skinnifer asked: I'm sorry you don't like my post, but i'm not a feminist. I want to lose weight because I want to look better and feel better about myself and also be healthier. And so did all the women in these pictures, just because you dont agree with it or w/e doesnt mean you have the right to put everyone down who is trying to lose weight. I'm not encouraging body obsession, its just inspiration to girls like myself that it is possible to lose weight and feel better.
What I mean by my criticism of your post is that self-worth and feeling good about oneself shouldn’t be tied to body image. Unfortunately in our culture for women (and increasingly more men), self worth is connected to how close we can get ourselves to look like swimsuit models. Jean Kilbourne discusses in her video Killing Us Softly IV about how only a very small percentage of women fit the runway/swimsuit model body type (tall, thin, etc). Holding ourselves to these standards, I think, is dangerous and can cause a lot of harm to our self-esteem. I would argue that if feeling better about yourself means being thin, that not only can you feel better about yourself without losing weight and dieting, but that even if you lose 50 pounds you still won’t feel any different about yourself, you’ll just find another perceived flaw to focus on (believe me, I’ve been down that road). I don’t mean to put anyone down, just to criticize your connection between self-worth and body image
Also, the thing about feminism is that regardless of whether or not you call yourself a feminist, these issues affect you. As people we are all subjected to a culture with very clear definitions of “men” and “women,” many of which are not only unrealistic but harmful. Feminism only means to highlight these problems in our culture and give women and men an equal voice. As a member of our society you are a part of this discourse whether you like it or not.
femanist posted this