Inspired by April's challenge, posed here--Eight Things I Like About My Body:
1) My height
2) My large, expressive eyes
3) My strength (the look and function of muscles)
4) The softeness of my hair
5) My big, white smile, used somewhat judiciously
6) My (word of the day) countenance, capable of conveying almost every emotion, sans words
7) My walking stride, which is unintentially "bouncy," allowing me to appear quite peppy
8) My solid legs, which have held up, with minor exceptions, the last few months and which I hope will send me sailing on Sunday!
Now, your turn. What are your eight things?
20 comments:
Ha cool.
the thing is, BEFORE all of the image stuff, of course i love the fact that my body is healthy and functions well...
but since this is all about body image, i addressed those issues that are more what is normally considered vanity. i figured that was the point. and since nobody had commented yet i am first and i am gonna be vain as hell. sue me.
Okay... from head to toe:
1. the way my smile is bigger on one side than the other. i think dats cool.
2. my coloring - brown hair, really black eyelashes, with light brown eyes and pale skin. i esp like the way i get all pink in the cheeks and lips from vigorous acitivity. ;)
3. my arms - they don't look all muscular but they do feel strong to me. and they look soft and feminine. it's an interesting combination.
4. my boobs. that's right people. i fuckin said it.
5. my small waist (complete with smooshy tummy. yep. smooshilicious.)
6. my big round butt that sticks way out.
7. my legs. they are awesome. esp my shapely calves. i have very pronounced calf muscles; they have to do a lot of work cuz of my flat feet.
8. my feet. ya, they're flat, but they do their best and the toes are so pretty.
Here are my 8...
1. My toe b/c it waves.
2. My fingernails -b/c they're long and strong.
3. My feet -b/c they're cute and tiny
4. My eyelashes - b/c they look long to me, even though they're not
5. My belly button (it's an inny)
6. My teeth - b/c they're white and straight (thanks orthodontist)
7. My ability to tan -b/c I'm I love being tan.
8. My wrists - b/c they're tiny.
I like my calves sometimes because they are sort of defined.
I love your blog. I have just come across it from Peta's and it's just what I am looking for. I have just started the no dieting, love my body thing and it relly is very hard. You website seems to completly support, this which I think is great. I look forward to coming back a reading up when I have more time.
Thanks for a great blog
Kristy
I'm a shameful lurker, but then I went and stole this for my little corner of the web, so I figured it's polite to cut and paste.
Thanks for what you write, this blog is great.
1. I like that right now, right in this moment, my body has started to respond to sleep medication. In an hour or so, I could be asleep instead of staring at the walls like a crazy person. This is, while normal for most people, a fun new trick for me.
2. I like my hair. I like that it's dark and thick and not pin-straight, but not curly. It's just my hair. It's also highlighted a couple of times a year by a woman who's been near and dear to me my whole life. So when I'm happy about myself in the mirror, I get to think about someone I love, too, and that's a gift.
3. I have three permanent marks from drum corps. Two of them are on my left foot. They're rarely visible, as they're usually covered up and the two scars are fading. I have an inch-long scar over my right shoulderblade, with a slight hollow underneath, where a cyst I'd had for years finally rebelled against the rest of my skin. The front of my left foot, though it's barely even a change in pigment, is a memento of a day when I stubbornly stood in a Texas ant hill. It bled every day for a couple of weeks. I remember it was Texas because later that night there was dry lightning like I've never seen before. I remember the lightening because we were still outside. And just two inches away from that is a bone callous on the inside back of my foot. I look like I have two ankles, but really, I'm just stubborn to stop when I'm literally down. I learned on the road how to be myself, and I count myself lucky to have such intriguing, but semi-private, physical reminders.
4. I like my calves, and how quickly and dramatically they become my ankes.
5. I like my lips. They are deep pink and full. My only mirror is very tiny, so if I use it to apply lip gloss, all I can see in the mirror are my lips, and all I can think of are my most sensual kisses.
6. I like my upper back. My shoulders are broad and un-feminine, and they carry me around with pride. The top of my back responds quickly to weight training, so sometimes when I've worked hard I can actually see a result, and enjoy it aesthetically without attaching my entire personal value to its beauty. It can just mean I had a good workout. This is something I'm still working on, both the weight training and the enjoyment of visual pleasure.
7. I like my Mediterranean skin. I like that it binds me to my family's history in Italy, and to the huge spectrum of browns in my beloved adopted hometown, and that it turns a deep, healthy brown in the sun. I don't pass intentionally, because the thorny ethics around that mean to me that discretion is the better part of anti-racist valor, but when someone asks me if I am Latina, or Egyptian, or American Indian, I always say thank you.
