Have you ever noticed how someone else’s picture, maybe a friend’s vacation snap or a celeb’s workout selfie could influence the way you see yourself? The mindless scrolling through Instagram or Facebook, whenever you get a second free from your life (or from assignment deadlines) could be greatly impacting your self-image! We are all different personalities who grew up in different environments but even then loving yourself can be a bit difficult. Even as grown-ups, it is hard to accept yourself the way you are when we are anomalies of what the media presents as the standard. And now I am guessing (correct me if I am wrong) that this is the reason why so many New Year’s resolutions revolve around our bodies — losing weight, joining gyms, and so on. (yeah, you get the chronology). While for me it was gaining weight, sounds weird right?
So, by now you know where this is going. Yes, we are talking about ‘Body Positivity’. We are all well aware of this term. ‘Body positivity’ is a term that alludes to the affirmation that all individuals have the right to have positive self-acceptance, paying little heed to what society sees as the ideal shape, size, and colour. Teenagers are in great need of body positivity, they need to know that what they look like is beautiful enough, irrespective of the societal stereotypes. They don’t need to try to fit into the same mould of ‘perfection’ that they perceive through social media. It’s a general misconception that people think only women have body issues. The truth tells us a different story. There is an overwhelming focus on female body positivity with limited focus on males.
So what should be done to maintain a healthy body image? We, at Her Campus Delhi North, have some tips that may help you feel better about your body and become less obsessed with chasing the so-called “perfect body.”
Adopt Body Neutrality
It’s alright to feel that you don’t love everything about your body. It’s alright to feel unbiased or even aloof about your body. Your value and worth don’t lie in your shape or your size or some other part of your body, it lies in you.
There will be moments when you feel powerless, when you hate parts of yourself, and when you compare yourself with others. The key is to continue to attempt to discover better approaches to keep away from the negative ideas that add to this helpless self-perception.
Try Health-Focused Self-Care
Show respect to your body. Take a good diet as it fills your brain and body. Exercise since it causes you to feel solid and empowered (not because you’re attempting to change or control your body, but for a healthy and active body).
Wear and purchase garments according to the body you have now—not for some arranged future variant of yourself. You may be clutching your “flimsy garments” because you plan to get thinner, however, such propensities can make it hard to have a positive outlook on yourself today. Search for things that cause you to feel great about what you look like. Cleanse your storeroom full of garments that don’t accommodate your present physical make-up. Your body may change fit as a fiddle later on.
Lastly, cleanse your web-based media feeds of records that don’t cause you to have a positive outlook on yourself. Follow accounts that sparkle your inclinations and that leave you with good sentiments.
Body Positive Influencers You Should Follow
Meet inspiring social media stars who celebrate self-love in all shapes, sizes, skin colours, body types, and beyond!
- Dexter Mayfield: Images of manliness have consistently been based on fit sports players, extreme hip-bounce craftsmen. We have seen teenage boys feeling the squeeze to exercise, to put on weight, to have washboard abs. Whereas, Dexter is here to inspire young men to be more accepting of their body types.
- Yulianna Yussef: For some individuals, their uncertainties are about a perpetual part of their bodies. Yulianna Yussef has an inborn melanocytic nevus — covering her body in large birthmarks. However, she hasn’t let that stop her from wearing what makes her feel better and also create awareness about nevus.
- Kaitlyn Dobrow: Kaitlyn Dobrow has demonstrated that certainty comes from mentality. She’s demonstrating that being an amputee isn’t preventing her from adoring herself and life, and even makes astounding makeup tutorials.
Loving our bodies can be hard when we are presented with unrealistic representations of perfection (yeah we all remember the journey of our favourite “Fair and Lovely” to “Glow and Lovely”). With more focus on accepting our bodies for how they are and helping people find support, and not celebrating the idea that skinny equals perfection, we can get rid of unnecessary pressure.
The message of body positivity is less about physical appearance and more about psychological assets such as courage. It is okay to have acne, discolouration, or pigmentation. You are beautiful in your way. And even if you don’t feel so, do it for the next 21 days, as Jeetu Bhaiya’s unwritten rule, that, “you only need 21 days to adopt a habit”, why not try it ( don’t tell me you haven’t watched Kota Factory yet)? Remember one thing, “don’t try to get external validation, because at the end, the only validation that matters is yours!”
P.S: Your body is lovely just the way it is, and the person it belongs to—that’s you— is one fine, beautiful human being, indeed!