I’m tired of that little voice in my head telling me I should suck in my stomach in photos, avoid tight-fitting outfits, or that I should “just lose 10 pounds and then I’ll feel great.”
I’ve spent so many years hiding, camouflaging, and judging myself. My stomach has become a silent obsession. And at the same time… it’s where I breathe, where I laugh, where I digest, where I live. This body has carried me this far, and yet I’ve been so hard on it.
I’m starting to try something new: dressing to please myself, not to look thinner. Not forcing myself to look at my reflection if I don’t want to, but not running away from myself either. Taking pictures of myself without “correcting” myself. It sounds trivial, but for me, it’s huge.
I know I’m not alone. So if you too are learning to make peace with your body again, or if you are still fighting, know that I see you. And I send you lots of love.
Comments
Taking up space is a feminist act in a world which tells us all the time that it wants us to shrink away to nothing. Got even worse here lately with the current ozempic chic scrawny, mocking the heroin chic look of the ’90s. It was dangerous and gave women eating disorders the first time around, guess we got to go through it all again.
Also, our belly sticks out a little because of the organs in there that allow us to create life! Can’t have a perfectly flat abdomen when you have a uterus tilting out a little bit. Rock that belly, yo! It is the source of our power, we can create life. Which is God like enough to make men hate us, maybe idk?
You’re not alone! I’ve struggled with this my whole life even when I was at my skinniest.
I’m going through this journey, too. I don’t know if I’ll ever love my body, but I am finding things to love about it.