Apparently, I am one in a million.
I am a middle aged woman, and I *don’t* hate my body.
Daring to bare in a bikini 😉
Miss 19 and I recently went to a screening of Embrace, hosted by the Redlands Centre for Women. Embrace is a powerful movie-length documentary about women and body image … check out the trailer, it’s okay, I’ll wait!
“I Hate My Body”
According to the film, 91% of women hate their bodies. Numerous women were interviewed on camera, and described their bodies with contempt and distaste, using words like “disgusting”, “fat”, “wobbly”, and “stumpy”, to name just a few.
How sad!
For the record, I thought all of them were attractive in their own way – particularly when they smiled. Even the woman with a full beard, due to polycystic ovarian syndrome.
As the old song goes, “Everybody’s beautiful, in their own way … “
I am troubled to think that any woman would think “I hate my body”. As the Good Book says, every single one of us is fearfully and wonderfully made!
Women and Body Image
Although I think the Embrace movie is essential viewing for any female over the age of 13, the film has been given an MA15+ rating as it does show images to illustrate the diversity of appearance in what is “normal” in women’s genitalia (about 30 seconds in a 90 minute documentary). Apparently many women agonise over the look of their private parts. Some even resort to surgery, which horrifies me because I know only too well how even the most straight forward operation can go horribly wrong.
I can’t help wonder what the point of labiaplasty is – they are called our “private parts” for a reason. Wouldn’t it just be ourselves and our partner that are ever going to see it? And let’s face it, no man is going to complain 😉 !
I know that when I look in the mirror at my own naked body, it doesn’t offend me. In fact I think it looks pretty good!
I’m actually fully dressed (in shorts and a strapless top) …
It’s not perfect but it’s certainly not disgusting. I carry a little bit too much weight around the middle, and know that I should lose a few kilograms for the sake of my health.
I Look Good Naked
Yet despite that, I’m okay with how I look naked. I’ve long joked that it’s only when I put clothes on, that things can seem to go horribly wrong! However as one person in the documentary said: That’s not my body’s fault. It’s the fault of the clothes and the designers. Why aren’t they made to fit and flatter REAL body shapes?
After the movie, Miss 19 and I de-briefed (no, not literally!) over a coffee. “I feel like after seeing that, that we have the healthiest body images of pretty much anybody I know,” Miss 19 commented. “We don’t hate our bodies”.
We may have lots of hangups, but body image ain’t one of them!
How’s your body image? Are you one of the 91% that says: “I hate my body!”?
#ihaveembraced
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