I did something a few Saturdays ago that I don’t usually do—I woke up at 8am and headed to school.
I struggle even on actual weekdays to make 11am classes. But that day, I sat amongst a group of girls, bright-eyed as I waited for the program I signed up for to start.
The Body Project Collaborative
Other than thinking that the name of the organization had a nice ring to it, I wasn’t really sure what I was getting myself into that morning. By the time the two day workshop had ended, I found that I had adopted an irrevocably altered perspective, and developed a bond with the girls who I’d been surrounded by.
The big questions I had before that weekend?
To start, I wanted to know how to convince someone that they’re beautiful and worth loving when they just don’t believe it. How do you respond to someone who enthusiastically praises a friend for losing weight, when you thought that friend was fine the way she was?
My experience showed me that the Body Project may serve as a great help in answering all of those questions.
The Body Project is a body-acceptance program designated to help high school girls and young women resist cultural pressures to conform to the unhealthily thin, ideal standard of female beauty. Supported by more research than any other body image program, the organization is also making strides to reduce the onset of eating disorders by teaching expert methods.
Through the weekend retreat, I learned about the nuances of ‘fat talk,’ the importance of prioritization and perspective, and the pervasiveness of the ideal that people–especially women– pressure themselves to adhere to while risking their mental and physical health.
The power of open, raw discussion within a community is a compelling force, and I would encourage all female students to be a part of it. Getting involved in an empowering collaborative, surrounding yourself with the right people, and opening up to learning about what it means to be beautiful in real life is a powerful thing. There isn’t a woman out there who hasn’t been pressured to become what society deems is the perfect look, and it’s time we set the record straight.
For more information on what it means to be body positive, check out these UC Davis SHCS-approved podcasts