I have been a people watcher for as long as I can remember. From shopping malls to fairs and festivals to airports, there is nothing like sitting back and watching people go by. What kind of people are they? What are their lives like? Why did they choose that particular outfit, that hairstyle, that partner? I love wondering about people, and I love seeing the amazing and endless variety of people there are in the world. And to think, I only see the people in my own very small corner of the planet!
There was some great people watching to be had at the Naples Grape Festival this weekend. I was wandering through the massive crowds with my friends, scoping out the folks around me, when it suddenly hit me: Look at the endless – and I mean endless – variety of bodies. Different shapes, different sizes. Small parts, big parts, tall, short, fat, skinny. There weren’t two bodies that looked the same in that whole crowd. Literally thousands of bodies, and no two were alike. So why is it that we torture ourselves to look a certain way?
I’m not very good with math, but I’m going to go ahead and estimate that the “beautiful” bodies we see in the media represent about 1% of the population of this planet. So that means that 99% of us don’t look like the models, actresses, singers, etc., whose images we are bombarded with every day. Basically, almost all of us have bodies that are wildly different and varied from what I’m going to call these “media bodies.” Think about that: Almost no one you know has a media body. And yet we spend billions of dollars (and risk our happiness, health, and sometimes sanity) in an endless and futile attempt to look like that 1%.
A bunch of really rich media guys spend all their time and energy thinking of ways to remind us that we aren’t good enough unless we look like that 1%. And as long as we continue to believe their lies, they will continue to get richer. They certainly don’t want us to start loving our bodies, to look around at the awesome variety of bodies that populate this earth and celebrate that diversity. That would be the rich media guys’ nightmare.
The next time you’re out in public, look around you. Really look. See the bodies everywhere that don’t look like media bodies, that don’t even look like your body. Really see the shapes and sizes of people you pass. See that they are wildly and amazingly different – because that’s how we are supposed to be. We are taught to celebrate our individuality, to be ourselves, to embrace our uniqueness… but that’s not supposed to apply to our bodies? We’re supposed to be our true, individual selves in our hearts and minds, but our bodies had better all look the same?
No thanks, Mr. Rich Media Guy. I’m not done learning to love and accept my body – it’s a process, and an endless one – but I’m one step closer. One step closer to realizing I’ve been sold a lie, a stupid, dangerous one, a lie that says my body isn’t “right” because it doesn’t look the way you say it should. But almost no bodies look like you say they should. So why are we even listening to you at all? From now on, instead of watching your slick, glossy adverts showcasing and praising only one body type, I’m going to watch the people around me, see their wonderful diversity, and be thankful that they exist. Beauty isn’t just in the glossy pages of a magazine or on the screen, it’s all around you. Just watch.
