For such a long time now body image is something that has unintentionally, and at times, unconsciously taken up a lot of time in my thoughts - as I'm sure it has for lots of people - our body is what we live in, it is who we are.
I've recently been watching a group of videos where women discuss matters that are close to them, and in this, body image has been a recurring theme. As the interview goes on, the seated woman removes all items of clothing until she is left in her underwear - empowering and beautiful, and as I imagine, incredibly scary!
In one interview, a woman pointed out how women are expected to take up less physical space. Think about it, for years women wore corsets to literally tuck and tidy their waists and stomachs, emphasizing their 'assets' whilst hiding what was seen to be 'problem areas'. I browse around the underwear section in Primark, to find 'belly sucking in pants' - and the worst of it is, I own a pair! Why do we feel the need to tuck and tidy the thing that is ours?!
We have our actors showcase coming up, and on top of the obvious things to be nervous about - I will probably fall over at some point - I'm incredibly scared at the idea of people looking and questioning, 'oh, how would I cast her when she has a disabled arm?' Of course we all have our own insecurities, and body image is, saddly, something that will always be an issue in the society we live in. But just remember, as I keep reminding myself, our body is really the only thing we have that is truly ours. In the words of Christina Aguilera, 'we are beautiful!'
I'm not expecting this to completely change the way you see yourself or the insecurities you may have, but next time you look in the mirror, recognise the things you love about what you see! When you choose something to wear, choose something that makes you feel fucking brilliant - our bodies are worth respect and love!
Now I'm going to attach the video that inspired me to write this article, and hope that I don't get thrown into prison for copyright... My favourite part is the realisation she has of her own beauty!