Making
the rounds of social media recently is the campaign from Taryn Brumfitt of The
Body Image Movement to raise money in order to make a documentary encouraging
women to embrace their body. She posted before and after pictures of herself,
saying that she is much happier with the after picture – and that caused
controversy.
Contrary
to what you’d expect, Taryn’s before picture was taken when she entered a body
building competition so her body is slim and strong, defined and bikini-clad –
the very picture of the modern ideal.
Her after picture shows the (discretely nude) body of a mom of three.
The big smile on her face invites you to share in her joy at the life it has
born and the love those children have brought into her life. There are plenty of decriers who accuse her of
promoting obesity, or at the very least acceptance of obesity, which is so
ridiculous when you see she is a very healthy looking woman beyond the first
flush of youth with three children to her credit.
Child
bearing aside – and a big aside it is for we know the wages exacted on a woman’s
body when she carries and delivers a child – Taryn’s point with the Body Image
Movement is that every person, every body has a story, and that health
encompasses more than just appearance or even just the body. Her before picture
would seem to be of a fit and healthy woman and yet at that point in her life
she was very unhappy with how she looked, was considering plastic surgery, and
obsessed about food and exercise. Her after picture is one of a woman who is
happy, content with who she is and how she looks. A woman who has found balance
between healthy practices and enjoying life.
She
advocates for a balanced life. She aims to counter the pressure we get through
advertising and celebrity culture (the average person is exposed to 4-600 ads a
day, many of them along the lines of “be thinner to be happier” “whiter teeth
will solve your problems” “you must be miserable right now if your hair doesn’t
look like this” and stories of celebrity moms who adore being pregnant, whose
children never cause a fuss, and who lost the baby weight within six weeks of
giving birth) Her Body Image Movement seeks to promote real health over those
media driven ideals of beauty, and to refute the claims that everyone else has
got it all figured out.
Taryn
makes these suggestions:
Suck it
up. You’ve got what you’ve got: be
realistic about what you can change about yourself and what you can’t.
Change
your language. Be kind to yourself. She asked 100 women to describe their body
in one word, and many of the replies were along the lines of: frumpy, wobbly,
not nice to look at, disgusting, less than perfect. It was heartbreaking to see a lovely young
girl shamefacedly admit to the camera she thought her body was disgusting.
Put
health before beauty – the body is a vehicle, not an ornament.
I once
read an interview with Cindy Crawford during the height of her supermodel days
in which she said what she liked best about her body was that it was strong. She
talked about moving furniture around her apartment and being grateful her body
was capable to doing that work. That has stayed with me all these years because
it was gratifying to me to realize that no matter what a woman’s body looks
like, they’re meant for the same purposes: to carry us through life.
A friend
of mine told me she hopes to die with rough hands, because they would be a sign
she had worked hard and served others rather than being pampered. Work,
service, love – they are offered through our bodies. We also experience the wonderful gifts of
being human through our bodies – good food, beautiful music, laughter, the
smell of pine trees heated by the sun, the sound of crickets at the end of a
summer day, Monet's Field of Poppies….
Whether
you’re Cindy Crawford or Betty Sue Smith you live your life in your body, and
it’s how you live rather than how you look that is most important – so don’t
let how you feel about your body keep you from living, from being content,
vibrant, creative, and loving.
Today’s
post comes with a caveat. Having a balanced life is important in every aspect
of health: physical, mental and spiritual – a point Taryn makes several times.
However, it is important for our readers to know that The Body Image Movement
is not Catholic and so we are not promoting it as a new life style regimen for
you to take on. We found Taryn’s story and mission to be worth knowing
about and for that reason chose to share it with you here. For readers who are interested in learning
more about Taryn and The Body Image Movement, click here. Be advised that she
is very frank in her writing and speaking – there may be language or photos
that some readers might find difficult.
I love it Tess - thank you for this. I once heard a speaker say that we are turning our noses up to God whenever we hate the body we're given. It's worth thinking about - that God chose this or that feature specifically and specially for you.
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