I'm a girl. This means I have body image issues. I'm not sure if this is a global thing, but I think I can safely say it's at least an American thing. Like I talked about on Friday, girls are constantly being told that what they are isn't enough. It's hard to come away completely unscathed.
Now, my body image issues are definitely not as bad as some. I usually like what I look like, and I'm mostly aware that my appearance should not be top priority, nor should it be a major criteria in summing up my value as a person.
But I have my days, too.
They are the days I wish I wasn't so...flabby, squishy, and all around human. I think to myself, "I wish my tummy didn't squish out when I sit down. I wish my arms didn't jiggle when I wave. I wish my behind wasn't so...epic. Some things should NOT be epic."
These are not unique thoughts, I'm sure, but I've been thinking about them lately. I mean, what I'm wishing for is impossible. I'm basically saying I want to be something other than human flesh. Like plastic, without give. No—I'm serious. I think maybe a lot of people feel the same way, and it's something that has to stop.
Have you ever seen an athlete in slow motion? You know, like when they do the 100 meter dash in the Olympics? They...jiggle. You know they do! They jiggle all over the freaking place! Because they are made of flesh. Sure, muscles are hard when flexed, but they're still soft, even squishy, when not.
I've been doing a lot of yoga lately, and the video series I use has this beautiful, fit woman as an instructor, of course. And guess what? Her tummy pooches out when she folds forward into some poses. Why? Because that's what stomachs DO!
With all the plastic images thrown at us, I wonder sometimes if we think these perfect looking humans have achieved some sort of cellular transformation, in which the composition of their skin has become stone or plastic. I think we forget that humans—even thin ones—are squishy. Flesh is flesh. It's a lovely thing! Even if you drop those 10 pounds you wish you didn't have, you'll still be a human being.
This is a good thing. Being human is cool.
Today I'm embracing my squish, reminding myself that it won't ever go away and that's not such a bad thing. Please feel free to join me.
Awesome post, Natalie.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great reminder to us all. I wish there were ways to eliminate this from our collective psyche. Especially for our young girls growing up with it. I'm trying to do it for my own at least. It's hard though when there are so many airbrushed images and perfect cartoons and unattainable figures like Barbie's.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post and a great great reminder. Thanks for this Natalie. I needed it today.
ReplyDeleteWonderfully said. I needed this, so thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteEmbrace the squish!
ReplyDeleteBravo! It is good to know what "healthy" REALLY means... and not what society TELLS us it means.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post, as I was reading it my hand brushed against my swishy belly and instead of freaking out by it, I gave it a little hug... embracing it.
ReplyDeleteStupid body issues. And what's amazing is when you look at someone you never think, "Oh that person is a trainwreck." I normally think, 'God I wished I had those boobs.' Although I rarely ever think that someone is looking, at me wishing they had my body. And maybe someone is.
Yep we all have body issues.
You picked a good day to do this post, because I was feeling extra squishy this weekend. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDelete"I wish my behind wasn't so...epic. Some things should NOT be epic."
ReplyDeleteLOL!
But yeah, great post. I mean, really good point about the athletes and your yoga instructor too. For SOME reason, we think these very human things don't happen to everyone, BUT THEY DO.
(Maybe because magazines Photoshop out all the human stuff, and backlighting and camera angles trick us into missing it on-screen.)
YAY for being human!
So true! I'll work on embracing my squish today, too. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
It's important to note that men have some of these same issues. Men are, after all, supposed to have strong backs and big arms, right? So what happens when you don't?
ReplyDeleteI spent a big chunk of my 20s trying to attain the "ideal" male look, whatever that is. After five years of banging my head against the wall, wondering why my biceps were never going to be bigger than the average eighth grader's, I decided to allow myself to be human. Yes, I still exercised, but I didn't concern myself that my shoulders didn't have the "sculpted" look or that my abs didn't resemble an underwear model's.
Speaking for myself, I never wanted a "Barbie" girlfriend. Tall, stick-like women never have done it for me!
So true!! We are way too hard on ourselves, and we have to look at freaky, photoshopped goddesses all the time.
ReplyDeleteI still wish I could lose ten pounds, though. Just so I can avoid having to buy a new wardrobe. :-)
sf
Great post Natalie!
ReplyDeleteI am very tiny. Like, 4’11, 95 pounds soaking wet tiny. I have a nice figure, but it’s not like I have washboard abs or anything. I don’t really work out as much as I could either.
If it sounds like I am gloating, I am really not. Because guess what my tummy is doing RIGHT NOW?
Pooching out. I am sitting down, so it pooches out. I don’t need to loose any bit of weight; I know that. I am lucky enough to not have weight issues and my stomach STILL pooches out when I sit down. So you other women reading this are thinking if they just lost some more weight their stomach wouldn’t stick out, guess again. Natalie, you are right. It’s what stomach DO when you sit down. That stuff pooching out is your INTERNAL ORGANS, not just fat.
And in case you aren’t convinced that being skinny will equal happiness, let me tell you about some other stuff that sucks when you’re skinny:
*I just turned 25. If someone sees me eating something less healthy than a salad, they remind me that they started to gain weight when they were my age too. So I need to be “careful”. I have heard that so much lately I might strangle the very next person who tells me I should watch what I eat because I might start getting fat (for the record, I do eat healthy food most of the time, I just also like cookies on occasion too :D ). It’s like they are all just waiting for me to be overweight too.
