When I was a preteen I started to notice my body more, and how it did not necessarily meet societal standards or match the bodies of my friends. I used to stand in front of the mirror and stare at my long, lanky legs and arms and glare at their imperfections. I would replay the comments people around me made about how thin my body was. From “Chicken Legs” to “Toothpick” to “Wow, those are the thinnest legs I have ever seen.” I know now that people meant no harm by these comments, but they still affected my self-body image. I cried to my parents about my figure and how nothing fit me right. People could wrap their entire hand around my upper arm to the point that their fingers would touch. It mortified me. I was disgusted with myself.
Once I was extremely sick and couldn’t keep anything down. The adult I was with at the time asked me if I was bulimic. To this day it bothers me, and I don’t think that question would have been asked had I not had this body type. Some people told me I should be happy with my body and these flattering comments, because people “dream to have my figure.” But I felt no ounce of satisfaction and took offense to the comments. I wanted curves that resembled “a woman.” I used to Google search “Quick ways to gain weight” and tried anything and everything just to gain a few pounds. I became frustrated when milkshakes and advice from my doctor did nothing for me. My genetic makeup doesn’t allow much weight gain, and it has taken me a long time to accept.
Over the years as I gain new knowledge and better perspectives, I gradually learned to love and accept my body. However, occasionally I will scroll past a post on social media that screams in my face, “Real women have curves,” “Sexy women are curvy,” or “Only dogs go for bones.” It shocks me to still see that some men and women think this way, despite the movement to “Love everybody.”
I do my best to ignore the fact that some people have this one-sided mindset, but sometimes it sneaks past my ability to brush it off as irrelevant. I recognize that the posts declaring, “Real women have curves,” are comebacks to the abundance of ads that display only thin women. Thankfully, some companies are beginning to use more of a variety of body types in their ads (it still needs some work, but we are headed in the right direction). Body size and shape is a sensitive subject for a majority of the human race. No matter your size, or how other people see you, there is still the underlying feeling of self-consciousness that most of us don’t like to admit.
To this day, I still occasionally struggle with accepting my body type. I don’t wear certain clothing items that accentuate certain areas of my body that bother me. I know this is a battle that almost every woman and man faces. Even people who have what we declare “the perfect body” have difficulties accepting parts of them. It reminds me that we need to be cautious and sensitive to every person and how we compliment them. We all go through our battles with self-acceptance and learning to not compare ourselves to others. I am overjoyed to see posts on social media that scream in my face that real women are curvy, are tall, are short, are skinny, are muscular, etc. How exciting is it to live in a world where this is becoming apparent to everyone? Our bodies are our forever homes, and it is important to be comfortable and content in our home.
