I just watched an episode of America’s Next Top Model that had a photoshoot themed around being “Flawsome.” The idea here is that you have a flaw that you rock, thereby making it awesome.
Flaws included a widow’s peak, tooth gap, skinny legs, big hips, big eyes, a mole, and a big forehead. Each shoot included model Shaun Ross who is an actor, model and dancer who identifies as an Albino of African descent.
The thing that’s really flawed is the idea that there is one right way to look and everything else is a flaw. This idea is racist, sizeist, and ableist just for a start. It seems to me that this is one of those situations where the majority of people who are participating in the situation are being hurt by it and yet we keep perpetuating it with our time, money, and energy. “Rocking our “flaws” is one option. Another option would be to fervently declare that we don’t have flaws. That our foreheads, eyes, hips and everything else are fine as they are.
What if there is no such thing as flawed bodies? What if there are only variations? Different shapes, different sizes, different abilities, but all perfect as they are. What if, instead of reading another article about clothing that hides those “problem areas”, we realized that our bodies don’t have any problem areas? What would be different if, instead of suggesting that other people (or that we) aren’t beautiful, we realized that the problem is that we’ve been taught to see flaws instead of to see beauty. What if we took it upon ourselves to change that. What if we looked for beauty in every single person we saw. No more flaws, no more problem areas, no more body snarking, no more “can you believe she’s wearing that“. What if every time you looked at someone else, every time you looked in the mirror, you found something beautiful. Imagine how we can change the world. Now consider not just imagining, but doing it!
Do you get stressed about going to the doctor’s office? Last day to register!
Blog readers have been asking for help talking to their doctors. Si, I’ve created a workshop designed to help people communicate effectively with their doctors – including things to say when the doctor diagnosis you as fat and prescribes weight loss, the research that supports a Health at Every Size Approach, and even optional role playing and Q&A. Get all the details here! Registration deadline is Today (October 11)! If you have any questions (or if you want to register but money is an issue) e-mail me at ragen at danceswithfat dot org
Like my blog? Here’s more of my stuff!
The Book: Fat: The Owner’s Manual The E-Book is Name Your Own Price! Click here for details
Become a member: For just ten bucks a month you can keep this blog ad-free, support the activism work I do, and get deals from cool businesses Click here for details
Interviews with Amazing Activists!! Help Activists tell our movement’s history in their own words. Support In Our Own Words: A Fat Activist History Project!
Dance Classes: Buy the Dance Class DVDs or download individual classes – Every Body Dance Now! Click here for details
If my selling things on the blog makes you uncomfortable, you might want to check out this post. Thanks for reading! ~Ragen
