Hello readers! Here is my English project I introduced to you a few days ago. I decided to write a post on my blog about body image and the language we use to talk about it. I think this is an issue facing many of us today, girls and guys alike. I know I struggle with it sometimes myself too. Also, I apologize for the length. I had more to say than I thought I would haha.
I know there has been a lot of talk about this topic on all forms of media lately; magazines, blogs, Instagram, etc. I have noticed that most of these debates have been going on on platforms that involve pictures. I personally love looking at pictures and taking pictures (I mean I willingly take pictures of myself probably looking foolish in front of all my neighbors haha). And I am totally addicted to Instagram (no shame guys no shame haha). It is by far my favorite form of social media. Pictures can be amazing sources of inspiration, whether it's for outfits, decor, even workout motivation. But I find that so many of these beautiful pictures people have the courage to post of themselves or something they did, get torn apart by so many people. Often times these people writing the comments don't even know the person, except through social media. I don't pretend to understand how people could do this to others or why they do this. What I notice is that there just never seems to be a perfect.
This is the language that surrounds us everyday about how we look. I know language isn't the kind of thing that just goes away. It's something that takes years to change. But maybe we can change the way we personally think about ourselves and others to. And maybe that will be the kickstart to a whole new way of thinking about our bodies.
One of my favorite, actually she's my favorite blogger haha, Kristine Ullebø, had a girl comment on her blog about the girl's own body image. Now keep in mind Kristine is an extremely skinny girl, but it's not just that that makes me continually revisit her site. Not only are her pictures beautiful, her content is something I relate to. She is a fun loving girl with a great group of girlfriends, who also cares about school. And somehow she still manages to run an extremely successful blog. Kristine posted awhile ago, "The other day I read this comment from one reader of my blog which surprised me a little: "I'm too fat to wear shorts."" Kristine went on to write an entire post about body image, saying some of the same things I am now. Over the few years that I have followed Kristine's blog, she has written several posts about body image and body bullying, as she is the subject of a lot of body shaming on her social media. I have scrolled through some of the comments on her Instagram account and they can get quite nasty. For example, many users have commented, "Where are your boobs?" This comment also brings me to another topic surrounding body image for girls. The language many use when talking about body image, especially for girls, objectifies us. We not only need to be thin, but have boobs as well in order to sexually alluring. A combination which doesn't come naturally for most of us (and for you lucky ducks who got that genetic combination, work it girl!). I guess this just goes back to my image above, there never seems to be a perfect.
Here is Kristine with her older brother Hakon. I chose this image because it shows how thin she is, but also because it shows her having fun goofing around with her older brother.
I guess I just want to ask, why can we not stop applying these labels to ourselves, and by extension, to others as well? I am still struggling with accepting myself, and maybe it's a lifelong struggle. But maybe if we can accept one thing about ourselves, we can accept one thing about others as well. And maybe that one thing we can accept will be able to overshadow those things we can't accept. Maybe I'm just a silly girl with a blog, but I hope that this will inspire someone.
