TW: Body image, body positivity
"You can still love yourself and be a work in progress" - Unknown
With temperatures getting warmer and summer fast approaching, many males and females alike start to worry about achieving their 'summer body'.
But I'm going to have to stop you right there and encourage you to think. What exactly is a summer body? What are the criteria that distinguish a person that has succeeded in attaining a summer body from the person who hasn't? Isn't all of it a social construct that we've created to exclude certain bodies from our definition of beauty? To make some people feel less worthy of being called beautiful?
Need I make a reference to 'il-mara l-ħoxna' to remind you that what makes for a beautiful feminine body has changed throughout history? And that it is because of humankind's ideologies that it has changed?
I think I've asked enough rhetorical questions. Basically, I'm here to tell you that:
And before you come at me with your torches and pitchforks...
I'm not saying that everyone should eat whatever they feel like without there being any consequences. And I'm certainly not suggesting you throw exercise out the window. Because there will be consequences - some more detrimental to our health than one may think. I'm just saying that we should be a bit kinder to ourselves. Because having a poor body image of oneself can also be detrimental; it can result in not only severe low self-esteem but also eating disorders and depression.
And sometimes, all the time and effort in the world will not give you a summer body that you, and society, are satisfied with. The critic will always find something to criticise. And there's no harsher critic than the anorexic mind.
So my suggestion is this. Work on your body, yes, but only with the mentality that you're doing what is best for it, healthwise. This will give you the satisfaction that you would otherwise not reach. Moreover, do not punish yourself for not being skinny; if you prioritise your body's health, you will glow inevitably.
Also...
...be very cautious so as not to make any remarks or comments that will tarnish others' positive images of their bodies. For some, this is a very sensitive subject and just one comment could easily lead to regrettable spiralling.
I know that all I've said is easier said than done for all of us. But we're works in progress and body positivity can indeed be achieved gradually. The idea that looking like Barbie or Ken is the only way one can be beautiful is a myth. So let's work towards debunking it.
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