Imagine hating your own body.

All the hours out of your life spent hating your own reflection. Judging every detail. Dissecting every one of your “flaws”.

Comparing yourself to models who spend days being fit and healthy and who have dermatologists on spedial.

Hating the own skin you’re in?

Wouldn’t that be toxic? Wouldn’t that be tiring?

Why would you do that to yourself?

You may be thinking “I don’t hate myself.” Yes. You may not struggle with self-esteem issues or a negative self-image, but there may be thousands out there who do and if this article can reach and help one person then that would be beautiful.

According to the University of Lethbridge, “research has shown the majority of our self-talk is negative therefore working against us rather than for us.” Many of us have moments where we think to ourselves, “I shouldn’t have said.” “Why’d I wear this?” “Didn’t they notice me?”

Search up Body-Positivity. Some think it’s a weak phrase. Others think it’s a powerful movement. What is it?

Body Positivity is a social movement rooted in the belief that all humans should have a positive body image.
Each individual has a different definition of Body Positivity.

For Senior Noah Louissaint BP (Body Positivity) “is being able to understand that everyone is different [and knowing] that I can’t rely on what others look like for my own happiness.”

For English teacher Ashley Bonzani it’s “Accepting who you are in every form of it , including what you look like.”

For  English Teacher Paisley Kleinhenz it means “Appreciating the physical body that you have and all that it can do.”

Its roots connect it to the fat-acceptance movement where people advocate for the end of fat-shaming overweight people. Some felt that this closed out everyone else.

Going back even further connects it to the first ever wave of feminism in the 1850s to the 1890s. In the Victorian Dress Reform Movement, women wanted to end the body-modification trends of extreme corsets and tightlacing. Women who couldn’t achieve the ever-so-tiny waist were ridiculed and so were women with a tiny waist. Sound familiar?

In this reform movement, women fought to be accepted regardless of size as well as the right to wear pants.

The body positivity movement tries to push out the fat- and thin- shaming. It’s the goal to support and include all body types. Bodies that are small to big. Curvy to lean. All shapes, colors, and sizes.

Body Positivity isn’t just for women. It’s not just for the feminine. It’s also important for the masculine to love the skin they’re in.

In a world where men are still expected to be a certain height, have a certain style, be a certain thing, it’s not hard to imagine how that can affect anyone. Just as a girl can experience a negative self-image and have an eating disorder, It could also happen to any boy. It may not be as common but it still as important.

What do I do? What shouldn’t I do?

Take some time and really let go of some stress. You’re never at your best with stress.

Let go of the idea that the swimsuit model is what you need to be. Ignore the idea that you have to fit into a certain mold.

American Drag Queen Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova AKA Katya says this about social media. “There are so many things to think about and look at. You really have to choose what you what you fill your brain and eyeballs with every day. If you’re following something [dumb] or that doesn’t promote your overall health, well-being, or creativity unfollow them.”

FInd people who help you and support your goals. Make sure they are your goals and not the idea of perfection presented by an outside onlooker.

Be you and enjoy it.

Now imagine you didn’t hate your body.

All the hours of your life spent appreciating your own reflection. Admiring your details. Dissecting every one of your “differences”.

No longer comparing yourself to others, because you suit you perfectly.

Love the skin you’re in!