8. I like my piercings. I got my first pair of earrings when I was seven in my hometown, and then went thirteen years until on a whim one night in college I realized that I liked my nose and wanted to get it pierced. My second set of earlobe piercings are dear mementos of my last week in Belfast, and the hole in my upper cartilege was a whimsical celebration of Camden Town in London. The first two times I tried to be tough, but since then I've grown up, and learned to hold someone's hand.
I hope it's all right for me to steal this (with credit, of course!!) for my own blog!
OK here goes:)
1. My big blue eyes
2. My breast...they're simply gorgeous
3. My perky Butt
4. My 6 pac tummy
5. My calves
6. My long legs
7. My toned arms
8. My nose
Just 8 things? How about I love every inch of me because I eat incredibly healthy and sculpt every muscle in the gym. I hate the stigma that goes along with the ideology of the female body, that we can't choose to eat the right foods that fuel our bodies and keep us young and full of vitality, and that if we work out continuously at the gym it must be a result of the media pushing what is 'beautiful.' There are the other group that just wants to take care of their bodies to look amazing to no one but ourselves. I enjoy being able to look in the mirror and love every inch of my body because I work for it, and I have no eating disorders or problems with body images. I don't need to look to the media for what they find attractive, I can determine on my own as the rest of the world. If we didn't find perfectly sculpted and toned bodies beautiful, then they wouldn't be out there in the media in the first place. America's just lazy and we don't want something that shows us that put in our face. It takes a weak person to be so influenced by the media that it dictates their actions. The only thing that the media is...is an excuse for America's problems. Smoking, Obesity, Violence, Sex...we need take responsibility for your own actions instead of putting blame elsewhere.
1. My boobs. They're not big, but they are shaped nicely
2. My shoulders: They're broadish and defined
3. Eyes: They're dark
4. My nose: Very classic and aquiline
5. My butt. I could give JLo a run
6.My legs: They get muscular quickly and it's cool
7.My long toes. Seriously. I look like could hang from a tree. I have flippers!
8. My lips. Everyone in my family has thin lips but me. I'm no Angelina, but they're fullish.
I've been reading your blog for a little while, and really enjoying it. I decided to "un-lurk" because I thought it would be a good exercise for me to actually do this for myself.. Let's see...
1. My big full lips (didn't always love them, as I used to be made fun of as a child)
2. My complexion (don't hate me but I can count on one hand the number of zits I got in high school and I never have to wear foundation or blush)
3. My cleavage (if you've got em, flaunt em right?)
4. My calves (I love what cggirl said-it hadn't occurred to me that my flat feet gave me my shapely calves!)
5. My eye colour (everyone gives me a different name for it, so I won't even try, but it's cool, believe me!)
6. My height
7. My hair colour
8. The furrows in my forehead (I tend to furrow my forehead when I'm listening carefully, and since I'm a clinical psychologist, I think the fact that I have these wrinkles means I'm actually doing my job!)and the smile lines I'm developing (which I take to mean that I enjoy life!)
Adynaparis, It's GREAT that you are proud of your body, but, please, tread a little carefully here. Many of us here have been told all of our lives that we are weak, lazy, and stupid, and we are not. (Being overweight, or even perceived as overweight, doesn't mean a person is unhealthy or doesn't take care of themselves. I work out 8 hours a week, eat healthy food, and still have a poochy tummy.)
We come here to help ourselves find peace and acceptance. We come here to take responsibility for our own well-being, and to find support with a group of caring people. And, yes, the media DOES have an influence, on the majority of people in our society.
Please understand, I'm NOT saying you can't speak your mind; please DO!!!! I'm just asking you to consider the words you use, and the effect they might have. Thanks!
well said alyssa :)
and how wonderful to read everything everyone LOVES about their bodies, i know it sounds hokey but look how even tho we are all different we are also all wonderful and beautiful. hooray!
incidentally, a very wise man once told me: "just because she is beautiful doesn't mean you are any less beautiful".
that seems more directly about jealousy but to me it's about accepting ourselves and others and all our differences, without actually detracting from anyone.
