Feminism And Body Positivity

 All the conversation surrounding body image really struck home with me. I realized how lacking the depth of my experience was. I've never been afraid to take my shirt off at the pool. For most of my life, I've actually been quite proud of working out and maintaining a body image that I enjoy. Going to the beach with friends was just a way to show off a little bit. Because of this, I rely really heavily on posts like My Body and perspective shorts like from the movie Shrill. It's really healthy to be reminded that the human body, male or female, doesn't exist to be consumed by others. We can still have a self-image that gives us confidence, but we're shouldn't lose ourselves in the pursuit of bodily perfection. Hearing writers and artists express their struggle with being seen as a walking health issue instead of as a human being makes me rethink how I view the world. My mother is a nurse, and she's always told me about all the health issues she helps people deal with because of their weight, diet, or lifestyle. In the past, it's made me deeply critical about people who embrace a body type that's detrimental to their health. There's a middle ground here that I was ignoring, where you can be plus sized, healthy, and also comfortable in your own skin. My girlfriend helped me realize this since she's plus-sized herself. She's also diabetic and suffers from chronic back pain. She's actively eating well and exercising to maintain the right insulin levels, while also alleviating some of her back pain by building up extraneous muscles. Even though she has a healthy lifestyle, she's still not skinny. I think criticism of other people's lives because of their weight is often a bit of a witchhunt that lacks compassion and common sense. Yes, obesity is a public health crisis, but that doesn't invalidate all the body types that are healthy, happy, and large.