It’s hard to be secure with one’s self in a world of constant comparison. The advertising industry serves up a tempting menu of ways to be your best self, as if confidence is something you to can achieve in just however many easy steps. For a lot of people, they think to themselves “If I was more ________ I’d be happy with myself. I’d be confident.” When I hear the word confidant, one of the first things that comes to mind is celebrities. Beyonce is confident.She’s the total package, beauty, grace, talent, and not taking crap from any of her haters. We glorify celebrities like they’re the embodiment of what we should be, the ultimate goal of perfection.
Perfection is a fickle thing… mostly because it doesn’t exist. Although the modelling and advertising industries have gotten a little better about diversity and representation in recent years, the overall message they send is that tall and thin is still "in".And in our modern world of technology and social media, images of “perfect” people are still bombarding us and in our face, every time we turn on our devices. It’s hard to love yourself the way you are when everything about your culture says you aren’t quite good enough. There isn’t a person out there who is 100% in love with their body… at least of of the people I’ve met thus far in life. It’s just a fact: EVERYONE is a least a little bit insecure about their looks. Some more than others.
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However, I would argue that a movement for “self-love” has come about and I think it has great intentions. But personally, as a naturally, always-been-thin woman, if I dare admit that I’m insecure, I’m met with a reaction that says, “You’re thin, you don’t have anything to complain about.” Women still believe being skinny will make you love yourself. When a skinny person posts a picture of themselves saying that they feel beautiful, they are often met with the assumption that they are stuck up and superficial, or that they starved themselves in order to be the size they are. This doesn’t help the woman struggling to love herself. Vice versa, Some people argue that this movement for self-love “glorifies and condones obesity”, when anyone who isn’t a small size posts a picture saying that they’re “feeling themselves today” or something like that. Again, this doesn’t help the woman struggling to love herself.
My point is that healthy is not a body type. It’s just not. Repeat that with me:
Healthy is not a body type.
We need to start supporting each other, rather than tearing each other down because another woman is thinner than us, or vice versa. The only person that gets to judge whether or not someone else is healthy or not is a qualified, licensed medical professional. Don’t use the anonymity of the internet to deprecate some one else in order to feel better about your own insecurities. If we supported each other through each of our own journey to self-confidence, I doubt we’d self-deprecate ourselves as much.
If you feel that the world is crashing around you because you are not good enough, this is for you. You are more than enough. You are beautiful. Look at yourself in the mirror and say, “This is the body I’ve been given and I’m going to love myself today.” That's the first step in the journey to self-confidence. You are more than your body type; you are a person with an impact to make on those in your life. You are unique and special, and that is your power. OWN WHO YOU ARE, because who you are is pretty darn great.
