Redefining Beauty : Embracing All Bodies

We are not our skin. We are not height or weight, shape or size. We are not our bones. We are not our fat. We are not our scars. We are not our lumps and bumps. We are not our smile or our eyes.

Yet my body is seen as better. My white skin is privileged. My thinness is praised. My cis-able body is not judge but given empathy when it gets tired. I still hear jokes about someone's skin color. And even though we're in the 21st century there's still cultural appropriation for 'fashion'. There's lacking diversity in media. Most stores carry only smaller sizes. Most places are still not accessible to wheelchairs. For some reason, it is still a debate on whether or not we create gender neutral bathroom. No one will ask about your preferred pronoun, they just assume. Women with body hair are demonized. Girls that are empowered by their sexuality are called "sluts" and get shamed for dressing provocatively. Someone that lives happily in a fat body will be threaten and harassed by health trolls.

People will make assumptions based on your appearance. They think they can tell what kind of abilities you have, your lifestyle, your dreams, your personnality. Those people don't have your best interest at heart. They are judging you based on their limiting beliefs, their insecurities, their preconceptions. We all face body shaming, but society does discriminate against certain groups of people based on physical attributes.

My privileges. Do they make my struggles less valid? No. But we have to understand that because of our bodies, our genes, we might face some challenges more often than others, and that it does affect how society treats us. We do not choose our bodies and we do not control how others interact with us. But we do control how we treat others. Be kind. Someone's pain is not always visible.

#bodypositivity