Love Thine Curves
Women and men:
Love your curves. Most people have them. Some people don't.
You see, we went through a phase a little while back, where men and women were expected to look like Twiggy and [name a male model of the 60s]. Women were skinny, men were building muscle in all the wrong places. Then, we evolved.
We started looking at these models and began asking ourselves this question: if these models can't go into a department store and buy clothes off the rack that fit them, are they representative of the overall population?
The answer was, and still is, no. No. Models who starve themselves so they can fit into ridiculous fashion trends are not representative of the overall population. So, we swung, as we are apt to do, in the opposite direction. We began focusing on the "real woman" and the "ideal man." We became comfortable with ourselves. We became (and please bear in mind that I am not criticizing the plus size/fully figured woman) complacent with ourselves enough that we started to accept fat as an alternative to skinny.
Sure, there are benefits to this outlook. Instead of trying to model ourselves after these Gucci and Dolce & Gabana tempters and temptresses, we have moved the narrative in a positive fashion. We have begun the talks with our teenagers, telling them that as long as they're healthy, they're fine. We started to look at ourselves and added on a few pounds.
And, there is nothing wrong with just those few pounds. However, we have become such a complacent, and so confrontational, society that those few pounds have become an excuse. There is nothing wrong those few extra pounds until they become pains in the knees, skin issues, joint issues, heart trouble, and strokes.
You see, your weight and mass is distributed on you, the individual, differently than on anyone else. It's like a grand-scale fingerprint. No one else has your same body. 162 pounds on a 5'2" woman is not the same as 162 pounds on a 6'8" man. Nor should they be. These height to weight ratios can be deceptive. Muscle far outweighs fatty tissue. Because of this, we sometimes even starve ourselves of muscle, not wanting to cross that threshold. The moral of the story here is that we shouldn't be so number obsessed that we forget what it means to be fit.
Fitness is overall body health, not some catchphrase that's on the cover of every fitness magazine. Fitness is how well your body can control situations. It's not having a rock-solid six pack. Fitness is being able to lift and push, and squeeze and run, to the best of your ability. And, when layer upon layer of fatty tissue prevents that from happening, from allowing you to reach your apex, there is a disconnect with your fitness and well-being. Perhaps we've just given up. We have allowed ourselves to become complacent with fat under the guise that we're "curvy" and "full figured."
On that note, "Curvy" and "full figured" are misappropriated monikers. Men and women have curves. It implies that anyone not curvy isn't figured. There is a figure there, there are curves. This person has been labeled the "skinny bitch" or "muscle-head." These names and labels are doing us a severe disservice. They are turning us against each other.
I have a friend, several friends actually, who once labeled herself as "full figured." She was happy, accepting of her body, flirty, and personable. Then, one day, she realized that her body wasn't treating her well. She got a bicycle and started to make revolutions. Soon, she started dropping weight. In the past 6 months, she's lost more weight on her own than she ever did with the advice of her friends, telling her that she's a curvy, flirty girl and not to worry about her weight because "haters gonna hate." Now, she has the energy she had before she started to gain weight. She has more confidence, she smiles more, and she is in control of herself.
People aren't meant to be overweight. We aren't meant to have layers of fatty deposits over our hips, thighs, ankles, on the backs of our arms. We aren't meant to have labored breathing. We are meant to be active, healthy individuals.
So, yeah. Love your curves. You have them for a reason. But don't confuse your curves for fat that shouldn't be there. Be healthy. Be in control of you.
PS: Please read the entire essay. If you're going to comment, do so from logic and not emotion. I will not tolerate people who call me a "hater," or "pig," or "douche." This essay is not a criticism. It's a philosophy that people have within them health and happiness. These two ideas can live harmoniously with one another.
Love your curves. Most people have them. Some people don't.
You see, we went through a phase a little while back, where men and women were expected to look like Twiggy and [name a male model of the 60s]. Women were skinny, men were building muscle in all the wrong places. Then, we evolved.
We started looking at these models and began asking ourselves this question: if these models can't go into a department store and buy clothes off the rack that fit them, are they representative of the overall population?
The answer was, and still is, no. No. Models who starve themselves so they can fit into ridiculous fashion trends are not representative of the overall population. So, we swung, as we are apt to do, in the opposite direction. We began focusing on the "real woman" and the "ideal man." We became comfortable with ourselves. We became (and please bear in mind that I am not criticizing the plus size/fully figured woman) complacent with ourselves enough that we started to accept fat as an alternative to skinny.
Sure, there are benefits to this outlook. Instead of trying to model ourselves after these Gucci and Dolce & Gabana tempters and temptresses, we have moved the narrative in a positive fashion. We have begun the talks with our teenagers, telling them that as long as they're healthy, they're fine. We started to look at ourselves and added on a few pounds.
And, there is nothing wrong with just those few pounds. However, we have become such a complacent, and so confrontational, society that those few pounds have become an excuse. There is nothing wrong those few extra pounds until they become pains in the knees, skin issues, joint issues, heart trouble, and strokes.
You see, your weight and mass is distributed on you, the individual, differently than on anyone else. It's like a grand-scale fingerprint. No one else has your same body. 162 pounds on a 5'2" woman is not the same as 162 pounds on a 6'8" man. Nor should they be. These height to weight ratios can be deceptive. Muscle far outweighs fatty tissue. Because of this, we sometimes even starve ourselves of muscle, not wanting to cross that threshold. The moral of the story here is that we shouldn't be so number obsessed that we forget what it means to be fit.
Fitness is overall body health, not some catchphrase that's on the cover of every fitness magazine. Fitness is how well your body can control situations. It's not having a rock-solid six pack. Fitness is being able to lift and push, and squeeze and run, to the best of your ability. And, when layer upon layer of fatty tissue prevents that from happening, from allowing you to reach your apex, there is a disconnect with your fitness and well-being. Perhaps we've just given up. We have allowed ourselves to become complacent with fat under the guise that we're "curvy" and "full figured."
On that note, "Curvy" and "full figured" are misappropriated monikers. Men and women have curves. It implies that anyone not curvy isn't figured. There is a figure there, there are curves. This person has been labeled the "skinny bitch" or "muscle-head." These names and labels are doing us a severe disservice. They are turning us against each other.
I have a friend, several friends actually, who once labeled herself as "full figured." She was happy, accepting of her body, flirty, and personable. Then, one day, she realized that her body wasn't treating her well. She got a bicycle and started to make revolutions. Soon, she started dropping weight. In the past 6 months, she's lost more weight on her own than she ever did with the advice of her friends, telling her that she's a curvy, flirty girl and not to worry about her weight because "haters gonna hate." Now, she has the energy she had before she started to gain weight. She has more confidence, she smiles more, and she is in control of herself.
People aren't meant to be overweight. We aren't meant to have layers of fatty deposits over our hips, thighs, ankles, on the backs of our arms. We aren't meant to have labored breathing. We are meant to be active, healthy individuals.
So, yeah. Love your curves. You have them for a reason. But don't confuse your curves for fat that shouldn't be there. Be healthy. Be in control of you.
PS: Please read the entire essay. If you're going to comment, do so from logic and not emotion. I will not tolerate people who call me a "hater," or "pig," or "douche." This essay is not a criticism. It's a philosophy that people have within them health and happiness. These two ideas can live harmoniously with one another.
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