Ladies: size doesn't matter
I saw this picture on Facebook.
After staring at it for a bit, a few things occurred to me:
This woman is gorgeous. Truly.
She has great hair. I wish my hair would do that. I would have to actually take time to style it, however, and not throw a bunch of product in it as I run out the door and hope it doesn't dry to look like a cat died on my head.
This woman is confident in a way I only wish I was confident. I could never sit with a piece of cardboard being the only thing standing between my nakedness and a camera. Not. That. Brave.
I wrote a blog post once that reminds me of this of this picture. Clearly, she read it.
Yes, I saw it: "Than" should be "then." We are not surprised I noticed this grammatical error. We are, however, surprised that it was the last thing I noticed because the picture is so powerful.
Girls, we (I'm now using "we" to describe our society and just myself in that egotistical "royal we" fashion) are a gender obsessed with size: 2, 12, 22, 32. It doesn't matter. "I'll be happy when I'm a size 6 again." "Ugh. I can't believe I'm a 16." We attach meaning to the numbers on a label sewn into some cloth. We celebrate it, we cry over it, we create life goals around it. Think about how crazy that is for a minute. I mean, really think about it.
When is the last time you heard a man bemoan his pant size? "OMG, I went to the store and I tried on a 32 and they didn't fit. I totally wanted to die. I had to text my buddy John between sobs in the dressing room and he reminded me that Mark's Manlypants Warehouse makes their jeans a little snug. Still, it's South Beach for me until my ass looks great in those pants!" Answer: not often and maybe never. It's not that men don't get body-obsessed, but it's different and there's generally a lot less self-hatred attached to it.
We keep ourselves down, ladies. Actress Ashley Judd wrote a poignant article about this recently. By focusing on senseless stuff like dress size, we often create a roadblock to the greater things in life. Size 4 isn't going to make you happy. Size 4 is not going to make your problems go away, pay your bills, make someone love you or respect you or stay with you, improve your friendships, make your job better, help you find joy or feel fulfilled. Those things are not dependent on size. How many women have I met who've achieved their body goal and aren't any happier in life? Skinny does not equal happy, period. And yet we truly believe we'll be better people overall based on what we look like or what stores we can shop in. How did we lose our collective way? We are smart, capable, life-creating, beautiful creatures who have somehow subscribed to this insanity.
Don't get me wrong: Lifestyle plays a big role in happiness, energy and health. Exercise and nutrition are important. But size isn't always a good indicator of how healthy someone is. Sometimes bodies respond to positive lifestyle choices by getting or staying smaller, but not always. This idea that we needs to look a certain way to be fit is erroneous and potentially dangerous. The weight loss industry loves that we look to magazine covers as ambassadors of fitness. And we're suckers for buying into it.
I will keep going to the gym and emerging a sweaty beast. I will try to make food choices that support my cardiovascular system and keep my blood sugars stable. I will likely continue to lose weight in the process - for now. But right before I go try on clothes the next time, I will look at the picture above and remind myself that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. I will not cry in the dressing room, nor will I squeal when something fits. I will simply celebrate that my body is getting healthy in the way it's meant to, and smile.
I am awesome no matter what the label says. And so are you.
After staring at it for a bit, a few things occurred to me:
This woman is gorgeous. Truly.
She has great hair. I wish my hair would do that. I would have to actually take time to style it, however, and not throw a bunch of product in it as I run out the door and hope it doesn't dry to look like a cat died on my head.
This woman is confident in a way I only wish I was confident. I could never sit with a piece of cardboard being the only thing standing between my nakedness and a camera. Not. That. Brave.
I wrote a blog post once that reminds me of this of this picture. Clearly, she read it.
Yes, I saw it: "Than" should be "then." We are not surprised I noticed this grammatical error. We are, however, surprised that it was the last thing I noticed because the picture is so powerful.
Girls, we (I'm now using "we" to describe our society and just myself in that egotistical "royal we" fashion) are a gender obsessed with size: 2, 12, 22, 32. It doesn't matter. "I'll be happy when I'm a size 6 again." "Ugh. I can't believe I'm a 16." We attach meaning to the numbers on a label sewn into some cloth. We celebrate it, we cry over it, we create life goals around it. Think about how crazy that is for a minute. I mean, really think about it.
When is the last time you heard a man bemoan his pant size? "OMG, I went to the store and I tried on a 32 and they didn't fit. I totally wanted to die. I had to text my buddy John between sobs in the dressing room and he reminded me that Mark's Manlypants Warehouse makes their jeans a little snug. Still, it's South Beach for me until my ass looks great in those pants!" Answer: not often and maybe never. It's not that men don't get body-obsessed, but it's different and there's generally a lot less self-hatred attached to it.
We keep ourselves down, ladies. Actress Ashley Judd wrote a poignant article about this recently. By focusing on senseless stuff like dress size, we often create a roadblock to the greater things in life. Size 4 isn't going to make you happy. Size 4 is not going to make your problems go away, pay your bills, make someone love you or respect you or stay with you, improve your friendships, make your job better, help you find joy or feel fulfilled. Those things are not dependent on size. How many women have I met who've achieved their body goal and aren't any happier in life? Skinny does not equal happy, period. And yet we truly believe we'll be better people overall based on what we look like or what stores we can shop in. How did we lose our collective way? We are smart, capable, life-creating, beautiful creatures who have somehow subscribed to this insanity.
Don't get me wrong: Lifestyle plays a big role in happiness, energy and health. Exercise and nutrition are important. But size isn't always a good indicator of how healthy someone is. Sometimes bodies respond to positive lifestyle choices by getting or staying smaller, but not always. This idea that we needs to look a certain way to be fit is erroneous and potentially dangerous. The weight loss industry loves that we look to magazine covers as ambassadors of fitness. And we're suckers for buying into it.
I will keep going to the gym and emerging a sweaty beast. I will try to make food choices that support my cardiovascular system and keep my blood sugars stable. I will likely continue to lose weight in the process - for now. But right before I go try on clothes the next time, I will look at the picture above and remind myself that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. I will not cry in the dressing room, nor will I squeal when something fits. I will simply celebrate that my body is getting healthy in the way it's meant to, and smile.
I am awesome no matter what the label says. And so are you.