Have you seen the video that’s circling the internet right now about body confidence? Everyone has seen the Dove Real Beauty Sketches and it did raise a lot of questions about body confidence and accepted ‘norms’, but this latest one from the Jubilee Project shows that issues with body image are completely perpetuated by the media. How? They ask 50 adults and children what one thing they would change about their bodies. The adults come up with all sorts of answers including having smaller ears and straighter feet. The children however don’t even know where to start. Not one of them has a problem with how they look so they suggest changes like having a mermaid’s tail or legs like a cheetah so they can run really fast. My favourite part though, is the woman at the very end. I’m guessing she’s in her 60s or 70s and she says,
‘It wouldn’t be me if I changed the way I looked.’
The grass is always greener on the other side, and I’ll be totally honest, I could write blog post after blog post about the physical things I’d like to change about myself. I’ve always had an issue with my unruly curly hair, I’ve suffered with adult acne since I was about 20, and let’s not even get started on body hair. But would I truly be happier if I changed these things? On a basic level, yes. But do any of them affect my everyday life? Definitely not. I know that as I’ve got older I can’t eat as much cake as I’d like and I can’t go to bed with my make-up still on, as I will notice the side effects. I make sure I drink plenty of water, I exercise as much as I can (but my dodgy back frequently stops that), and I’m pretty good on the fruit and veg front but I’ll be damned if I spend my entire life worrying about bloating from carbs or cellulite from just being me.
So I’m forcing myself to write five positive things about myself. It’s not showing off, it’s not being big headed. It’s because it’s the right way to feel. So, #IAmComfortableBecause:
- I’m 5ft 10, and despite struggling to find trousers that reach my ankles, I like being tall
- My olive skin tone comes from being half-Jamaican and I can get a rocking tan at the drop of a UV ray
- As much as my hair bothers me, it makes me who I am, and I like having a stand-out feature
- Even when my nails are short, they still look long because my cuticles are far down
- I have a pretty good definition between my waist and hips, giving me a bit of an hourglass shape
I’m not going to lie, that was hard. I just spent a good 25 minutes thinking about what I could put down. That highlights the issues behind this video even more. Try it yourself. Force yourself to list five things you like about yourself. Don’t be shy, you shouldn’t be ashamed of who you are!
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