So that Marcia Hutchinson quote sounds a bit harsh, no? And yet it’s an amazingly effective concept to keep in mind if you find yourself devolving into body-bashing: All those accusations you’re flinging at your thighs, wrinkles, bony joints, cellulite, and age spots? Would you ever consider saying those things to someone you love? Or even say them aloud when you’re AROUND someone you love? You’ll be amazed by how quickly your negative self-talk is put into perspective when you compare it to the thoughts you would consider expressing to others. read more

Many of the messages we receive about bodies have to do with conforming. The current standards for physical female beauty are narrow and exclusionary, yet we are pressured to deprive, manipulate, and punish our bodies into fitting those narrow, exclusionary standards. We are told, “Be the same, or be wrong.” We are told, “Look this way, or be lesser-than.” We are told, “There’s no room for variation here, so do everything in your power to conform.”

But no two human beings are alike. Even identical twins, who have the same genes down to the last, have distinct personalities, needs, voices, desires, and ambitions … and frequently metabolize, tan, and take hair color differently from one another. That “unique snowflake” cliche exists for a reason: We’re all marvelously individual. And that marvelous individuality is what makes human life interesting. read more