Body Acceptance : A fulfilling guide to true body acceptance

By CS Loxley

Dear person,

I may not know your name. We might not have walked past each other on the streets,  and it is highly likely that we may never come in contact with each other, but I just want to ask you one question, take a few seconds to search yourself for the answer.

 

The question is― How happy are you in your body?

 

I'd be glad to know that you are very happy about yourself and your body, but If you are not, I also want you to know that you are not alone.

In fact, a lot of other people you meet with or walk past on the streets on a daily basis also feel not too satisfied with the way their bodies are.

It is okay to not be one hundred percent great about your body, and it is totally okay to want to feel that great about you.

 

That's what this book is all about. 

 

This book contains all you need to know to feel great about being in your body, but don't take my word for it. Check out the book if you want to discover the formula for developing a full measure of body confidence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CS Loxley
• Release date: Aug 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201013356

Book preview

Introduction

All around us today, there exist some very subtle yet not so subtle reminders that body image is still a predominant issue in our society. Do you think this is an overrated reminder? Check the latest magazines, or better still, check the Barbie doll shelves. If you are still in doubt, check the programs on television. Check the news. There are reminders everywhere pointing out how people should look. All those who do not fit into the typical image are considered to be somehow flawed. We live in times where there is a constant need to define sexuality and sexiness.  There is an existing conditional acceptance based on your physical appearance. As such, certain body types are not considered good enough, as they do not fit into the class of those with what society deems acceptable.

Society over time has obsessed over the human physical appearance. The bulk of the content on social media platforms like Instagram merely exists to help you fix the way you look. There are a ton and one thousand pieces of content telling you how to improve your physical appearance. They tell you how to lose weight, stay young forever, add to your butt, get a bigger breast, get a bigger chest, look like a molded statue of an ancient Greek god, get a firmer breast, and get rid of stretch marks, among many other unsolicited remedies. Everything we are told revolves around how our bodies just do not meet the cut. The average person does not look good enough because they do not have the flawless bodies of models. This is not merely the fault of the models, nor is it the fault of the product producers or even the users. We must blame this body image obsession first on society’s insatiable desire for perfection.

There is an inherent desire at the epicenter of human consciousness to have the perfect body. This desire for some has gradually transmuted into an obsession that, in many cases, has left a lot of people in regret and shame. But what if there was a way to remind your body that you are perfect just the way you are? I know a lot of people would say they have tried this, and that it only works until you look in the mirror.

The above experience for some is very true. The mind has a way of convincing you that you are not good enough. So, if you are to accept your body, you’d have to do a good job of convincing your mind that your body is the standard. Once your mind accepts that your body is good enough, you’ll find that a different kind of confidence in your body will be born.

We all must accept our bodies and love ourselves the way we are. Irrespective of what society tells you about yourself, there is no need to put unnecessary pressure on yourself to look or feel like you have to fit in with a certain body type or kind of look. You are good enough the way you are, as long as you have no health challenges that would require you to change your body.

This book contains six secrets to loving and accepting your body. You’ll find everything you need to boost your confidence and live a well-rounded, healthy life.

Chapter One:   What’s the Best Kind of Body?

Pour me a glass of wine, let it run down my arm. This is the prettiest sight I’ve seen of late. ―Unknown.

A lot of people have attacked the topic of body positivism on the premise that it promotes unhealthy fat acceptance, but does it? The critics of body positivism have gone on to argue that the term body acceptance was born to encourage unhealthy people to keep up with their unhealthiness and still have a shield to protect themselves with, but is body acceptance truly that kind of shield? The concept of body acceptance is indeed a shield to protect people from the negative assertions society has formed around presumably non-acceptable body types, but it is not a shield to promote unhealthy living—no, it is not.

Body acceptance recognizes how certain body types are not considered acceptable because they do not fit into the general ideal body structure. In order to understand why body acceptance should be embraced, we need to look at how mainstream culture dictates it, regarding what a person’s body should look like to be deemed acceptable. Before we consider society's maligned view of the body, we need to x-ray the issue of body image first. What is body image? Why and how does it relate to body acceptance?

I have met a lot of people who believe their bodies are just not good enough. I have met slim, size eight women who all wanted to step up to a size twelve. The usual question was often WHY? I mean, we all know that a size eight is the perfect body, or so we have come to think. Why would anyone want to change to a larger size? Alternatively, I have met a couple of size twelve women who just wanted to come down to a size eight because they believed their bodies were just not right. Again, WHY? Why do we feel like certain body types are better than some others? Why do men feel that they have to be buff and chiseled with a rock solid, packed body rippling with chunky muscles? Why does the buff man appear to be of better appeal than the normal-looking man? Why do we aspire for the perfect body when our bodies are just as perfect?

Oftentimes, people assume that body image focuses majorly on weight issues. This is partly true, but it is not the only thing that body image is all about. Body image is the way you see yourself as a living person. It can take any form. It refers to how a person feels about their physical person, in terms of how they feel about their weight, skin color, facial look, hair growth, height, body shape, physical orientation, and a ton of other physical attributes. Body image is the perception of your body that is shaped by a series of factors that we will be discussing soon. Body image is a product of our beliefs, societal interactions, experiences, personal and external opinions, as well as other influences.

There is so much pressure on people today to look a certain way in order to be beautiful or handsome. With fashion trends making a mark in the world through magazines and social media influence, we have seen men and women start to buy into the unrealistic representations of life online and traditional media. Most people tend to forget that there is a difference between what is shown online and what is obtainable in reality. Many fashion brands over time have pitched their products with models from only a certain category of body type, thus creating the assumption that it is only bodies in that category that deserve the love and attention of the public. In some cases, people of other body types who try to patronize those brands may not even find their sizes in the market. Such a subtle message sends a signal to the mind that something is not right, and the obvious conclusion would be that the body type of the person in question is not right; if people do not remember to make clothes for my body type, it means that my body type is not ideal or popular enough to bring in substantial sales for these producers, which would then mean that people with my body type aren’t exactly plenty. I am thus of the minority, and our group is of those who aren’t significant. It would mean that we are not good enough to be seen without our clothes off. It would mean that we are not good enough to be seen in beautiful clothing because apparently, only the people within the accepted, popular size range can be considered beautiful in these dresses.

The negative message that brands have sold to people who do not fall within that special category they have centered their market on has contributed to the suffering of many who do not fall within that target market. When you pitch a product to people and exclude a certain group, it leaves the excluded group wondering why? People end up asking questions like Is it that there is a presumption that the left out group do not have what it takes to appeal to the general public, or is it that they are somehow imperfect? But this again is also not the only reason why people believe their bodies are not good enough. There is also an overemphasis on these perfect bodies that have been so specifically defined over time to exclude people who fall out of a certain body range.

What people however fail to remember when they downgrade one body type and admire another is that people do not make or choose the bodies they have. We are all born with a certain body type that goes on to determine how we are physically shaped and how we will respond to weight. In most cases, nothing about the shape or type of a person’s body is a