Baby Bodies
I look at her double chin, her chubby knees and the mountain range of rolls that make up her thighs and think, "She is PERFECT."
And while her soft, squishy body is "acceptable" because she's an infant, when will she first be told that it's time for her to change? 4 years old? 6? 10?
When will she be told that her perfect body is imperfect, that to be loved she must slenderize her thighs, lose her soft belly and never ever surpass a size 6?
The messages are already swirling around her female body. Relatives sweetly joke about her dimpled legs and her possible need to visit Weight Watchers. Strangers comment on her cheeks and advise her to eat less.
At this tender age, she knows nothing of body image. Her body is simply the thing she is in. She doesn't yet know that one day a person or ad campaign will try to convince her that she is only as good and lovable as her dress size.
And when that day comes, may their body bullshit bounce right off her. May she be so connected to her center, so in love with her being that she's unable to recognize the inheritance of body shame they’re offering her.
May she look at them and say, "My mother taught me to accept my body as she is. To trust her changing, flowing nature. I choose body reverence over body revulsion and I will never abandon myself or my body for whatever false love "perfection" brings. My body is my own and not open to commentary."
This is what I want for each and every female on this planet.
May we accept our bodies. May we trust them. May we hold them in profound reverence for each and every one of their remarkable capabilities and may we leave a legacy of body reverence so our daughters and granddaughters may feel the same.
If you enjoyed this post, please keep reading!
This conversation is between myself and an incredible woman named Ani, who shares how she learned how to be authentic, practice self-compassion, and take up space without guilt or shame through my 6-month group coaching program, Homecoming. Ani is a model for how to excavate internalized misogyny and live authentically without fear of others’ opinions. The conversation originally took place on my podcast, The Path Home.