Touchy subject.

Once again, I feel motivated to address the 'love your body' movement that frequently wells up on Facebook and other social networks.

Yesterday, an article comparing a 'plus sized' model to a 'fashion' model was flooding Facebook. (Here it is for your reference: http://plus-model-mag.com/2012/01/plus-size-bodies-what-is-wrong-with-them-anyway/) I read the article, and I see a lot of valid points in it. I also see a lot of bias that is somehow forgiven, though. I mean... imagine if the viewpoints were switched?

What if that article were to say "Plus-sized models are typically 20-50 pounds over their 'optimal' weight, are 20% more likely to have high cholesterol and heart attacks", etc.? (I just made up those statistics for illustration, btw.)

If it were turned around the other way, then women everywhere would take offense. They would say "WE CAN'T ALL BE MODELS" and "WHY IS THERE SO MUCH FAT HATE?!" They would be angry that 'the media' was trying to tell women everywhere to be stick-thin and work out constantly or they're ugly.

But for some reason, it's OK for people to say that thin women are anorexic. It's OK to say that heavier women are 'more womanly', or 'more fertile', or 'goddesses'.

This particular article was written in a manner that didn't spew thin-hate, but there was also a blog post that hit Facebook more virally that was just rife with thin-hate: http://www.pajiba.com/trade_news/sidebyside-comparison-of-averagesized-woman-with-a-supermodel-will-blow-out-your-mindhole.php .

How is that OK? People are spreading that around like it's the cutest little jab at anorexic models and a self-esteem booster for 'the average woman', when it's basically a 'women who aren't a size 14 are ugly and if you think they are pretty you're a douchebag' statement.

I have been a wide range of weights. I've been 60 pounds overweight, and I've been 20 pounds underweight. I've been healthy and I've been sickly. I've been happy at a size 14, and happy at a size 4. I've also been full of self-loathing at a size 14, and full of self-hate at a size 4. I don't think a woman's self-worth should be based on her dress size, but I also think that women should consider their health instead of using things like this (the second one in particular) as a crutch when trying to justify their lack of motivation/good eating habits.

I find women of all shapes and sizes to be absolutely beautiful. I fully believe that if a woman is happy with herself and exudes that confidence and warmth, she is stunning. She can be a size 2 or a size 20 and still be absolutely breathtaking... and I would never hold other people to my own personal standards of diet and/or physical fitness. I've been all over the scale in regards to both of those things, and I am intimately familiar with the mental and emotional anguish body image can and often does cause.

I wanna know what's wrong with just being healthy, having a good self-image, and loving ourselves. We only have one body, and we should take care of it as best we can. We should feel beautiful. We should not dread looking in the mirror. We should enjoy buying and wearing our clothes. Whatever size we need to be to achieve that goal should be what we strive for - but making excuses and trying to talk ourselves into being happy with being 'average sized' because we don't want to make an effort - well. That's just wrong, in my opinion.

We all have potential to be beautiful, and it's not in a number.