Body Image

With all this hype about being thin I always wonder why society ends up with such conflicting views. Overall it seems like thin is perceived as a representation of one’s fitness - which science now has proven is untrue. Nevertheless the people on shows like Biggest Loser drop weight so rapidly they’re left with hanging flesh and gaunt faces.

Here’s an experiment: if you’re over 18 (sorry, gotta say it) turn off your search filter on Google images. Type in “voluptuous” and hit search. What are you now looking at? My results were 99% hard porn with some only mildly erotic images mixed in. The only clothed results were Christina Hendricks and Kim Kardashian - both known as sex symbols.

Now type in “thin” and hit search. No nude images popped up for me. It more so seemed like the pictures I encountered led to joke sites or thinspo pages. What does that say? I’m not trying to guess - I honestly don’t know.

I tried to choose the words carefully to allow for the most positive label for either extreme of body times. “Fat” brings up all kinds of mean pictures based on the connotation of the word while “skinny” also leads to pretty negative images (or jeans ads).

Now, should I be insulted that the only way my being overweight will be construed as positive is if I give in to the fetish assigned to my body? I mean, that’s the impression I got from a 2 second Google search. That’s also the feeling I got from the few boys/men I dated before my husband that seemed to make my weight a ‘thing.’ They needed to point out that they liked my size or that it didn’t bother them. Hmm, I wonder why it couldn’t just be a non-issue. No wonder we’re in such constant torment about our bodies.

Let’s just be however we end up being. My doctor says my blood pressure is excellent. My other numbers look fine. I know I should lose weight to lower my risk of breast cancer, which my mother had, and I probably will for that reason alone. Still - can a size 10 or 12 be enough? Is it possible to lose just the right amount of weight and not take off on a downward spiral after falling into the rhythm?

I know solutions for the issues won’t come over night but I hope if I have a daughter I can raise her in a world where her happiness and health come first and the shape of her body last.