*When you are skinny, you can NEVER say you feel fat. EVER. I feel like a beached whale at the moment, but if I were to express such things in front of female company, they immediately reply, “Oh you’re not fat.” Or “At least you’re not 15 pounds overweight like me.” Or something to that effect. To which I reply, “I didn’t say I WAS fat, I said I FEEL fat. And I am so bloated right now, I am allowed to feel fat!”
Remember ladies, size is relative. Even if your weight is just fine, you WILL feel bloated during that special time of the month.
I could go on about how hard it is to find clothing in my size, but I will leave it here.
I think this was a GREAT post, Natalie, and good for you that you realized that people are squishy.
You're right - athletes do jiggle! Even the thighs of every gorgeous girl on the boardwalk in teeny tiny bikini bottoms does. Like you said, we're made of flesh, not stone. Lovely post, Natalie. Thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post! I have my own body-issues, so I am totally relating. It's hard to remember that we all have skin and muscle and flab and bone, and are perfect just the way they are. But this is a fantastic reminder.
ReplyDeleteWell said that woman. Nice to hear someone say it out loud (or write it down anyway), the logical part fo my brain says that everyone's stomach does that when they sit down, the mean little voice says 'I wish mine didn't'
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Natalie! I do yoga too and I think that little pooch when you fold forward is always gonna stick around! No worries though! :D
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Natalie. Being a girl can be so hard and reminders like this are what every girl needs!
ReplyDeletexoxo -- Hilary
You're right and I always had embraced my little pooch when I sat down, but I just can't be as optimistic as you. Because guess what! The pooch is still there when I stand now. I love my kids very much, but I don't love the extra skin they gave my body.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I'm pretty sure that's why women have worn dresses since...forever:) Nice, flowy dresses—not the tube ones some evil person designed.
ReplyDeleteI'm similar to Elizabeth where I'm fairly petite. I have a small body frame and I believe at this point in my life I'm one of those rare people who has a hard time gaining and maintaining a healthy weight. And my stomach pooches too--it's natural!
ReplyDeleteThat said, most of my squish is located in my thighs--that's where my body fat likes to collect. I also know I could be a healthier person. But I also know my squish will remain--it's part of being human like you said. I shall embrace the squish today. Well, metaphorically speaking. :)
I've been wishing away the last 10 pounds of baby #2's pregnancy over nightly snacks of chocolate chip cookies and ice cream. Funny how it doesn't work very well. Anyway, I'm glad that most humans have squishy tummies. Phew.
ReplyDeleteTypically (but maybe not anymore) I'm a thin person...not Barbie....but thin. When I gained 50 pounds with my last pregnancy, I had many comments at work about my (epic) bottom and how I was really putting on weight. Nice, huh? I guess they figured I'd slim down, so being pregnant fat was just a good joke.
Hear, hear.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I think that we do get lost in the everyday. My yoga instructor always told me to stop thinking and just be. Still your mind, let everything go and just feel your energy within. You find out that you are so much more than what people expect.
ReplyDeleteI am happy with being me. I hope that everyone can find their inner peace and accept themselves for being the beautiful people that they are.
Great post! Why couldn't things (as far as body images go) stayed like they used to be: when being chubby was a good thing (because it meant you were rich enough to eat) and being fair skinned was also beautiful, because being tanned meant you were a laborer. Then I wouldn't have to kill myself at the gym and risk death by melanoma to "fit the ideal." Which never works anyway. *looks down at my squishy, pooching stomach* I just came home from the gym and yep. It's still there. Oh well!
ReplyDeleteEMbrace the squish! Let's turn it into a slogan! ;-)
Squish is good. I just wished I didn't have sooooo much of it. I'm working on getting in shape. Thank heavens for the spa. From now on it's "squish" fitness. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy squish is comfy today, how is yours? :0)
ReplyDeleteLOL, if I lost twenty pounds like I keep saying I need to, I'd lose these great boobs I never used to have.
ReplyDeleteWin some, lose some. As long as my husband thinks I'm beautiful and I'm healthy, I guess I should be happy.
Thanks for this fantastic post :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post! And on the note of celebrating my squish, I am going to go ahead and have another chocolate Oreo.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, being a girl or a woman is hard in our society. I'm not as thin as I used to be these days, but it actually makes me feel better about myself - I look at old photos from when I was a 5 foot 7, 122 lb size 2, and I know that I felt fat even though I was pretty perfect. So when I feel fat now? Psh. I could be perfect, and I wouldn't even notice, so as long as I'm healthy, why worry about it?
Normally, I don't worry too much about the squish, and I have better things to do that stare at myself in a mirror, but I have bad days. Thanks, Natalie!
ReplyDeleteEmbrace the Squish!!
ReplyDeleteLove this!
Shelley
Wow. Every woman needs to read this. Really, this made my whole day!
ReplyDeleteSerious. Fabulous. I like squishy people. Would that we all had such comfort in our own selves, you know? Thanks for the thoughts.
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts! And it's not just on the outside that we need to forgive ourselves the imperfections.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I just dumped my daughter's Barbies in a box and stored them in the garage. Maybe forever. :-)
Love it! I'm a day late, but I'm embracing the squish with you.
ReplyDeleteI'm working on this. Thank you for permission to embrace my squish. Maybe someone else will want to if I'm okay with it. You're right, of course, we are who we are no matter what our pants size!
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