Unrealistic Bodies

How pop culture affects our minds

This is not a new topic. How has our culture affected our perception of “ideal body type”? For anyone not familiar, I grew up with these images.

Nicole Richie, used to be Paris Hilton’s best friend. Lost a tremendous amount of weight and became the “IT” girl.

In recent years, there have also been these imageries:

Adele, celebrated for her new body

Sam Smith’s weight loss was celebrated. When he put on more weight after, he was criticized.

Our culture is obsessed with weight loss. We love before and after photos; especially if someone loses a tremendous amount of weight. And we punish people for putting on weight.

ChaeLin of 2NE1 being called fat

Billie Ellish being called fat.

Do you realize how detrimental and harmful these images are? Our society shames people who don’t look a certain way. Weight stigma is very real. What we are consuming on our social media feed becomes our reality. I hope that through this post, it can remind all of us that we do not have to succumb to society’s old standards of beauty. Here are some steps to actively rewire our brain:

Educate Yourself
Having a certain BMI does not mean you’re unhealthy. Health is not a size. You cannot judge a person on the way it looks. We can cultivate our mind to have a healthy body image. Most people, like me, grew up with extremely unhealthy body image. I equated being skinny as being healthy. I equated being pretty by being skinny. Hence, for a long time, I tried so hard to be skinny. That took a huge toll on my health. Let’s all start learning that healthy body image cultivates a healthy mental state of mind.

Lizzo, a big supporter of “health is not a size” movement

Diversify Your Feed
Just like the top 5 people you hang out with in life, what you see on social media also becomes your reality. When I first started exposing myself to images of people with bigger body sizes, I stereotyped them. I had to actively learn how to start removing the personal bias I had with people who are bigger, chubbier and have rolls in their tummies. This also taught me how to love my body a lot more. Some of the amazing accounts I follow include i_weigh that was founded by Jameela Jamil.

Learn that society affects how we see ourselves. When we can separate what society’s standards are, and make peace with who we are, we will eventually learn how to be kinder to ourselves. If you enjoyed today’s post, feel free to share this with your friends!

See you again next week.