Body Confidence & Insecurities

Source

The topic of body confidence and insecurities seems to be a topic that is becoming more open to talk about as people are starting to admit their own insecurities. Body image as a subject is so diverse that it is hard to try and cover it all in a few hundred words, but the main thing I wanted to write about was personal insecurities and how the media influence body change.

I think it goes without saying that the majority of people, including men, have at least one physical feature that they either want to change or remove from their body. There is a statistic that only 1 in 5 girls are confident within their body, leaving me to think about the other 4. Whether it is being too 'skinny', 'fat', having cellulite, having small breasts, having big thighs, spots and acne or if their legs are 'too hairy', there always seems to be an excuse for someone to hate themselves and only focus on the negative. We are all more likely to focus on what we perceive to be negative in ourselves and I honestly think it is heartbreaking. In the entire world, think how many supermodels there are and compare that to the amount of people left. It seems almost laughable that a huge portion of the female population aspires to be 'that model' when really, it is unlikely that they will ever look like that. I have no problem with models as I am sure that most of them will also have insecurities too, but what really angers me are the supermodels and media that tell girls to go on a fad diet or to starve themselves so that they too can be 'skinny' too. Kate Moss's barbaric comment that "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" makes me feel sick that teenage girls my age look up to her and try to follow in her ways. I would hardly call Kate Moss a healthy person as she is well known for her constant drinking, drugs and partying, but that does not make her a bad person. What does, is that she holds the power to influence a generation and abuses it. Some people aren't made to be skinny. Size not only depends on the percentage of fat on the body but also muscle, bone size and bone structure. The word skinny is also a word I hate using as I know that it upsets some of my friends as they hate being called it. We shouldn't classify bodies into different categories as everyone is different and as cliche as it sounds, all bodies are beautiful.

Source

I am a very self conscious person and I will admit it in hopes it helps someone. There is a huge list of things I would change if I could. I am 'fat' and have been called it before, even by morons on the street, but I am getting healthy because it is something that I want to do, rather than something I think I have to do to be pretty or beautiful. Sure, I wish I was a size 8, but the likelihood of that happening is pretty slim. Instead, I try to remind myself that I do have features I like. For example, I have blue eyes which is always something I have loved and I am beginning to love my smile even though I don't have perfect straight white teeth. You may think that everyone is staring at you if you show some of the body parts you hate, but they probably aren't; they are probably worrying about their own body image too. And to those imbeciles who do call you out on your insecurity, who cares? If they were important enough to you then they wouldn't give a damn what you looked like, they would only care about your health and well being. The whole of last summer I refused to get my legs out, wearing leggings and black tights in really hot temperatures just because I couldn't stand my legs, but it was so stupid as more people looked at me wondering what idiot would wear that in the heat. 

I guess I am writing this post because whilst at the beach yesterday, I was the only one not in a swimsuit or bikini as I refused to expose my skin. My friends are all quite slim and toned, and on a busy beach full of bikini-clad women I was more self conscious than ever before. However, when I was looking around whilst my friends were in the sea, I noticed more and more 'normal' body shapes and sizes, all not caring what they looked like as they were just having fun. I am not sure whether it will be this summer or the next but I hope that one day I can get over this stupid fear of being judged and do whatever I want. 

To anyone reading this, I hope you realise how beautiful you actually are even if you can't see it. You will not be remembered in 100 years for the size of your stomach, instead for the actions you do or the type of person you are. The way you look does not affect anyone else, so they have absolutely no reason to critique you for it. Instead of 'getting ready for that bikini body', just try to be healthy both on the inside and out and it will make you feel so much happier about yourself. Try not to be too harsh on yourself as you are your own worst enemy sometimes, but we need to embrace both the amazing and not so great parts of ourselves as they make us who we are.

(Inspiration for writing this post taken from Threadsanddaisies)

A xo

"I have insecurities of course, but I don't hang out with anyone who points them out to me." - Adele