I'd turned a bit of a blind eye to Girlguiding's #BeBodyConfident campaign, I had the vaguest of ideas of what it was about, thought it was a good idea and that was about it. The world is full of airbrushing and Photoshopping; one of my friends is doing Dare to Bare as her response to the #nomakeupselfie hashtag of nearly a fortnight ago (go to that link to read her story); even I think "being dressed up" includes being perfectly plucked and tweezed and wearing a full face of makeup! Granted, it's rare that I bother, but I do still believe that I look better with all of my imperfections smoothed over. And what are these imperfections that I feel should be painted over? Nothing more than dark circles and skin that no longer has the dewy radiance of a teenager half my age!
I started writing this post because I was in shock after seeing two of the skinniest women I know use phrases like "reasons why I'm not skinny" and "fatty" after doing nothing more than enjoying some food and hearing another say that she hates being pregnant because she's not used to having a tummy. It really highlighted why we need #BeBodyConfident. I was going to go off on a rant about what fat looks like and what it doesn't, a subject I do feel confident to talk about given that I was 18 stone and a size 22 at my heaviest :-) While I no longer feel "fat", I know I'm still obese according to a BMI chart and still have a good amount to lose before I hit a healthy weight. But what good is a rant like that when I have to admit that I hide my legs because they're pudgier than I'd like them to be (blasted genetics, half my family struggles to find jeans that fit right!) and because they're covered in varicose and spider veins (genetics again, this time from the other side of the family)?
So instead, can we all take the pledge to #BeBodyConfident and be kinder to ourselves?
