Note: This may get a little bit personal for me because, with this topic, it focuses more on body image and body positivity. I’ve always had an uneasy feeling with my body. I’m pretty thin, but there are moments where I feel “fat” or heavy or weighted like I’ve gained weight somehow without trying. Now, I’m a pretty healthy 110 lbs., but there are still moments where I feel like if I haven’t eaten enough for the day, then I feel dizzy or faint… so I have to eat something just to satisfy that craving. As for my body-image, I don’t hate my body. I’m still in the process of liking myself the way I am and finding that balance between love and appreciation.
I also have scars all over my torso, stomach, chest, arms, neck and feet from when I was a premature baby that I was born with. When I was little, I used to wish these scars away or figure out ways to do cosmetic surgery, not knowing that sometimes those surgeries can do more damage. I can say that I’m learning now to appreciate my scars so I have a story to tell when people ask.
Here are some pics of me at the beach a few years ago.
But back to this post…
In case you don’t know, Bookending Summer is one of the quarterly events, running under the umbrella term “Bookend Events”, aspiring to bring the book blogging community closer together! Bookending Summer has a vague theme of Ocean, Beach, Vacations, Contemporaries (you know…Summer), but you DO NOT need to stick to this theme at all! Hosted by Clo @ Book Dragons and Sam @ Fictionally Sam.
You can find all rules, info and prompts on Clo’s post HERE.
According to Isabelle @ BookwyrmBites, who is also the host for today’s prompt, she explained what body-positivity is for fat people:
body positivity was not meant to be about “all bodies”, despite how it’s been co-opted and refocused. It is by and for fat people. Of course everyone deserves to feel positively about their body! But the idea that “body positivity is for everyone” has been compared to “All Lives Matter” — it’s not objectively untrue, but it’s missing the point entirely. Changing the status quo is always tricky, but as with any other type of diversity, my basic position on the issue is that, ideally and eventually, fat characters should be represented in a variety of experiences.
This changes a lot for me, because while I’m not fat, I’ve felt that body-positivity movement was for everyone of all sizes; short, tall, fat, slim, skinny, curvy, etc. But just fat people? But then again, the way American media praises people to be of a certain size (skinny/curvy), like if you’re not either/or, then you’re cast out.
As for books about proper body-positivity, I can only think of The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli. While the story itself was pretty basic, Molly as a young fat teen had expressed so much about her experiences as a fat person with 126 crushes and no boyfriend, feeling inadequate against her twin sister Cassie, her friends and her guy friend/love interest Reid.
Which books express proper body-positive perspectives? How do you feel about your own body? Comment below!
