Tag Archives: body image

Lady Links, This is a Woman

Lady Links 1.24

field o' daisies
an unrelated picture of flowers for you

~TIAW on Tumblr and Pinterest.
~”But this also hints that as much as self-proclaimed progressives wantto exist in a world where looks don’t matter to the point where they can be ignored, they still matter.”
~If you haven’t seen this yet, you really need to see this.
~Here’s a thought – let’s stop picking other women’s choices apart and just support everyone. LOVE.
~This is a beautifully done music video which shows that people on screen are not always what they seem.
~Speaking of retouching photos and video, you absolutely need to click on this link. Just make sure you aren’t drinking anything while you read through it because the hilarity will make you spit your drink all over you computer

Lady Links, This is a Woman

Lady Links 11.15

(Reusing an old image here because I'm out of time. Also because CAKE.)

(Reusing an old image here because I’m out of time. Also because CAKE.)

~TIAW on Tumblr and Pinterest.
~And you know? You may want to check out my personal Tumblr blog, too, today. There’s some interesting stuff that may not make it over to TIAW for one reason or another. Also I am adorable and you need more of me in your life.
~Sometimes I think Rainbow lives in my brain.
~I hate stretching. I’ve NEVER been flexible. In second grade I got in trouble for not sitting cross-legged because it was really uncomfortable for me. I must have come out of the womb and refused to ever do yoga again or something. And yet, I’ve been feeling very stiff lately. Probably because I am about to turn 80. So I happened across this and I think I’m going to start some stretching and see if I can’t start feeling a little more 35 years old.
~What no one tells you about losing lots of weight. Your skin doesn’t necessarily snap back. But no matter what? We are all beautiful.

Lady Links, This is a Woman

Lady Links 8.2

It’s my half-birthday today! Sometimes people give me a weird look for saying that but dammit, I’m gonna have as many birthdays as possible. CAKE.

CAKE

~TIAW on Tumblr and Pinterest.
~”The truth is many women will never regain the shape they had pre-pregnancy and there is nothing wrong with this.” <-- EXACTLY.
~So it turns out that making people feel like shit isn’t actually the first step to making them want to be healthy. WHO KNEW? /snarkasm
~This is a cool thread that poses the question, what would famous classical works of art look like if we applied today’s photoshopping techniques to them?
~Lululemon isn’t making plus-sized yoga pants to be KIND to plus-sized women. After all. They wouldn’t want to insult us by charging more and since that is the only option…
~Here’s a cute song that will make you realize that you actually have a lot more in common with velociraptors than you realized.
~Amanda Palmer is awesome. As usual.

7 Days, The Zebra, This is a Woman

Reasons to Work Out (7 Days: Day 6)

I’ve been working at this body image thing for awhile now. Probably since I was first told I was fat, around eight years old (and a couple of years ago I came across some pictures of me as a kid, and you guys? I was a skinny little thing at that age. The fuck with people telling me I was fat? STABBY STABBY STABBY).

Me as a child, not fat:
me, my grandparents, and the thingie my grandpa made for the fair

I didn’t know how to sort it out at that age, but my brain was screaming out that they were wrong. I struggled with knowing what the actual factual truth was, and still feeling less worthy of being a human because of how I thought I looked. It’s evolved a lot in the last 27ish years, and I know much better now how to love myself than I used to. And, yet, I keep finding these new layers, and each time I get to that level I feel like I have all the work yet to do. It is both energizing and exhausting.

Recently as I was leaving the gym, proud of myself for having worked hard, I thought to myself, “Even if I always stay fat, at least I’ll be fit.”

And then a little voice, from the back of my brain bravely spoke up and repeated a line I’d already read and nodded furiously in agreement with in many a fat acceptance blog.

But. So what if you’re not fit?

Because I am still holding onto that desperate need to be accepted and respected by everyone always.

And, yes, I know how unrealistic that is. But it’s my core operating system. It’s a bullshit core operating system, but it takes a lot of work and a lifetime to reprogram a core operating system.

So the thing hit me: I’m still working out for other people. I may have detached the weight loss itself from my exercise routines, but apparently only with the catch that I have to at least be in good shape. Cause that’ll show ’em.

Here’s a list of things I thought I liked about working out, but it turns out, none of these things are about me at all:
~Not being out of breath when I have to climb a flight of stairs around people who might think I’m just a fat fatty.
~Not being out of breath when I run and play with my kids. So strangers at the park won’t judge me.
~Going to the gym regularly to prove that some people are just fat no matter how much they exercise.
~Secretly wanting to be at least a little bit less fat. To show them.

Dear Me,
It’s not their business. Ignore them. You’re awesome.
Love,
Me

So here’s a list of things I actually do love about working out:

~Lifting weights and watching myself grow stronger.
~Doing harder cardio and watching myself grow stronger.
~Getting all sweaty and gross. No, really. I love that.
~Being able to do the more strenuous hikes without my head feeling like it’s trying to explode for lack of oxygen.
~Feeling good overall. Happier, more awake, less foggy. Regular exercise does this for me.

I’m going to keep those in mind and I’m going to do my best to live by them, to keep me motivated to exercise for me.

I’ve been a member of this gym now for almost a year and, while I certainly haven’t gone regularly, I’ve avoided that perfectionist attitude of, “well, I haven’t gone for a few weeks now so I just give up and when my contract is up I’ll cancel.” Instead I just go when I can, or sometimes just when I do.

And so what if I don’t? Well, now I know – on a conscious level, at least – that it won’t make me a failure.

I don’t have to be fit any more than I have to be thin. My personal value doesn’t rest upon size or fitness. It doesn’t rest on my health. It also doesn’t rest upon beauty, or intelligence, or sense of humor. I am valuable because I am a person. End. of. story.

Gymming.

(7 Days is a quarterly self-portrait group project I have taken part in for the last sixish years. One selfie a day for a week.)

Lady Links, This is a Woman

The As-Yet-Officially-Un-Renamed Weekly Roundup of Women’s News

Well. That’s a name. Of sorts. Want to help pick a new name for what was formerly called the Weekly Awesome? Click here.

awesome formerly known as weekly

~TIAW on Pinterest and Tumblr.
~This is kind of old news (I’m kind of behind on Awesome stuff so a few of these are old news) but I’m sharing it in case you haven’t heard it yet. Sometimes I feel voiceless in this world. I’ve boycotted Nestle for years, but they don’t care. But sometimes – hopefully more and more often – companies listen. And, in this case, Facebook also had to listen. And it’s about damn time.
~Another one on Facebook and misogyny. Also with an awesome ending.
~Here’s an interesting article from NPR about fat-shaming and career/higher education options.
~Remember that one Dove ad a few weeks back where the women described themselves to a sketch artist? XOVain decided to do something similar and got very different results. Now, I do this this was all somewhat intentionally skewed – and so was the Dove one for other reasons – but, if nothing else, it’s SO refreshing to hear women speaking about themselves with such positivity. LOVE.
~What better way to fight misogyny than with snarkasm? I give you Forehead Tittaes, a “product” “endorsed” by Marion Cotillard.
~Last one today. Patrick Stewart. That is all I need to say.