body acceptance

If I ever have a daughter, I will tell her to just say "no" to plucking, as if it is an illicit drug.

An Open Letter To My Overplucked Eyebrows 

This article originally appeared on Mamamia and has been republished with permiss

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(Image Credit: Thinkstock)

The War On Obesity – Dead Or Alive

In the face of funding shortages, Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has decided that patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above, as well as smokers, will be barred from most surgery for up to a year. But don’t fool yourself, this isn’t about health, or healthy behaviors – this is about money, and it’s about the people in charge deciding whose blatant oppression the general citizenry will tolerate. Years of campaigns suggesting that it’s fine for people to stereotype fat people and blame us for their problems have led to a situation where people are comfortable with us being denied the same medical care that they receive. And that should horrify you.

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image credit: Maria Kang instagram

Looks Like "No Excuses" Mom, Maria Kang, Found Some Excuses

You may remember Maria Kang from her fifteen minutes of fame a couple of years ago when she put some time and effort into looking like the cultural stereotype of beauty, had some success at that, then took a picture of herself wearing gym clothes with her three sons. Which is, of course, her prerogative and completely fine. But then she couldn't resist shaming people who made different choices (or made the same choices but had different outcomes) by adding the caption "What's Your Excuse?"

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I'm sorry that I've allowed you to become an example.

An Apology To Myself At 500 Pounds

Dear 16-Year-Old, 500 Pound Matt,

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So much of my pregnancy and delivery were marked by fear and anxiety, rather than acceptance and a growing confidence in my body’s abilities. (Image: Thinkstock)

Does Body Confidence Have An Effect On Pregnancy And Labor?

In the final weeks of pregnancy with my second child, I went to a group appointment alongside other mothers-to-be and their partner

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"Hearing that you are pretty 'for someone in a wheelchair' is a compliment that leaves a bad aftertaste." Image: Thinkstock

Feeling Body-Positive When You Have A Disability

When you hear the buzzwords “body shame” or “body positivity,” it's common to think those phrases only apply to those who have a little extra junk in the trunk, but a huge demographic is excluded the conversation when it takes that cliché Christina Aguilera “We are Beautiful” turn.

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"When my body cried and begged me to be kinder to it, I ignored its requests for compassion and continued to beat myself up." Image: Thinkstock

I Was My Body's Bully

“You’re fat and ugly,” I’d hear, or, “Look at your stomach, it’s disgusting!” This wasn’t a neighborhood bully taunting me on my way to school — this is what I said to myself all day long, well into adulthood.

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If I could go back and tell that little girl to run, I would. I would tell her to fly. I would tell her that being fat doesn't define her. It doesn't make her any less. Image: Thinkstock.

Once The "Fat Kid," Always The "Fat Kid."

Looking back at childhood photos now is bittersweet. In the moment the camera caught, I'm always smiling, but I wasn't always a happy child. I was fat-shamed almost daily.

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