Special edition of The Body Project invites BIPOC students to join the conversation on challenging Western appearance ideals
(Photo courtesy of Hian Oliveira / Unsplash)
This March, U of G is hosting a special edition of The Body Project (BP), a workshop aimed at enhancing body image, reducing body shaming, and encouraging self-acceptance.
The Body Project – BIPOC Edition, scheduled as a two-day virtual workshop on March 6-7, is being facilitated by U of G Cultural Diversity Advisor Tameera Mohamed, and long-standing BP facilitator Grace Guillaume.
Specifically, it’s an acceptance program that aims to help youth “challenge appearance ideals, and the social pressures to pursue thinness and engage in dieting,” Mohamed told The Ontarion.
The appearance ideal refers to normative conceptions of beauty in Western culture; an ideal that is not achievable for most, and one that “denies the inherent goodness and beauty of all bodies, and that many people (especially women) spend their whole lives in pursuit of,” Mohamed said.
Pressures to achieve the ideal can be seen in diet and weight loss propaganda, the overwhelming prevalence of cosmetic surgeries, the lack of representation of diverse bodies in media, and the prevalence of disordered eating amongst youth. The latter is particularly concerning because of the disturbing influx of pro-eating disorder trends on TikTok, which NBC News says is leading app users to develop body issues and eating disorders, and has been magnified by the pandemic.
Mohamed said that it’s important to have an edition focused on the BIPOC community because it cultivates a space where BIPOC students can discuss their experiences with their bodies with other people whose experiences may be similar.
“BIPOC individuals experience body pressures that are distinct from those faced by white people, and are shaped by racism and colonialism. So while the standard Body Project is certainly open to what participants bring in terms of their experience, the BIPOC Body Project intentionally creates a space to talk about the impacts of racism on appearance and body image,” Mohamed said.
Some examples of these distinct issues and experiences, Mohamed said, are conflicting appearance ideals, shaped by “colonial and Western ideas of beauty which are distinct from those in other cultural environments,” as well as “conflicting or compounding messaging around [BIPOC] bodies, and pressures to conform to whiteness,” such as skin lightening, body hair removal, or hair straightening.
The event will consist of two workshops, the first exploring the appearance ideal and its impact on participants, their communities, and society.
“[We’ll] challenge some of our ideas around bodies, health and appearance. Participants engage in a few activities on their own time that are proven to increase body confidence,” Mohamed said.
In the second workshop, participants are to reflect on their experience and build tools for challenging the appearance ideal for themselves and those in their lives.
The goal of the two-part workshop is not only to provide participants “with support and connection as they navigate body image and pressures, but also to provide them with tangible tools they can use in the future to increase body confidence and challenge fatphobia, racism, and body shaming in their everyday lives,” Mohamed said.
Those interested can sign up for the workshop at gryphlife.uoguelph.ca.
A version of this article appeared in print in The Ontarion issue 190.3 on Feb. 25, 2021.
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