Last weekend I attended a seminar on beauty and the struggle to have a positive body image in today’s society. At one point we were asked to stand in a circle and step forward whenever the emcee read a statement that we identified with. One of them was “step forward if you wear oversize clothing to hide your figure.” I stepped forward.
For as long as I can remember I have struggled with my body image. I wear a bulky knit scarf every day in an attempt to make my shoulders appear less broad, haven’t owned a pair of shorts for at least six years, and honestly don’t remember the last time I wore something sleeveless. It’s horrible, uncomfortable, and exhausting.
Clothing is my hiding place. It allows me to create an image, illusion, and more attractive version of myself. If I wear clothing that conceals and hides the parts of myself I don’t like, then maybe…just maybe I will look better. Maybe people will talk to me more. Maybe I will have a better chance at getting that job. Maybe people won’t notice what I really look like. Maybe they won’t see what I see.
We, as women, all do this to ourselves. Day after day we tell ourselves the lie that we aren’t enough. Not skinny enough. Not curvy enough. Not tall enough. Not short enough. Not pretty enough. Not good enough. It’s not just ourselves, though. Maybe it’s our family, friends, Instagram, someone on the cover of a magazine, our mirror, or that store doesn’t carry our size, that’s feeding those lies. So what do we do? We throw on clothing that’s too big, wear five pairs of Spanx at once, and deprive ourselves of dressing how we really want to.
Why do we do this to ourselves? We were wonderfully and uniquely made and we throw that all away when we succumb to wearing thirty layers or clothing that doesn’t represent our personalities and who we are as individuals.
You are beautiful.
No, really.
You are beautiful.
You don’t need to feel ashamed about how you look or use clothing to hide how you look. Furthermore, you are not alone. We all struggle with this in some way or another. That doesn’t make it alright or mean that we should accept it. Rather, it’s an opportunity to change the definition of beauty in the fashion industry, or, more importantly, society in general. It’s time to start seeing ourselves and others for who we truly are.
And that, is beautiful—inside and out.