Unconditional Body Acceptance

One thing that's struck me recently in the body image world is a sort of conditional body acceptance in the first-person narratives I've read - let me explain. . . .

I accept my body after baby - the weight and stretch marks and scars and marks - because I created and hosted the miracle of life.

I accept my wrinkles and sags as I age, as they tell the story of my long and winding journey.

While these stories are often poignant and certainly move our dialogue along, a tacit message is, I'm okay with my imperfections, but only because I've carried a baby or arrived at a certain age. 

But here's the thing: You don't need to have a baby or be of a certain age or accomplish or endure anything else to explain away a feature on your frame. Belly fat is okay with or without child and lines and wrinkles can pop up at any age. In the words of Sonya Renee Taylor, "The body is not an apology." Make no bones about it.

The rimples and dips and creases and puckers, the swelling, distention, flab and fat that your body naturally houses - you don't need an excuse.

Your body is okay.

You can find Does Every Woman Have an Eating Disorder? Challenging Our Nation's Fixation with Food and Weight on Amazon (as a paperback and Kindle) and at BarnesandNoble.com.