Melissa McCarthy earlier on. Both of these women, who hold great influence, are taking a stand on body-shaming. Lauren Conrad eliminated words like “thin”, “skinny”, “fat”, etc. off of her website, and instead encourages users to substitute them with “fit”, “healthy”, “curvy”, etc. Melissa McCarthy is coming out with a clothing line that does not specify if it is petite or plus-size, but instead has every size available using just a number. THIS is change in the right direction.
I believe the “plus” in “plus-sized” is there to emphasize the fact that women come in all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, there is negative connotations associated with it, however, people could eliminate them. “Plus-sized” women need to be celebrated as well, because they represent another common body-type, which is also beautiful.
Just remember, health is what is important when it comes to size, not the number. Beauty is skin deep, and society needs to start recognizing the diversity in terms of body-types and stop marginalizing women. People come in all shapes and sizes. Remember that. So Western girls and beyond, please love yourself, because a size or number doesn’t define you.
You are much more valuable than that and don’t let anyone (including the media) tell you otherwise.
#WesternLoveYourself