Another kind of body positive

I hesitated a long time before writing this article. Should I do it? Do I even have the right to do it? Hell yeah!

It has been a few years now that we are talking about “Positive Body”, supposed to help women, often with curves, to love their body. This is something I highly support.

Although, today I would like to talk about another “Positive Body”. The one that we never talk about. The one that concerns thin and skinny women, who too, do not feel at ease with their own body. The one where they think of themselves as childish looking, with no shape and no feminity, or even “sick” looking. A body that burns even more calories or loses even more weight at every moment of stress and fatigue.

I can talk about this subject very passionately because I WAS on of those women before sending my insecurities to hell. It USED to be one of my dreams to have a voluptuous body with a beautiful derrière and feminine shapes.

A voluptuous woman is the ideal. It represents ancestry, motherhood, security and stability. Greek statues show off a voluptuous body and during Renaissance times, they really well represented with a few extra pounds through paintings. The most iconic woman of the 50s: Marilyn Monroe, with her irregular and womanly shapes, completely outcasted all of the other talented actresses of her time, who were all a lot thinner than her. She was men’s ultimate fantasy. Women admired her but were also jealous of her.

All those insecurities about being flat-chested, skinny legs and a bum that doesn’t fill up your jeans, swimwear often too big; all of it is often created through men’s eyes who, for the majority, want a woman with “something to touch and grab, a voluptuous body that is sexually attractive.

“Doesn’t it bother you to not have any boobs?”

“Do you eat enough?”

“Why don’t you try to have more shapes like this woman on the TV?”

Simply because this is how my metabolism works. Thanks for asking!

And because it is skinny girls who appear on magazines and TV that I am supposed to feel better about myself? We should be happy no matter what and consider ourselves lucky that we don’t have weight to lose?

The acceptance, self-confidence and love of one’s self is a long and complicated process. A strenuous mind work that will eventually prove itself effective in the long run. We need to pamper our body and learn to live with it, like a lifetime companion.

What about if we didn’t care about free and hurtful comments?
What about if we chose to treat our mind and body to everything that they need and desire rather than trying to please a jury?
What about if we tried to showcase our attributes? Even if it is small.
What about if we focused on having a healthy mind, body and lifestyle?
As simple as that…
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Translation: Melanie Harlay
Insta @thetravelrebelle
Credit photo: Kira Ikonniko via Unsplash