Hypocrisy and self-loathing (or, how to practice self-acceptance)
Recently, the whole of the Internet has been abuzz with talk of a photo circulated by Cosmo magazine of “plus sized” supermodel Robyn Lawley. Although the photo caption emphasizes that Lawley is “beyond sexy,” offence was taken by many that a woman who flaunts not one bit of cellulite might be labelled “plus sized.”
Of course, Pinterest was full of opinionated posts on the topic, with several captions attacking the fashion industry for their clear crime against humanity. While it’s great to see Internet users banding together in the fight for the acceptance of all shapes and sizes, this seems directly contrary to the average slew of Pinterest posts.
Most posts on Pinterest seem to be focused on “self-improvement.” Now, I’m still not exactly sure what “self-improvement” entails, but it seems to have a lot to do with slimming your thighs, toning your butt, and obtaining a six-pack. “Self-improvement” involves a lot of running, a lot of quinoa, and no chocolate bars – ever – combined with meal planning and “vision boards.” However, I’m not quite sure what benefit there is to glean from sticking pictures of airbrushed women and/or men to a piece of cardboard as “thinspiration.” I also have no idea what I want to eat for my mid-day snack today; never mind what I want to eat seven days from now, so meal planning seems impossible to me.
While completely willing to fight against a “tyrannical” industry which “bullies” poor women like Ms. Lawley, many Pinterest users fail to recognize the effects that same industry has had on their own self-worth. It would be nice if the users who call out for body equality – claiming that no size is perfect and asking for elimination of labels like “plus sized” – would apply these standards to their own bodies and just eat the damn chocolate bar already.
So, you probably haven’t seen this on Pinterest, but I think these are a few practical and effective steps to take towards “self-improvement.”
1. Recognize that you have to accept the things you don’t like about yourself, because they are attached to you/live inside your body and they aren’t going anywhere (without extensive and expensive surgery).
2. Recognize that everyone else is trying to come to terms with what they don’t like about themselves.
3. Recognize that it is okay to have bad days (and that those bad days will probably be more frequent if you have a “vision board” with a bunch of airbrushed people taped to it).
4. Recognize that while quinoa is pretty delicious, chocolate is far more delicious, and you should probably find a way to work it into your daily food repertoire.
5. Recognize that eventually, the things you didn’t like about yourself will become your favourite things about yourself.
6. Recognize that the things you don’t like about yourself are probably the things people most envy about you. For instance, maybe you hate having freckles, and someday, you may find that your freckles are your favourite part of your face. You may even have strangers telling you how envious they are of your adorably flecked face. Or maybe you hate that you’re six feet tall and all of your friends are five foot two. Someday, you might wear heels anyway, and everyone will tell you how jealous they are of your height.
7. Recognize that what makes you different from the airbrushed people in magazines is what makes you human, and also what makes you beautiful. If you don’t believe me, go Google “What Makes You Different” and let the Backstreet Boys sing it to you.
8. Recognize that you might not fit into the current societal definition of “perfect,” but neither does anyone else. Settle on fitting into your own definition of “perfect.”