I rarely intensely focus on “body image” or “body dissatisfaction.” Why? Well, let’s think about this. If we try to find love for “it” or focus on parts of “it” or the size or “it,” I see these attempts as further splitting us from our wholeness. A body, to me, isn’t an “it” that separates our insides from our skin; a body is the skin-suitcase that zips in the most amazingly beautiful and meaningful parts of being a human being. (Plus, the skin keeps our insides tidy so we are not leaving a trail of blood and organs as we move through life!) I would like to see us not refer to the body as an “it” separate from us but a part of our many many many parts that make up a YOU-nique person.
Anyway, I blogged about this in a more academic way–how research supports that we are conditioned from sometimes as young as age 3 (before we even understand abstract concepts) to be dissatisfied with our bodies’ looks. It’s messed up but feeds a bunch of industries’ revenues.
Here is the published blog: “Body Dissatisfaction: What if it’s not Your Fault?”
