Body Image
Presented By Marguerite and Fusz Hall
For this year’s Tunnel of Oppression, our staff selected body image as our topic. To cover more ground and respect each other’s boundaries, we split into three committees according to personal limits and preferences. Each group focused on a different exercise designed to prompt talking about our bodies. It is our hope that through such candid conversations, we can help destigmatize societal views on body image. A variety of conversation starters exist for different times and different people. For us, we had some individuals express their thoughts via self-portraits, some chose written methods such as like journaling or writing letters to themselves, and others engaged verbally. You can find the results of our experiment below. Feel free to do these exercises at home or try them with a group of friends! Please note that due to the nature of the topic, some prompts may be triggering.
Self Portrait
"Body image refers to how people see themselves. Distorted body image (also called negative body image) refers to an unrealistic view of how someone sees their body. You begin forming your perceptions of your body’s attractiveness, health, acceptability, and functionality in early childhood. This body image continues to form as you age and receive feedback from peers, family member, coaches, etc." (Weight & Body Image Disorders)
Below are some of our representations and perceptions of ourselves. No matter your shape, size, or ability, all of our bodies are beautifully unique.
No matter your body shape, weight, or complexion, we are all beautiful and vibrant and colorful.
There is no such thing as a "good" body. There are just bodies and people with them.
You can do anything no matter what shape you are.
Even if it isn't in perfect which it never is, give it effort !
Letter to Yourself
Letter 1
Letter 2
"For anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder, you know that the body becomes the enemy. You are separate from your body as it betrays you time and time again. It becomes a torturous battleground for the war that is going on in your mind and we abuse it without giving a second thought. ...Berating yourself keeps you in the cycle of disconnect and prevents you from reaching full recovery. So as long as you view your body as a 'problem' that needs to be solved, you will always be swimming upstream and working against it.
Why not try getting back in touch with your body and understand, from its perspective, what it is going through and how it feels. Writing a letter to your body might have you see things differently and allow you to truly understand your body and learn how to recover from a different perspective: your bodys'.
So give yourself some time, at least 30 minutes, to sit down and try this exercise. Here is what you are to do: ...write a letter to your body from yourself."
--Amy Pezzente, British Columbia Children's Hospital
"For anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder, you know that the body becomes the enemy. You are separate from your body as it betrays you time and time again. It becomes a torturous battleground for the war that is going on in your mind and we abuse it without giving a second thought. ...Berating yourself keeps you in the cycle of disconnect and prevents you from reaching full recovery. So as long as you view your body as a 'problem' that needs to be solved, you will always be swimming upstream and working against it.
Why not try getting back in touch with your body and understand, from its perspective, what it is going through and how it feels. Writing a letter to your body might have you see things differently and allow you to truly understand your body and learn how to recover from a different perspective: your bodys'.
So give yourself some time, at least 30 minutes, to sit down and try this exercise. Here is what you are to do: ...write a letter to your body from yourself."
--Amy Pezzente, British Columbia Children's Hospital
Letter 3
Letter 4
Letter 5
Podcast
Listen to us as we process and dialogue about body images, biases that show up in society, and some of our own experiences.
Marsz Podcast, Jade & Faith - 10:26:20, 1.27 PM.mp3Tunnel of O Audio_mixdown.wavAdditional Resources:
“Body Image & Weight Issues: What Causes Negative Views.” Eating Disorder Hope, 30 Sept. 2020, www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/body-image.
“Body Image.” National Eating Disorders Collaboration, 2011,www.confidentbody.net/uploads/1/7/0/2/17022536/nedc_body_image_fact_sheet.pdf.
“Body Love Letter Template.” Love Warrior Community , www.lovewarriorcommunity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Body-Love-Letter- Template.pdf.
Clegg, Becca. Tell Your Body A New Story - The Love Letter To Your Body, 21 Jan. 2018, rebeccaclegg.com/tell-your-body-a-new-story-the-love- letter-to-your-body/.
Pezzente, Amy. “A Letter to Your Body.” Kelty Mental Health, BS Children's Hospital, 31 July 2017, keltymentalhealth.ca/blog/2017/07/letter-your-body.
“Your Body Needs a LOVE LETTER.” Spinach and Yoga, www.spinachandyoga.com/your-body-needs-a-love-letter/.
Goldstein, Z., Goldstein, Z., & Zoe Goldstein (U Penn ‘23) Zoe Goldstein (U Penn ‘23)Zoe is a Freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences. (2019, December 10). Why You Should Boycott Brandy Melville. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.hercampus.com/school/u-penn/why-you-should-boycott-brandy-melville
Miller, K. (2020, June 22). How Whiteness Killed the Body Positive Movement. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://elemental.medium.com/amp/p/4c185773101e