On a Sunday in August 2015, there seemed nothing out of the ordinary in Piccadilly Circus. The streets swarmed with commuters; tourists were on the hunt to find British memorabilia. The flashing billboards enticed passers by to stare up towards the glistening advertisements. On this day however, all eyes were drawn to something far more beautiful and far more intriguing. It was a young woman who removed her clothes and stood completely still in only her underwear and a blindfold in the middle of the hectic city.
She grasped marker pens in her hands, and stood next to a sign reading: “I’m standing for anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder or self-esteem issues like me…To support self-acceptance, draw a [heart] on my body.” In the first few moments, people simply stared at her body for a few moments before walking by. Gradually, one by one, men, women and children alike took the pens from her hand and began to draw on her skin. Eventually, people were forward enough to speak to her, praising her for her bravery. By the end of the day, her body was covered with tiny hearts.
And imagine those first few moments for Jae West; she was in complete darkness under the blindfold with no idea of how the public would react as she revealed not only her body but her history with mental illness during her teenage years. She herself admitted that “as the minutes passed it felt like hours” until people began to take the pens from her hand; she describes how “the feeling of the felt pen” on her skin “was one of the most overwhelming feelings of relief, gratitude and love” she had ever experienced.
I think that Jae West’s courageous action on that day is worth celebrating for many reasons. Not only is it an example of an individual’s victory over a crippling eating disorder, but an encouragement to other sufferers to admit they are struggling. Her act also is a small step towards lessening the stigma that still accompanies open discussions of these illnesses. On another level, her actions demonstrate that as individuals we find the the process of accepting or even loving our own bodies incredibly difficult to do. The video which Jae West uploaded documenting her action revealed the 60% of adults report feeling ashamed of the way they look; she encouraged others to share this video in an attempt to change that. However, it remains the case that it often takes other people’s signs of appreciation and devotion to make us appreciate our own bodies, just as Jae West felt ashamed until people marked her body with signs of love.
Jae West explained that a reaction which overwhelmed her came from a father and child; as he told his child why she was standing there, “He was acknowledging the fact that everyone should love themselves exactly as they are and appreciate the bodies that they are given.” I think her selection of this moment as the most poignant in her experience is also crucial; if only we could go back to the state of childhood when we appreciated our bodies for what they could do and not what they looked like. Children are not preoccupied with having a gap between their thighs; they only care that their legs are robust enough to let them climb a tree. It doesn’t matter if they look beautiful, it is achieving beautiful things which are paramount. As Jae West says, “If everyone could know and appreciate how beautiful they are from childhood I think this world would be a very different place.” In light of her courage on that normal day in August, take a moment to consider your own body, and all the brilliant things it allows you to do everyday.