Day Thirty Four: Butt

I have a mighty fine ass.

I don’t mean to be crass, but it’s true. It’s not pop-star big or princess petite, its right in between. It serves its purpose well, protecting me when I fall down and keeping my boyfriend’s eyes glued to me when I walk away. I love my butt.

This week has been all about loving my body, so I wanted to wrap I up by talking about a part of myself I still have trouble loving. I used to have a friend who would tell me I had absolutely no butt and would laugh at me about it all the time. This was the same girl who always made me feel bad for being skinny. Now I have a new friend, Madison, and a boyfriend who compliment me on my ass quite frequently. It’s very, very nice to hear since I had been hearing the opposite for a long time.

It’s the end of the week for me (since tomorrow is Sunday, which in this country starts a new week for some reason) and I’ve been giving a lot of thought to that dirty, taboo subject we like to talk about but never actually talk about: body image. I’m not just talking about fat versus thin, I’m talking about the epidemic of people who aren’t comfortable in their own skin.

 Society builds us to fit the mold and then tells us it’s okay if we break the mold, but we all know that the kids in the MTV ads don’t look like you and me for a reason. We blame television, advertising, music stars, models, movies and just about every other public image to this epidemic. But maybe the answer isn’t the models and movie stars. Maybe it’s us. Yes, Cosmo and Abercrombie give our young people pretty pictures of skinny, proportioned, fine featured people as icons to look up to. But we’re the ones who let little girls get away with calling each other fat on the playground. We’re the ones who let people get beat up for their gender, their sexuality and skin color. Outside sources can plant the seed, but it will only grow if your water it.

Now that I’ve gotten off my soap box, I can go back to loving my butt.

Challenge to my Readers:

Find a part of yourself that you admire today. Tell someone they look nice, even if you’re lying. Don’t let your friends get away with calling another person a name, even if they’re joking. Just for today, hold your tongue about the people at Walmart and just do your part to make the world better.

I could throw hundreds of websites at you about body image and self-image and places to go if you want to talk about those things. You can find them all on google. For me, the most powerful is LOVE IS LOUDER. The organization seeks to help anyone who is feeling mistreated, alone or misunderstood. It encourages people to connect, respect and express their feelings in positive ways.