View this post on Instagram
I admit I have body parts I sometimes wish looked different.
Do you have them too?
As I scroll through my Instagram feed looking at girls in bikinis and yoga pants, I lose the appetite for the delicious chocolate brownie I just bought myself. While the “likes” of those influencers rise, my self-esteem often crumbles like plain cake.
Many women look in the mirror wishing their breasts or butt would have a certain—well, different—shape.
How often do you try to hide your muffin top?
How shocking is it that there is even a Wikipedia article on the term “muffin-top”:
“Muffin-top is a slang term typically used to describe a person’s body fat that extends horizontally over the edges of the waistline…”
Ladies, if you catch yourselves scrolling on Instagram and wondering how to get in better shape because all those influencers always seem to look amazing, maybe we should ask:
Who defines perfect?
Many influencers edit their photos and use clothing and favorable angles to present themselves as flawless hotcakes.
Gentlemen, if you have ever wondered why it’s hard to find women who look the same in person as they do on their social media profile—it’s because in real life there is no retouching.
How come the girls you see at the beach have cellulite, but the ones on Instagram never do?
Why is it so hard to find the perfect cupcake?
Don’t be as nutty as a fruit cake, don’t you know not all you see on social media is true?
So, ladies and gentlemen, next time you appreciate a perfect body while scrolling through your social media feed, take a moment to remember—it might not be real. It is like the artificial strawberry frosting on the donut you are guilty of eating (trading more calories for fewer likes).
Most importantly: your body is not of lesser value if it doesn’t look exactly like the “perfect” influencers.
What you see as flaws or “problem areas” is just human.
Let us stop calling out “problem areas” in our bodies and start calling them what they are: human and lovable areas—good enough and beautiful enough.
Loving ourselves the way we are is not always a piece of cake.
Inspired by a friend’s Facebook post, I want to share the profile of this incredible, brave woman named Danae Mercer.
These are some of the positive, inspiring messages she puts out:
>> Don’t value your body over your being.
>> Give yourself the love you share with others so freely.
>> Spend time chasing the sun, not some body shape.
>> Stop comparing yourself to other people, and change the way you see yourself.
Yes, I agree that she shouldn’t need to be called brave because she shows her body, anyone could do that. But almost nobody does.
I have to call her brave, because we live in a society where women (men, too) are judged by their looks and their value depending on the size of a body part.
One day, revealing how you really look without editing and posing will be safe, and we won’t need to be brave when our boobs or butts don’t have the shape other people say they should.
Until then, let us love our bodies the way they are and spread gratitude upon the “problem areas,” for they are human and worthy of love.
Spread the kindness toward your mind and body like icing on a cake—generously.
Spend less time on social media and more time eating cake!
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen—we are all poetry.
~
Read 3 Comments and Reply
Read 3 comments and reply