Loving your body...some inspiring links

My normal, non-pregnant weight is between 165 and 175 lbs, I'm 5'8", and I wear a *gasp* size 12 or 13. I don't know the number of times I've had girlfriends berate themselves over the number on the scale, for whom 120 or 140 or whatever is the magic number. I don't know how many times I've had people say to me, "You don't look that big!" These poor folks are honestly trying to compliment me, when instead all it does is reveal their misconceptions about weight and size. What to respond with in that moment? Somehow saying "thanks" would feel like I am buying into their notion of what a healthy, attractive body is. And I refuse.

I shudder to think how hard it must be for my sisters who are bigger than me, who have had to put up with comments and judgements for the way they look. I am disgusted by the constant bombardment of diet ads that suggest we all become cookie cutter versions of each other, that we stop feeding ourselves, that we can't show some flesh unless our bodies look a certain way (see these disgusting Kellogg's ads, and some wonderful responses to them!)

I certainly have days when I wished I was lighter, more buff, etc. Those days are becoming fewer now, though, as I come to appreciate myself more and as I firmly reject our culture's ideals of beauty and the ways in which the female worth is measured. Lately I've found some great women who refuse to conform, who refuse to shrink or to hide. I want to thank them for their courage, and to share some of their web offerings:

Laura Judd's statement: "I AM."

any-body.org

loveyourbody.org

Please leave your comments with your own inspiring links!!

Love,




PS Found this after posting the blog...this shows how misguided we are when we rely on BMI as an ideal for weight, after years of hearing it is a "healthy" guideline. Make sure you mouse over the upper right hand corner and click on "show info" to get the full effect: Lucysol's Illustrated BMI Categories. Using a standard BMI calculator, at 175 lbs my BMI is 25.8, making me "overweight".