I have two- my hands and toes. I think my hands are pretty. I would say my lips, but they've been cosmetically enhanced, so I don't think that counts. Oh, and my brain, besides the ED part, it functions quite well.
u know beth - while others may not agree with me, personally i think it's totally cool to love a part of u that was cosmetically enhanced.
after all, we love it when someone cuts or dyes our hair and that does help our self esteem.
and most of us shave our legs even tho that's not "natural" and we love it.
everyone draws the line wherever is right for them but it's all a continuum of the same thing...
so hey as long as it's not to the point of body dysmorphia or something, what's wrong having something altered and with expressing pride and joy in that?
so as far as i'm concerned ur lips totally count :)
and just for that i wanna say i love my tattoo. that's a cosmetic enhancement to the body as well! :)
Thank you, cggirl. You know, I bet not as many people would list their teeth had they not had braces, which falls somewhere along your continuum, as well. Your tatoo does count as part of your body, I never would have thought of that!
My eight:
1. My hands. I have long, slender fingers and have always liked that.
2. My hair color. Redheads rule! And it's long.
3. My skin. It's pale but in a pretty way. I've been told I look like a porcelain doll before, and I take it as a complement. :)
4. My belly button. I'm an innie and proud.
5. My butt. Not big but not nonexistant. Just enough roundness.
6. My fingernails...when I grow them out, that is. :P
7. My back. This one came from my husband, who adores the shape of my back and likes to trace its contours with his hand at night. I love that - it's so soothing - so my back is awesome. :)
8. Dimples. They show up when I smile really big.
I'd like to take a leaf out of cggirl's book and say that, first and foremost, I like that my body is healthy and nourished and strong.
Ok, now to the outside:
1. My sunset eyes. Blue with yellow rings around the pupa.
2. The fact that I have big, open, wondering eyes framed by long dark lashes.
3. My multi-colored, multi-textured, ever resilient
hair.
4. My big nose. Yes, I like my big nose. Family trait, and I'm proud of it.
5. My modest breasts.
6. My long, slender fingers that allow me to play power chords on a bass fingerboard, as well as give me a firm grip on my drum sticks.
7. My shoulders, with their lovely little swallow tattoos.
8. My teeth, which are finally straight.
9. My skin color. Somewhere between pale and tan, depending on the season.
10. My strong, lean, determined legs, which carry me 50+ miles a week to ecstasy.
Great post, by the way. :)
This is a great post!
I love almost everything about my body, but I do have some real favorites:
1) My eyes...they are the perfect shape and size and they are a very unique color of blue.
2) My teeth...My smile is beautiful, straight, white and strong.
3) My shoulders...they are not too broad, not too narrow, and my deltoids are nicely developed. I never fear tank tops!
4) My arms...they are very scultped and not flabby AT ALL! No chicken wings here :)
5) My legs...they are a little short, but they are solid and firm and they carry me around on my runs. Plus, they have no cellulite, so that's always good.
6) My feet...they are NOT pretty, but I love 'em. I'm missing a bunch of toenails from running, I usually carry a blister or two, I have calluses all over them. It's sort of my badge of honor from running.
7) My breasts...they are small, so they don't get in the way when I workout and I can go braless whenever I want. And even though they're little, they are perky and nicely shaped.
8) My ears...they don't stick out, they can wiggle, and I have them pierced so I can wear cute earrings. Plus, one is higher than the other as a result of a tumor that grew along with me in utero (it squished my head a little and made my ear grow in a little higher). It's sort of a reminder that I was almost not born :( They only gave me a %15 chance of surviving.
Focusing on our good traits is a good idea...it makes the parts of our body that we don't like so much not seem so bad.
nice blog thanks for the informative writing, cheers!
Nice post Dr. Stacey! Thanks for taking on the topic!
apri
How cool is this. I've just come across your blog and I LOVE it. As someone recovering (recovering? suffering? where am I today?) from an ED this is fantastic and I would like to add my 2c.
1. My arms. I've been lifting weights and they look FANTASTIC :)
2. My legs. Everyone I ride with (I'm a cyclist) says so.
3. Well I'm stuck. Arms: got them. Legs: yep. Abs: well, not so much. Face: not really. Hair: ?? I can do hair...
4. My hair. It's healthy since I stopped puking. It's shiny and looks lovely. Yay me. :)
5. Stuck again...Ummm...My feet. I like my feet. Mostly because I've started taking care of them and my toes look pretty with polish and whatnot and my hubby also likes them.
6. Er...Did I mention my arms? Yes? Okay...I don't know...
7. I can run. Fast. (Faster than I used to, anyway...maybe not faster than you, but faster than the me with the ED.)
8. I can ride. (A bike.) Fast. Faster than a lot of guys i know. Probably because I lost weight because of the ED, but I can still ride fast. And I LIKE IT.
So that's 8. A very good exercise. One I shoudl try every day. I think it will become part of my routine...Thanks Dr. Stacey
This is entirely body fixated, and obsessive. This is what is wrong with women today.
Post a Comment