Summer! The time of exuberance, exploration and self-love. The yellow hue characterized by the season’s temperature brings in new hopes and vibrancy. The perfect time of the year for welcoming a change. Two days back, walking down the Manhattan Mall in the afternoon, Kate and I binged on ice cream trying to do away with the soaring heat. As we passed by the mannequins showcasing some amazing outfits, she stopped and looked at her own self.
“What’s wrong Kate?” I asked. “Bob I look so fat,” she answered, sounding very low. She started talking about the good old days when she had the perfect curves. Back then in Iowa Kate used to be a model and an anchor. She finds it really difficult to accept this transition. She loved the dress on the mannequin. “This dress is never going to fit me again,” she cried softly.
I looked at her; she had turned gloomy. Kate has the tendency to get depressed easily. “What makes you so unhappy about it Kate? You look amazing anyway!” I said. She smirked and ignored my compliment.
I had the perfect idea to make her feel better since I knew words would be of no good at the moment. Knowing what a movie buff she is, I decided to run a movie marathon at my place with all our friends. I dropped a text to everyone and planned the sudden rendezvous without letting Kate know. She was anyway coming to my place for the night. I thought of movies which would give her the feel-good factor and shoot up her confidence.
Once we reached our place, Kate was amazed to see everyone. She had no idea what was going on. With some amazing snacks, we started with the movie ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ where Olive, the protagonist defined her own sense of beauty and stood out amidst her competitors without caring about the audience’s judgment. Then we watched ‘Hairspray’. It was followed by ‘Real Women Have Curves’ where Ana’s powerful dialogue, “I want to be taken seriously. Respected for what I think, not for how I look,” instills a sense of sharp poise. Finally, we ended with ‘Patti Cake$’ where a character who is plus size is a confident aspirer who chases her dreams without fearing anything.
She felt a lot better after watching all the movies. “You know Kate, you have to turn a deaf ear to the fake beauty standards,” I said. All of us asked her to embrace herself the way she is. ‘Body Positivity’ is about feeling good the way you are. “Thank You so much, Bob! I got your point. I love myself the way I am,” Kate replied happily.
The concern should be about health and not weight. What bothers us? Is it because we don’t fit in the clichéd beauty standards? Is it important to please someone else’s eye? When we reason out, the answer will be clear. It’s majorly an external pressure. Feeling good about qualities within us can make us feel better and peaceful. There would be no inner conflicts. It’s important to love ourselves the way we are. Feeling good about ourselves will make life much happier.
Turn the loathing into loving and see how beautiful it feels!
