I was talking with the girls tonight about a topic we've covered many times; body image. From the time that they were too little to understand what I was talking about, I started showing them the cover pictures on magazines at the store. I would explain to them that when you see those images of extremely skinny women, day after day, year after year, the idea slowly seeps into your brain that that is what a woman should look like.
As they got older, I would show them the magazine covers and ask them to think about every woman they have ever met. Do they know anyone with that body? Have they ever even seen a woman with a body like that? How many women have you seen in your life who look like that? We've just recently started to talk about how the images are airbrushed.
These images are not realistic portrayals of what a woman looks like. But the problem gets worse. Not only do women see these images and start to think that they should look like a cover model, but men see them too. Boys grow up seeing these pictures, and thinking that a woman should look like that. Then they call girls fat if they have a normal, healthy body, and the girl believes it because she's been looking at the same images.
There is no doubt that we have an epidemic of obesity in this country, and I am by no means suggesting that you should allow your body to be unhealthy. But healthy does not mean having ribs that show through your shirt. Healthy women have some curves on them. You know if you're healthy or not. You know if you're in shape or not. You know if you exercise, if you watch what you eat, if you drink enough water and get enough sleep. These are the things that make a healthy body.
The next time you look in the mirror, and you think there's a fat girl looking back at you, look again. What do you really see? Is that a healthy female body? Decide for yourself. Make the choice to not automatically believe the images you've been seeing your whole life. You'll feel better about yourself if you do.
