Bodies

The moral of these stories? #1: Let's start letting others define their bodies without feeling the need to challenge them.

Is your relationship jeopardized by double standards? Big or small, they can threaten the health of a relationship. By learning to recognize the signs, the risk can be reduced. Then you can take action to eliminate them.

Mainstream capitalization on male body image issues may be “new” in comparison to the historical obsession with policing women’s bodies, but I would have to say that it’s just as important.

Being a body positive/body acceptance activist means that regardless of WHAT shape my body takes at any given point and time in my life, I love it. I am kind to it. I remember that it has the right to love and adoration, first from myself, and then from my man. I remember that all bodies, those bigger than and those smaller than mine, are entitled to the same, and they are no better or worse than my own.

Not everyone who has had an eating disorder also has an issue with perfectionism, but the two are often linked: A persistent feeling of never being “good enough” and needing to do something — anything — to feel under control is a warning sign that a person might be susceptible to an eating disorder.

So yes, I’m fat now. But you know what else? I’m happy. Succesful. Fulfilled. On a career path that makes me feel whole. In a relationship that feels like it’s a dream. Mentally balanced in a way I’ve never experienced before, and no one gets to take this away from me by demanding I change my body for their comfort. I’m no longer willing to sacrifice my happiness for someone else’s approval.

As mentioned in previous articles, every adult has a Sexual Operating System (S.O.S.) that has an enormous impact on the quality and longevity of their intimate relationships. For most people this is a largely unconscious influence that, if left unchecked, practically dooms every relationship to eventual failure.

As women, we live in the ultimate lose-lose situation. The ways in which we display our sexuality and bodies are constantly being evaluated and condemned for any reason people can conceive.