Consider this: Women used to be chastised for being too thin. We just can’t win if we start trying to look like what society deems as “beautiful” instead of focusing on being healthy.
And while we’re on the subject of body image, I shared some of my thoughts on the subject and my personal struggle with an eating disorder over at In God’s Image.
An excerpt:
“One in five women is purported to have a clinically diagnosed eating disorder. They’re the ones everyone wants to help. But what about the millions of women who feel like failures because they eat bread (and other “bad” carbs) and aren’t Auschwitz-thin? Or all the prepubescent girls who are on a diet right now? What about the college student who lives off beer, cigarettes and laxatives interspersed with an occasional meal? Are they not sick as well?
Frankly, I’m tired of the term ‘eating disorder.’ Many women will never vomit every day (or ever) or starve themselves to the point of emaciation. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a problem. The obsession with all the media figures who have personal trainers, cooks and their share of eating problems is taking its toll most women. It’s rare to find a woman who loves her body (all the time, not just when she’s on a diet), unless perhaps she’s sucked out the fat, tucked the tummy and taken a knife to her breasts to boost her cup size. (Research suggests that media idealize a female body that only one percent of woman can hope to biologically attain.)”
Read the rest here.
Dear Kate: I’m always so grateful when you allow yourself to be vulnerable about such a personal, private issue. So many women are struggling … and by shining the light ahead as you do, they have real cause to hope!
I plan to link to this at EMN.
Blessings,
Heidi
http://extraordinarymomsnetwork.wordpress.com