Tuesday, September 16, 2008

How Do You Think You Look?


I've just recently watched a few episodes of How To Look Good Naked. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Carson Kressley teaches women how to bring forth their inner and outer beauty without plastic surgery or extreme dieting. Over the course of five days Carson will introduce new, beneficial changes for subjects in his signature humorous way. Each episode will culminate in an ego-boosting fashion and beauty photo shoot for the lucky subject.
In just the few episodes I've seen there have been different body types, each woman has had different issues with their bodies - some were self conscious about their butt, some their belly, etc. Intermittently throughout the show they'll have stats on women and body image, etc. It is really sad when you think about how so many of us (all different shapes and sizes) are unhappy with our bodies for various reasons. It does not matter what size or shape we are... we women find the worst in ourselves, especially when it comes to our bodies.

My husband saw a bit as he was passing by (this particular episode had a tiny petite Asian woman) and he asked if they ever use women who were not thin on the show. So, to prove to him that there was diversity in size and shape on the show I went to their website and found a woman with a body shape similar to mine (I think). It was helpful for me to see the affirmations she got from Carson and the public about her body and to see her transformation as she became more confident.
There are lots of resources out there for those of us who struggle with poor body image. Don't be afraid to reach out and seek help if you too easily find the flaws in your self and your body. Here are just a few websites to check out if you are interested.
BreakFreeBeauty
Healthy Body Image
TCW online article
Body Image books on Amazon.com


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Like most women in America who are surrounded from infanthood with images of "perfect" women (aka supermodels), I too struggle with body image. But I'm more interested in learning how to feel good in my clothes than I am feeling good naked, you know?

Wani said...

How To Look Good Naked addresses the emotional/psychological part of how you feel about yourself and focusing your good features/qualities and being comfortable in your own skin. He helps the women find clothes that compliment their body shape, etc (that part is kind of like What Not To Wear). I don't know about you but I'd like to feel as sexy as my husband thinks I am - you know what I mean?