Men and women everywhere are joining a revolution. It’s is a movement to embrace a standard of beauty much different than what we’re exposed to in modern day media. Love Your Body Week is an annual weeklong event, sponsored by the Boston College Women’s Resource Center, which educates, encourages, and inspires the BC community to have confidence in their own bodies and join the real beauty revolution!
The first event kicking off this year’s Love Your Body Week was Maskulinity: A Show about Men and Their Bodies. The event showcased various works of art by current BC students and alumni, which illustrated the male body in different ways than we’re used to. The pieces juxtaposed the way the male body is usually advertised and exposed in mainstream media. My favorite work was a mosaic of a man playing the guitar that was brought to the exhibit by Regan Whippen ’03. The pictures all focused on Whippen playing different chords on a blue guitar. Aside from being a beautiful collection of photography, when put together, the colorful photographs emphasized the beauty of the male hands, something that we don’t ordinarily think about…but why? We don’t think about a man’s hands because we’re too busy thinking of sexualized and unrealistic images often associated with the modern average man. Part of the caption said it perfectly: “Ordinarily the media sexualizes men’s bodies by showing muscles in the abdomen and arms, sending the message that men’s bodies should be perfectly toned and athletic shapes. The images are often one-dimensional. This project however plays upon the strength of what the body can do. The hands show not only strength, but also craft.” The model’s girlfriend, now wife, put together the pictures for an art class and Whippen was shocked to see the results: a man’s body that wasn’t sexualized in art was beautiful. Furthermore, Whippen felt honored to gain insight into how his girlfriend saw his body: beautiful in the unordinary sense. This piece of art, and many like it in the first floor of O’Neill, show us that the male body can be beautifully portrayed in a non-sexual way. It also makes us think about mass media and how men, as well as women, are portrayed in a provocative and often misrepresented manner. We are part of a superficial culture that objectifies and sexualizes the human body. The exhibit was a refreshing way to look at the male body and reinforced the importance of realizing that men, as well as women, face biases. Art is an excellent outlet to illustrate real beauty.
On Tuesday, there was an “Eat This Not That” event, during which a nutritionist met with various students and talked about easy ways you can avoid certain foods and supplement them with much healthier options. One of the most horrifying realizations was how unnecessary an excessive consumption of Powerade can be for you. The only time you should guzzle this seemingly healthy beverage is if you are training for a marathon and are in need of its rich sugar content. It’s crucial to understand what is in the food and beverages you’re consuming on a daily basis. After all, you are what you eat! Tuesday night students enjoyed the event “Hip Hop Wars” with guest speaker and author Tricia Rose.
On Wednesday two events marked the middle of the enriching week: a workshop titled “Loving Your Body After Trauma” and a film screening of “Miss Representation.” The documentary, about beauty’s image reflected in the media, brought some serious statistics to my attention. Did you know that we consume about 10 hours and 45 minutes of media a day? This is astounding. Women, as well as men, are constantly objectified and sexualized by the media. Men are usually depicted as symbols of power and control while woman are often depicted as sex objects. As a result, self-objectification has become an epidemic. These biases and false representations influence everything from our perception of gender roles in everyday mundane tasks to the way our political and educational systems operate. For example, a gender gap has been observed: According to the film there have been 2319 male governors and only 34 female governors over the course of history. In addition, when girls and boys are seven years old an equal number want to be president of the United States. By 17 years old, it is primarily a masculine pursuit. As the film illustrates, women are especially vulnerable to media misrepresentation. Uniting on grounds of this adversity is crucial. As Lisa Ling states in the film: “If women don’t stand up for each other, than no one else will.” Simply put, women need to stand together. This notion of feminism is redefined as Bellism by Alexis Jones, founder of the organization I Am That Girl: “It stems from the word belle, which means beauty, as well as our 21st Century revolution and movement for women. That revolution is about reminding girls that we all stand on the same team, redefining our definition of beauty in that the physical aspect is only a small piece of the whole pie.”
On Thursday, the Love Your Body week team put on three events. The first, “Disordered Eating: How to Help A Friend,” stressed the importance of eating disorder intervention and provided a safe space for questions. At BC it is easy to get tangled in the pressure of athleticism and being thin. Body dissatisfaction often leads to disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, exercise bulimia, or even compulsive eating. Oftentimes it’s hard to distinguish between the many types of eating disorders. Having the shoulder and support of a friend is very important when struggling with any type of body dissatisfaction and being that confidant can be challenging. The event reached out to both victims and friends of eating disorders to create a community of awareness and positivity. The two evening events were “Rise, Dark Girl,” sponsored by Mosaic, ALC, Women of Color Caucus, and OASP, and a documentary screening of “HAZE.”
The week ended with a performance of Eve Ensler’s play “The Good Body.” Coordinators, volunteers, and students who attended the various events sponsored by the WRC and other on campus organizations had a great time and learned a lot. It’s becoming increasingly important in today’s society to take a week to reflect: how do we feel about our bodies and what can we do to fight against the powerful current of media and America’s obsession with being thin? I am actively pursuing a world in which everyone celebrates his or her individuality and natural beauty. I am waiting for a world in which men and women stand together against the negative influence of media, racism, and unhealthy body image. For those of you that didn’t want Love Your Body week to end, it doesn’t have to. Make a daily affirmation to love your body and the life you’re living! Take action and encourage others to do the same.
For more information about any of the topics discussed during this educational and inspirational week consult BC’s Women’s Resource Center and the links below:
http://missrepresentation.org/
http://www.bc.edu/offices/odsd/wrc/
http://www.bc.edu/offices/odsd/wrc/EandE/Love_Your_Body_Week.html
http://www.iamthatgirl.com
Photo Source:
Remy Hassett
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